She was a Monarch who fashioned a world wide family of diverse peoples who could come together and feel as one under her Headship .

The Queen is dead-Long Live the King-Rabbi Lee Sunderland.

Romford Rabbi Lee Sunderland shares his thoughts on the passing of HM the Queen.

I write these words in the first few hours after the sad but peaceful passing of HM the Queen. Her life has been, and will no doubt continue to be , described as one of duty. I disagree.

Wherever HM went and whomever she met she knew even before she came face- to- face with them . Such was her preparation for every engagement she undertook that she knew exactly who she was talking to and in what context . Her questions were therefore, pertinent and portrayed a genuine interest in the subject – the individual or institution concerned. She took the time to familiarise herself with the topic at hand and appeared knowledgeable and interested making her every subject feel important and special.

Imagine for a moment just how many engagements she undertook and how many people she was introduced to . How many people upon whom she personally conferred honours or position. Yet she never appeared bored and never was she just doing her duty. She was passionately devoted to her realm and her subjects throughout the world . As well as to those of other realms she met in the course of her service.

This Elizabethan era must be identified by change but more of trying to bring as much good out of the past as possible. Her championing of the Commonwealth is the most striking example of that . She was not the Monarch who lost the Empire. Rather the Monarch who fashioned a world wide family of diverse peoples who could come together and feel as one under her Headship .

Her devotion to her subjects knew no bounds and won her the admiration and respect of all.

As Charles becomes king we can look forward to a similar tone. His concern for the environment has been decades ahead of many. His desire to be Defender of Faith a statement that declares a desire to be inclusive of all his subjects. To understand, appreciate and facilitate the lifestyles of all his subjects.

It is this thread passing through the desires of these two monarchs to appreciate all no matter their background that can form the foundation of continuity so necessary in today’s society . The fabric of which and the unity of which is ever under threat. Let us all feel that unity and respect for all that was the signature of the second Elizabethan era and let it cement in us a respect for one another and our planet and all its inhabitants that we and it may thrive into the future .

May HM the Queen rest in peace . Long live the King