Almost Home

Queen Elizabeth II's casket being carried into the King George VI Memorial Chapel at Windsor Castle where she'll rest with Prince Philip, her sister Margaret Rose and her parents.

I was very, very lucky today to be able to watch the funeral in its entirety (yes, about nine hours) on BBC America.  The British broadcast of the event was not interrupted by inane chatter or commercials, both of which are a hallmark of any televised event here.  The one or two times I switched to our version just to see what was going on, my suspicions were correct.  It was split screen (sometimes into 3 or 4 frames -- another way American TV ruins most everything) with constant blabbing spoiling the moment and banners along the bottom covering part of the screen, some even telling the viewer what they were looking at i.e "Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II"(?) and of course, those commercials.  For almost the entire event, nobody at the BBC uttered a word.  It wasn't until the procession got to Windsor Castle before anyone said anything.  We viewers were allowed to simply participate in the moment.  Any questions we might have could be answered later by any number of ways.  Yes, that was a rant.  Sorry.
  
Anyway, It started at midnight here in Washington State USA and the last time I looked at the clock it was about 9:00AM.  Obviously, I haven't been to bed but I really don't care.  The entire ceremony was absolutely amazing and there was no doubt England and the Commonwealth were feeling a loss that defies description.  It was a privilege to be able to bid farewell to her from across the pond and to experience her country's tribute to her.  More than once it brought a tear to my eye. Actually, more than one tear in more than one eye, especially when they showed her two Corgis, Sandy and Muick, and her horse, Emma, who had been brought to the roadside to see the casket go by.  
There was something very special about Queen Elizabeth to we Anglophiles who somehow ended up on the wrong side of the pond.  I doubt we'll ever see the likes of her again.  I truly believe she was one of a kind.  
May she rest in peace.