My Tribute to Her Majesty The Queen

Thousands of us paying tribute in front of Buckingham Palace after the death of The Queen

 

Queen Elizabeth II

21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022

 

 

The Queen, an inspiration for a nation, certainly an inspiration in my lifetime. For me, she will always represent the good, the country I love, the British spirit. She was a guiding light, she was the person I gave my allegiance to when I became a British citizen. She will be sorely missed! On that day (8 September 2022) when she passed away, a little bit of all of us here in Britain, and probably many others around the world, died as well. Queen Elizabeth made history, she was history, and she would never be forgotten. This is my personal tribute to Her Majesty The Queen.

Dr Stefan Kolimechkov

 

Death of Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Elizabeth II died on the 8th of September 2022 at Balmoral (Scotland) at 3:10 pm at the age of 96. Her death was announced to the public at 6:30 pm.

Hours later I went to lay those flowers in front of the gates of Buckingham Palace, and pay my tribute.

 

And this is what it looked like in front of Buckingham Palace on the evening of the 8th of September 2022. It started raining, it was dark, cold, and a very sad moment.

 

Lying-in-state

The Queen lay in state in Westminster Hall from 17:00 on 14 September to 06:30 on 19 September. The public was allowed to pay tribute by joining the queue (approx. 16 km long and waiting times between 8-25 hrs) to see Queen lying in state.

On the 16th of September, I joined the queue in the early morning for an unforgettable walking journey across London from Southwark Park to Westminster Hall. Somewhere on the way, we were given those wristbands.

 

During the day, I met some lovely people and we walked together following the queue to Lying-in-state. Here are we at Tower Bridge.

 

Later in the evening, I came closer to Westminster Hall. Here we are on the other side of Westminster following the queue to see Lying-in-state. It was getting colder and colder as the evening came.

 

And finally, the moment in which we pay respect to the Queen. It was close to midnight. What an incredible journey that was, leading to this memorable moment (here I am on the right side all in black looking at the Crown and the coffin, and thinking about the Queen's remarkable life). Thank you Ma'am. Moment of hystory, moment of a lifetime!

 

Days before funeral

The days before the funeral were extremely sad for the whole nation and beyond.

One day after work, I remember attending a special gathering for people in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to honour the life of the Queen.

 

And here I am in one of those special places for me, the O2. All flags lowered half way to pay respect to the death of the Queen. What a view that was.

 

The State Funeral

The State Funeral for Her Majesty The Queen took place in London on Monday 19th September at 11am. The public was allowed to gather in locations alongside the Procession. It was probably one of the biggest and most important events in the hystory of the United Kingdom and beyond.

Flowers were laid all over the surounding areas of Buckingham Palace in London.

 

In front of Buckingham Palace for this important moment. The procession included around 3,000 military personnel, stretching for over a mile.

 

Moment of hystory.

 

MY TRIBUTE TO HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH II