Her

Evident from the sudden announcement and scenes of the royal family arriving in cars, there was no doubt that the Queen's death was imminent, announced here just after noon dinner Thursday. Everybody and his brother will be airing memories of Elizabeth, and I was having my own. 

From the radio in our fish market in StAndrews, I listened to the excitement of her wedding with Prince Philip. Later I listened on the same radio the announcements that King George VI had died in his sleep and Elizabeth suddenly was queen.

What I remember best though is newsreel shots of her during World War 2, dressed in uniform, wielding a wrench or driving an Army truck. I specifically remember the newsreel with the wartime shot of her by the ambulance. 

She was a mechanic and a driver, and may have driven that ambulance, I don't know. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that it was sincere, that she was indeed part of the war effort as a worker, and there in London during the bombings. HRH the Princess Elizabeth was a dirty hands person, and even we Americans were proud!

Some folks are against monarchy and therefore against the royal family, but I hope they are a tiny minority. Watching the British royals all my life, including from earliest war memories, I have been impressed and touched by their dedication, and especially Elizabeth, and during the War, her father. Air raid shelters, yes, but there was no leaving town for safety on their part. They were admirable.

There was always a magic about them, to me, especially Elizabeth and her father.

T