In years to come we will surely all remember where we were when we heard the news of the death of our beloved Queen. Few people below their eighties can remember a time when she was not there, and whilst we have always known that this day would come, the shock is still deep and feeling of loss is enormous.
She was not born to be Queen, and yet accepted her calling with grace when, aged 21, she dedicated herself to the service of others: ‘I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service.’
Just this week I have been talking to the pupils in Morning Prayer of the success and happiness which can be found when we turn away from the self and choose to live our lives for other people. There could be no better example than the life of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. May she rest in peace.
“For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.”
Romans 14:7-8
Matthew Mostyn
Headmaster