In these momentous days in British history, I just wanted to add a few thoughts about the time ahead…for parents to think about.
These next few days will forever be in the memory of us all…and especially in the memories of our children.
It’s often said by Americans of a certain age that they will never forget where they were when President Kennedy was killed. I think it will be the same for us…we will all remember where we were when we heard of the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Huge changes will come over the next few days and months…a new King, new coins and bank notes, new stamps and post boxes, to name but a few. Even in the decades and centuries to come…we will be the people who lived through the Elizabethan Period, in the same way as we talk and learn about the famous Victorian Period of the 1800’s.
Our Children WILL remember this time very clearly, and it is important for us to manage those memories.
I have listened to much of the coverage over the last 24 hours and I agree with the comments that The Queen was someone who has ALWAYS been there, maybe in the background, but always there, throughout our lives…until now.
I clearly remember as a P3 pupil in 1973 when the TV was wheeled into the classroom, so we could all watch the pageantry of Princess Anne’s wedding to Captain Mark Phillips, with the Queen, radiant in royal blue, in the background. I was still in Primary School, when we again watched the Queen marking her Silver Jubilee in 1977…from then on I KNEW what a real Queen looked like !
In recent years, there have been much more sombre events…the funerals of Diana, The Queen Mother and of course Prince Philip.
Those of us, old enough, have watched her go through the full cycle of life, from Fairy-tale Queen…through the trials of motherhood…to becoming the nation’s elderly Stateswoman and ‘Grandmother’. Always dignified…always doing things in the ‘right’ way…always our Queen.
It was heart-breaking to see her so frail with Liz Truss on Tuesday…the end clearly not far away.
But I hope in the days and weeks ahead, we…and the children of the school…will form new memories. A fuller understanding of The Queen’s Place in history…and we can begin to paint a picture of our new King Charles III.
Sometimes, it’s the small things, like the school flying the Union Flag at half-mast as a sign of respect. But over the next days and weeks there will be big things too…like the State Funeral, the Coronation and I am sure many other events that the children will remember for the rest of their lives.
It’s a sad time…but a time when dignity and doing things the ‘right’ way, will take centre stage…and those are very important lessons and memories for the children to see, learn and embrace.
