With the passing of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, I thought I would share a story from my childhood.

One of a handful of memories of my time growing up in Newfoundland was the visit of The Queen and Prince Philip to St. John’s. One part of their visit was the turning of the sod for what became the Queen Elizabeth II Library at the Memorial University of Newfoundland.

My family was in attendance for a few reasons. Mum was quite a monarchist (along with my grandparents), and Dad taught at the university in the Department of Biology.

I was four years old, standing at the side and along come Her Majesty and Prince Philip and, don’t ask my why I thought this, I thought they were my grandparents.

See, my grandmother and grandfather looked very much like Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. My grandmother being shorter and a similar build to Queen Elizabeth; my grandfather being tall and thiner like Prince Philip.

I know at times I’ve felt silly about it growing up, but it’s become a fun memory to think about in my older age.

I had a chance to see The Queen on a visit to Toronto, my grandmother insisting I take a day off school to attend.

As i’ve grown older, I’m aware that the institution of The Firm is an extremely flawed organization, how it treats certain members of The Royal Household, how it has contributed to colonialism around the world, etc.

While it can be argued that The Queen leads this organization and has a say in how things are run, it is not as simple as that. You can see in series like The Crown the position the Queen or King is in.

Things such as The Queen being against Apartheid in South Africa and wanting the release of Nelson Mandella, yet Margaret Thatcher not willing to speak publicly to condemn Apartheid. The monarch has to traverse a fine line, but there are ways they can make their wishes be known.

You can see in recent years that the Monarchy does support self determination as countries in the Caribbean seek to become republics such as Barbados.

The Queen, as I understand her, was very much a diplomat of an amazing kind behind the scenes. I think it’s easy for others to dismiss her impacts, but if you read between the lines, you can see the importance of her role in the world.

Given some of the crap she’s had to deal with from her children too…

I wish the new King good luck in his service to the United Kingdom, Canada and other realms where he is the Head of State.

Thank you ma’am for your hard work behind the scenes, your duty and service.