QEII - In Memoriam

The Royal Family never played a part in the daily lives of many people who grew up north of the border, certainly not in mine.

The Silver Jubilee, an event that forms a deeply nostalgic memory of all my English friends' childhoods, does not register.

I vaguely remember being given a commemorative coin when Charles married Diana, long since lost. I also recall walking what seemed a very long way, to fleetingly wave to Diana as she was driven along Dundee's Kingsway, but at least we got the afternoon off school.

It was that same Kingsway I watched the Queen's coffin being driven along this week as it made its way from Balmoral Castle on the outskirts of Aberdeen, through Dundee on its way to Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh.

The number of Scots who lined that highway confirms sentiment has changed throughout the years, and rightly so.

I am proud to be Scottish, and British. I hope that continues to be the case for the majority of Scots.

There have been countless articles written since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. I have included a link here to one of the best. I don't agree with many things said or written by this fellow Scot, but this is wonderfully written.

Andrew Neil: The Queen Was The Glue That Held Our Nation Together. Now I Fear For The Union.