Today is an immensely sad day. We all knew it had to come but we could never fully have braced ourselves.
With the death of our beloved Queen Elizabeth, we have lost a monarch who gave more of her life to the country than any before her.
There is a sense of profound shock and loss as we awake today to a landscape altered.
A society which was already grappling with diverse and daunting challenges now finds itself strangely unmoored, facing the future without its figurehead of 70 years.
Through seven decades, good times and bad, boom times and bust, tragedies and jubilees, the Cold War and most recently the Covid pandemic, she fulfilled her obligation to serve unstintingly.
And it is a mark of her dedication that the Queen, who came to the throne during the premiership of Winston Churchill, was still at work on Tuesday when she appointed Liz Truss as the 15th prime minister of her reign in a ceremony at Balmoral Castle.
The Queen loved Scotland, and her service was appreciated
It will be a comfort to her family that she spent her final days in a place she loved dearly.
Scotland was close to the Queen’s heart, from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to Hebridean holidays aboard the royal yacht Britannia.
It is why her death will be particularly keenly felt around Glamis today.
The Angus castle, her mother’s birthplace, held many happy memories for the late monarch.
She and her sister Margaret, who was also born there, enjoyed a carefree childhood, playing games and picnicking in the castle grounds.
The Queen also enjoyed visits to Tayside and Fife over the decades. And she was greeted by large and delighted crowds wherever she went.
Many will be reflecting on their memories of the Queen today.
But her most lasting legacy will be the service she gave so unstintingly and the qualities of duty, loyalty and steadfastness that she displayed throughout her life.
We are heading into uncharted waters, for the monarchy under King Charles III and for the wider country.
But today we can give thanks for the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, and for a life which set an example for us all.
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