Three years ago this week Queen Elizabeth II died at the age of 96 surrounded by her family. In the year of her Platinum Jubilee, the longest serving monarch passed away at her beloved Scottish estate, Balmoral.
Buckingham Palace made the simple announcement at 6.30pm on Thursday 8 September 2022, stating: "The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow."
For 70 years Her Majesty The Queen had been the centre of our culture. The Queen’s image has adorned billions of coins and banknotes and sat proudly on letters carrying good news and bad. Her name has been given to places near and far, buildings, ships and train lines. She sat for hundreds of portraits and inspired thousands more. She had been imitated more than any other public figure, BUT there was only one original.
On Friday 3 June 2022 Stephen Cottrell, the Archbishop of York delivered the sermon in St Paul's Cathedral during a service to mark and celebrate Her Majesty the Queen's Platinum Jubilee and the very original person she was. On that occasion he reminded us that, “Jesus is worth following because Jesus shows us who God is, and what our humanity could be. And there are many occasions in the gospels where we see Jesus Himself, faithful to His vocation, seeking out places of replenishing so that He can learn God’s way. The purpose of the Christian faith is to know and to do God’s will.
