Even if you aren’t a history buff, the thought of the end of a generation is mind blowing.

I realized with breathtaking finality what it meant when I saw the Queen attending the service at Westminster Abbey to “mark the passing of the World War I generation”. The words alone are astounding.

This year, the three remaining veterans of WWI passed away: William Stone in January, and both Harry Patch and Henry Allingham in July. Allingham was the oldest Royal Navy Veteran, the last survivor of the battle of Jutland, and a founding member of the Royal Air Force.

The families of many of these WWI heroes attended the service. The Queen, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, laid a wreath on The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to commemorate the event.

http://www.royal.gov.uk/LatestNewsandDiary

Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon, known to the world as The Queen Mother, was born today in 1900.

Elizabeth was born to the aristocratic Strathmore family in Scotland. Her father was Lord Glamis, later 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne.

She lived an idyllic life in Glamis Castle and the Strathmores’ country house, St Paul’s Walden Bury. Elizabeth’s closest companion was her younger brother, David. They were the youngest children in the family – ninth and tenth respectively.

Elizabeth blossomed into a lovely, well-bred lady who caught the eye of King George V’s second son, the Duke of York. Albert, or Bertie, proposed to her several times before she accepted him. Little did Elizabeth know that with this marriage she would be making history.

Bertie was not meant to be king. That duty was supposed to be passed from his father to his elder brother, Edward. The Prince of Wales did not want the crown, however. He was madly in love with American divorcee Wallis Simpson. Edward declared that she would be crowned with him, or he’d abdicate. He chose the latter, and many said that the decision saved Britain and the Royal Family.

Bertie and Elizabeth, once the Duke and Duchess of York with a simple life and two sweet little girls, now became King and Queen of Great Britain. Their daughters were now very much divided according to education and training – little Elizabeth would eventually be queen, so she was given maximum exposure to state documents and ceremonial minutiae. Margaret was allowed free reign and she received no education except for the study of social graces.

The King grew more and more ill as time went on. The stress of World War II and his constant smoking and drinking eventually took their toll, and he passed away in early 1952. Young Elizabeth was now Queen Elizabeth II and her mother was the Dowager Queen.

The elder Elizabeth viewed appearances as one of life’s top priorities. Instead of being a dowager queen, which sounded sad and dowdy to her ears, she re-styled herself as “Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother”. Those close to the family noted how she deftly inserted the title of Queen twice!

The Queen Mother lived until the age of 101. She was an active, lively lady who held considerable influence within the Royal Family up until the end.

She died in her sleep in March 2002 at the Royal Lodge, Windsor, with Queen Elizabeth II at her bedside. Princess Margaret had died just a few months before in February.

Seven years after her death, the Queen Mother was remembered by the public and the Royal Family at the unveiling of her statue. Placed next to the statue of King George VI, the Queen was sculpted wearing her Garter Robes, her age approximately 50. She now looks down the Mall at the Palace, keeping a watchful eye over all.

Lady Diana Frances Spencer, Princess of Wales, was born this day in 1961.

The precocious Diana was the daughter of Johnny Spencer and Frances Roche.

At the time of her birth, Diana’s father was titled Viscount Althorp. On his father’s death in June 1975, Johnny became Earl Spencer. Now the daughter of an Earl, Diana became known as ‘Lady Diana’.

The Spencer family consisted of two daughters, Sarah and Jane, when Diana was born. She had an elder brother named John, but sadly he died at birth. Shortly after Diana’s debut in the world, she was followed by a younger brother, Charles Edward.

Lady Diana married Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales at St. Paul’s Cathedral on July 29th, 1981. As neighbors on the royal Sandringham estate, their families had known each other for many years, and Lady Diana and The Prince had met again when he was invited to a weekend at Althorp in November 1977.

During her marriage, Diana undertook a wide range of royal duties as the Princess of Wales. She especially focused on charities and projects set up to help those in need.

Charles and Diana had two sons, Princes William and Harry, within two years of one another. Both Princes are extremely active today in charities that Diana was particularly fond of during her life.

Though Diana and Prince Charles divorced in 1996, she was still considered a part of the royal family and was styled ‘Diana, Princess of Wales’.

On August 31st of the following year, Diana died in a tragic car accident in a Paris tunnel. Though still alive when pulled from the wreckage, her two companions – driver Henri Paul and her boyfriend Dodi Fayed – were dead at the scene. Diana died later at the hospital.

The Queen gave an extremely rare live address to the nation on September 5th from Buckingham Palace. In her speech, Her Majesty stated:

No-one who knew Diana will ever forget her. Millions of others who never met her, but felt they knew her, will remember her. I for one believe there are lessons to be drawn from her life and from the extraordinary and moving reaction to her death. I share in your determination to cherish her memory.

See the official Royal website’s tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales.

It is with a massive amount of sadness that I say goodbye to my “baby beak”: Cheekers the cockatiel.

Many of you have seen her picture on the Help page of my website. She is listed as my ’secretary’ who helps me with all of my email. Cheekers could also be heard inserting her opinion in the background of many of my podcasts at RoyaltyNow!.

She was a good little friend who is sorely missed. My other two buddies, Percy and Feathers, will miss her, too.

For anyone who has female birds: get them checked regularly to prevent the possibility of egg binding. Egg binding is the inability of a female bird (hen) to pass a developed or partially developed egg. The inability to pass the egg quickly could result in the death of the hen.

Even if your bird has been laying eggs just fine, keep in mind that egg-laying could pose just as many complications for a bird as any human pregnancy. It’s a big deal for one’s body to go through, so keep an eye on your little hen.

I offer my prayers to those in Appeldoorn today who were injured, and to the families of those who died.

This senseless destruction of human life is such a tragedy. Even “tragedy” doesn’t cover it. It’s something that can’t even be expressed by words.

The children of the crowds were so happy and excited to see the Dutch royal family pass by, and the weather was incredibly beautiful. People were just hanging out enjoying themselves, and then this happened.

Sad, sad day.

Queen Beatrix offers her condolences: http://tinyurl.com/c7qxz8

I wanted to take a moment to express my sympathies with the people of Australia.

The fires were out of control. No one knew how they started or where it would all end.

Now the fire is out, and the news is that they were started on purpose. The arsonist is now in custody, and for his protection he will not be named.

You know what I think? I think the Queen’s Commonwealth should release his name. Someone who has purposefully put lives in danger – both human and animal – does not deserve protection. Like pedophiles.

Then come to find out that this arsonist had child pornography. Dual disgust! Now I really feel that it is absolutely vital that he be named. People who are a threat to normal, peaceful society should be known. If they don’t want the consequences, they shouldn’t act like vile scum.

Simple.

That, and I want to see the Queen bean someone with her sceptre. That’s how justice should be meted out in Her Majesty’s realms.