Half-mast sorrow

Along with the nation, we felt the sadness on hearing the passing of the Duke of Edinburgh yesterday. It was a sense of history passing, the beginning of the end of an era.

We woke up this morning to a grey cloudy day and felt compelled to take a walk to Buckingham Palace to pay our respects to a man who had given up his own ambitions to live a life of servitude to the Queen and nation.

And over the palace, the Union Jack was at half mast which signals a time of sorrow. 

We went to lay some flowers … even though we were encouraged to pay our respects by donating to the Duke’s charities or to sign condolences online, leaving flowers felt right.

And we weren’t the only ones. As we stood quietly amongst a scattering of people respecting social distancing we saw families with small children holding handwritten notes, grown women and men laying bouquets in a growing row of flowers.

We felt at one with the mood. Even though we knew he was frail and old and his passing was inevitable, we were also rallying him reaching his 100th birthday. And the sadness was also for the Queen, who had lost the love of her life, a partner for over 70 years, who stood by her side through all the good and bad times.

May’s comment: The quiet reverence of a well-lived life, the feeling of an end of an era, the sorrow of passing compelled us to lay some flowers at Buckingham Palace – to say thank you and farewell to an icon the world over.

He leaves a legacy of service and dedication to the Crown, the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.

And to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth and his family, our sincere condolences.