RIP Your Majesty

Hi all,

So in my time in uniform my Battalion was on royal duties manning Buckingham Palace, St James Palace but most importantly Windsor Castle. It was at Windsor on the guard boxes and indeed the guards quarters you would see Her Majesty in a more personal manner, but also as daft as it may sound professional manner.

While on duties at Windsor she would have time to herself in the private gardens and it was not be uncommon that should the weather be particularly unfavourable she would retire the guard position for the day, even if she didn't she would always take time to speak to the guard on duty for a short while.

She would also more often than many would realise take time out to visit the guards quarters and spend time chatting to the soldiers manning the castle, and in this much more private setting we all got a more more real feel for the type of person she was she would happily sit down with a mug of tea (seeing the queen with a mug of Yorkshire tea was a strange sight the first time) chat with us all hear our life stories and on more than the odd occasion offer advice even if she would be willing to acknowledge that our lives and back stories were some what different having never lived on a council estate in places like Mansfield.

In private she was a very warm, charismatic and bloody funny woman. But what struck many of us and impressed so many of us was her sense of duty and actually how hard she worked even then (some 16 years ago), beyond her public duties we are all used to seeing her on. She seemed hardly ever stop working there was always people coming and going to have a private meetings with her may that be the ambassadors of countries, our own PM, or various heads of charitable organisations for whom she was the patron of.
Even when there was no meetings planned in she would spend hours in her private study working (which at times was annoying as the guard didn't get to go to bed till she retired for the day).

So while I am by no means a hard and fast royalist, as a person out of the public eye she had a sweet grandmother type aura about her, but also she was a hard worker and only to keenly aware of her responsibilities that her unique position had placed on her.
And for that she does have my deepest affection.
Time to strap in Charley boy your mother has set you a hard act to follow

Cheers

Gareth