Farewell to the Only Queen We Have Ever Known

PHOTO: Farewell to the Queen. Drawing by J.D. Crowe

OPINION By J.D. Crowe | AL.com

“Queen Elizabeth is the only queen we’ve ever known,” she said. “The only queen in our lifetime. Of course, you should draw a tribute for her.”

“She” is my wife, Lori. And Lori is right. Queen Elizabeth II has pretty much outlived everything and everybody our generation has grown up with. At 96, she was the Queen when almost all of us were born. The Queen was a timeless presence. Like Santa Claus. Or Dr. Seuss. Or Betty White.

I was horribly unprepared to draw a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II. I just figured she would still be around doing perfectly appropriate Queen things many years after I passed unwittingly into some awful awkward death.

My wife’s family - uncles, aunties, and cousins - call Lori the “wee Yankee” because she was the first in her Scottish family born in the United States. Lori’s got serious opinions about the Royal Family. She grew up reading stories about the two princesses - Elizabeth and Margaret Rose - wondering if she could also be a princess. Of course, she could! And Lori is a princess. She’s just married to a dork. (Please. Don’t bring that up, and pretty please don’t get her started about the whole Meghan Markle and Prince Harry situation.)

Rest in peace, Queen Elizabeth II. You were dignity, class and the only real Queen we’ve ever known.