You mean I will never see Her Majesty again at one of her windows, Mr Gruber?" "Yes, Paddington, she has gone forever." Two years ago this month, on the 8th of September 2022, Queen Elizabeth II died, aged 96.
Queen Elizabeth II was Australia's longest-serving head of state, having ascended to the throne on 6 February 1952. During her 70-year reign, Australia had 16 prime ministers. For most Australians, 'the Queen' is the only head of state they have ever known. She was certainly the only head of state I had ever known; she even passed me by when she visited Bougainville Island aboard the royal yacht BRITTANIA in February 1974.
Presciently, as it turned out, my Certificate of Citizenship states that I gave my alligance not only to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second but also to her heirs and successors, or I would have to go through the whole thing all over again. The Queen is dead, long live the King!
