I was home on vacation.  I was relaxing and sleeping in and enjoying not being at work.  However, on Wednesday night I had not slept well.  I woke up on and off all night because I was dreaming about the Queen and her health.  It wasn’t the first time, but it was the most vivid. Unable to sleep I grabbed my phone and looked at my messages and email.  There it was, Susan and Scott talking about the announcement regarding HM The Queen’s health.

“The Queen’s doctors are concerned for Her Majesty’s health and have recommended she remain under medical supervision. The Queen remains comfortable and at Balmoral.”

It was this generations “The King’s life is moving peacefully to its close” used for her grandfather, King George V, over 87 years before hand.

I got out of bed and turned-on BBC World to watch the news.  All the coverage was about the announcement and it early enough that nobody had changed clothes yet.  I texted a friend to give her the news.  I grabbed my laptop and checked a couple of online but “hidden” sources I knew about.  The news there wasn’t good.  I continued to watch BBC as I did a few things around the house, took care of the dogs, and ate a little.  I kept an eye on Unofficial Royalty to make sure it didn’t go down and messaged friends about the situation.  I watched the crowds gather and the talking heads on TV talk.  On my phone I would rotate between the UK Telegraph and the Times of London.  It still didn’t seem real.  I was watching history.  Then I saw it.

The helicopter over Buckingham Palace showed the flag at half-staff.  Just as it was registering in my mind what that meant, Huw Edwards announced The Queen had passed then read the official announcement:

“The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow.”

It hit me a lot harder than I thought it would.  It was 12:30 my time and quite honestly the rest of the day was a blur.  I watched BBC into the night; it would be my pattern over the next few days as I came to grip with what was going on.

A year later and I’m not sure I have fully come to grips with it yet.  Rest-in-Peace Your Majesty, you certainly earned it.