The grief at Buckingham Palace, where many people rushed to pay tribute, was palpable. For some, it was reflective. For others, emotional. Above all, it seemed deeply personal, writes 1News Europe Correspondent Mei Heron.
The moment on Thursday morning UK time when the royal doctors released a statement saying they were “concerned” about the Queen's health, there was alarm.
The media and the public both rarely get an update on Her Majesty’s well-being as the palace regards it as an intensely private matter. We knew all was not right.
This feeling grew when central members of the royal family began heading to Balmoral Castle in Scotland to be by her side.
Despite the growing unease, most people I spoke to or heard from believed she was in her final days, not hours. So, despite her 96 years, there was genuine shock when news came that Queen Elizabeth II had passed away peacefully that afternoon.
In a fast-paced world, especially in a busy city like London where little happens that will make most people stop in their tracks - this did.
Queen Elizabeth II, who had ruled for 70 years and was seen as a symbol of stability in an ever-changing and increasingly polarised world, was gone.
The grief at Buckingham Palace, where many people rushed to pay tribute, was palpable. For some, it was reflective. For others, emotional. Above all, it seemed deeply personal.
People brought flowers and many wrote letters. Some referred to her formally as Her Majesty, while others wrote of how she was seen as more than that – a grandmother, a mother.
Some letters were left open for the public to read, while others were sealed.
The Queen will never read those notes - and those who wrote them know that. But it’s one way people are processing their loss, to put their thoughts down on paper, and in their own way begin to say goodbye to a public figure who, in one way or another, has been part of all our lives.
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