Two conversations on the morning of the Queen’s funeral, 19 September 2022

On Whitehall early this morning I had two fascinating conversations.  The first was with Ashrini, from Preston.  His grandfather had travelled from India to Burma in the 1950s, worked there for several years, then came to England.  Before he died he told his wife that she should stay in England because we had a good Queen, who cared about them.  She did stay.  And she passed that story on to her grandchildren.

Just as I said goodbye to Ashrini, a lady from Leeds asked if my tie was ‘RDG’ (the Royal Dragoon Guards).  I said it is.  She replied that her son is serving with the RDG, and she also has another son and a daughter in the Forces.  She had been talking about the Queen with her RDG son: he said he’d be willing to “stand on a hill and die for her”.  His mum said to me, “That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?”

Two stories, from the two people I happened to stand beside.  So moving.  Putting their finger on just two of the reasons why people feel the Queen was so special.  There are many more.

I walked the hundred yards to Parliament Square, looked across at Westminster Hall where the Queen’s body was still lying in state, and thanked God for her.

An hour later I read my Bible reading notes for the day.  They included this prayer: "Lord Jesus, thank you that you loved me and gave yourself for me."  It struck me immediately how apt that is for today.  As best she could, and as the two stories illustrated, the Queen loved us and gave herself for us.  That is why so many of us love her back.