“Would you like to meet her?”
The guard at Westminster Abbey approached our group of bedraggled college students waiting for a glimpse of Queen Elizabeth. I imagine our eloquent answer was something like, “Um…OK!” before we ran down the sidewalk to grab a bouquet of yellow daffodils from a train station. (Yellow flowers are her favorite, he told us.)
We’d been waiting several hours for the Queen to come outside after a Commonwealth Day ceremony at Westminster Abbey. We hoped for a quick sighting as she walked to the motorcade waiting out front. Instead, we got to stand over on her side of the barricade, clutching droopy flowers and asking if we should curtsy. (To his credit, the guard didn’t roll his eyes and instead just said that wouldn’t be necessary.)
When she arrived, smiling the only smile I ever remember seeing on her face, she nodded graciously to us and left the talking to Prince Philip. He asked where we were from and patiently waited while we babbled something about “college” and “Mississippi” and “the States.” I don’t remember if we handed her the flowers, but I do remember our squeals as soon as her car door closed.
It was probably par for the course for the royal couple, meeting yet another group of star-struck commoners. For us, it was the story we told for the next two months of study in London, and for months afterward once we got back home. It’s a 20-year-old memory now, so the details are a little faded, but what I do recollect is that she looked us in the eye and didn’t rush into the car. She moved at a steady pace and lent a bit of her own dignity to the dripping crowd gathered to greet her.
That steadiness is the subject of a recent addition to our family’s picture book library. “Queen Elizabeth II: The Queen Who Chose to Serve” is the story of a young princess’s rise to the throne, and how she served not just her famous subjects, but also the hundreds of thousands she helped over a lifetime of charitable pursuits. There are also bits of quotes from the Queen herself about her faith, including the 2012 Christmas message in which she quoted Mark 10:45: “This is the time of year when we remember that God sent his only Son ‘to serve, not to be served.’”
Millions are mourning Queen Elizabeth because they’ll miss her steady service, her commitment to duty and country and people. I’m thankful to have this small story to share, but more for the reminder of small gifts: a pause, a meeting of eyes, and a gracious nod.
Meredith Flynn is a wife, mother of two, and freelance writer living in Springfield, Illinois.