I’m an Anglophile, not a royalist but it’s hard not to admire Queen Elizabeth II. Being a head of state suited her. Nobody did it better. In case you’ve been hiding under a rock: She died today at the age of 96 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.

Most of us know what we think we know about the Queen because of writer Peter Morgan the man behind The Queen and The Crown. They present Elizabeth as we would like her to be. One thing I’ve gleaned from Morgan is that Harold Wilson was one of her favorite prime ministers. He’s one of mine as well so I’m down with that depiction.

Meeting with Cosplay Thatcher Liz Truss on Tuesday was her final major public act. Elizabeth was an expert at small talk, and it seems to be all Truss is capable of, so it was unlikely to be one of the more memorable meetings of Elizabeth’s long reign. Truss was the 15th and final prime minister summoned by the Queen to form a government.

The United Kingdom’s new head of state is King Charles III. He’s a wooly rather unsympathetic character. He has none of the panache of Edward VII who also waited forever to assume the throne. Bertie was the rascal’s rascal and well-loved in his time. The best Charles can hope for is to be liked and none of Princess Diana’s fans will go that far.

Queen Elizabeth II represented history and continuity. She’s been head of state the entire lives of everyone under 70. Such longevity is typical of the women in her family. Her mother the Queen Mum hit triple digits. A friend of mine says it’s down to gin. She’s probably right.

Plans for QE2’s funeral have been ready for years as you can see from this 2017 article in The Guardian.

I’ll miss the old girl. She was a constant in a constantly changing world.

The Queen is dead, long the King.

My favorite song about Queen Elizabeth is also the shortest. The last word goes to Paul McCartney: