Like most of us here I expect, Elizabeth II has been the only English Monarch that I have known. God Save the Queen was our national anthem until 1974 and I recall when it would be played in cinemas and we would all stand. While not an avid royalist myself, I feel a real loss with her passing at age 96.

I'll declare myself a supporter of the status quo when it comes to our system of government. Today is indeed a sad day for the world. Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, after having honoured a promise to serve for her whole life and has reigned over more than 70 countries across the globe at one time or another, has died.

The Queen has not only set high standards for commitment, service and loyalty but has clearly been seen to do just that, in a world where political systems constantly fail to do the same. Her heirs and successors have a lot to live up to even though they are unlikely to serve for even half as long due to their ages.

The next few weeks will seem like a bit of an experiement, as most of us have never been through the death of a monarch and the subsequent coronation of the heir apparent and the reason for this is fairly simple - Queen Elizabeth has been a shining example for the world to follow, despite numerous challenges laid at her feet which were beyond her control.

I have an official portrait of the Queen on my dining room wall. It will remain in place for now.

With that, I respectfully say Long Live The King!

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A valve a day keeps the transistor away...

I will miss her, but my sadness began years ago when for some reason her portraits began to disappear from schools, hospitals, councils and many other public buildings.

I worked at Shore in Nth Sydney for about eight years once. I was proud to work at a place that still had several portraits of the Queen in prominent places. There was also an emphasis on the students who gave their lives in the wars of the previous century too and my old school, St Patricks at Strathfield had a similar emphasis, with honour boards, Union Jacks standing proud and portraits of the Queen or previous Kings. I hope all this has survived the passage of time.

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A valve a day keeps the transistor away...

I share the above sentiments and remember when King George VI died. I was in the army and all the officers wore black arm bands during the mourning period.

It was just seven years after WW II and Australia was very much a part of the British Empire.

So I have seen 3 monarchs, George VI, Elizabeth II and now Charles III.

Harold

The Queen is the only monarch I'd ever known of. At my primary school they had her portrait hanging in every room, and we'd sing "God Save the Queen" every day, as that was our national anthem back then. All of our coins had (and still have) her likeness on the back. Postage stamps usually had her picture too. You probably remember the red postal trucks with the queen's emblem on the side.

I'm not rabidly monarchist, but I preferred her steady-as-a-rock approach, in contrast to the silliness that would no doubt appear if we had our own (expensive) president.

There won't be another queen in our lifetime, or the next generation's. There's at least 3 kings now - Charles, William and George.

So, Britons now need to sing "God Save the King" instead, and from next year our coins and $5 notes will start having Charles on them.

Anyone wishing to leave a message of condolence may do so on the website of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. This will be archived by the National Library of Australia and Buckingham Palace.

https://www.pmc.gov.au/condolence-form

I had this to say:-

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has been the epitome of respect, dignity, leadership, honour, steadfastness, grace and has carried out her role as Queen of Australia with a sense of commitment to duty for 70 years. It has been a privilege and an honour to be one of her subjects. Her Majesty has not had an easy life but has been there every time the going got a bit tough.

She has been someone to look up to and learn from. We will never forget.

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, your work is done and appreciated by a grateful Commonwealth. May eternal light shine upon you. May you rest in peace.

God Save The King.

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A valve a day keeps the transistor away...

Here is the short film of the very young Queen Elizabeth that was shown in cinemas when I was a kid:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6ofBiydnAQ

An American psychologist's analysis of Elizabeth's personality and character:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ofy5Is0Smx4

So nice to see such kind sentiment. Rip Queen Elizabeth the 2nd. God save the King.

The first speech of King Charles III.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Evxu6S0lci4

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A valve a day keeps the transistor away...

With the benefit of some good weather, finally! I took this photo tonight after doing a round trip on foot across the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The original photo was reportedly taken when the Queen was on a tour of Australia in 2011. The Queen cut the ribbon at the official opening of the Sydney Opera House on the 20th October, 1973 when on another of her 16 official visits to Australia.

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A valve a day keeps the transistor away...

If only we had more leaders with her calibre, the world would be a much better place.

I was watching the coverage of the Queen's passing and the declaration of King Charles III as the new monarch, I recalled just how much change has occurred to not only in Britain, but to the world due to a range of things such as politics, science, technology, and so on, over the last 100 years and the Queen had reigned over 70 of those years.

The Queen provided the consistency, integrity, and support that many people looked to, and that in turn gained the Queen enormous respect, again not just in Britain, but also around the world.

Marcc made a good comment, we need more leaders of her calibre.

Brad, a really nice photo of the Queen shown on the sails of the Opera House.

Regarding the photo, there is no copyright on that. Members can right click and keep it or use it for any worthwhile purpose though if it is republished, a credit back to this site would be appreciated.

The photo wasn't easy to take. The Bridge shakes every time a bus or train passes over and it seemed to be an inconveniently busy time for public transport. Anti-shake prisms inside the camera's lens helped a lot.

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A valve a day keeps the transistor away...