During her entire record-breaking 70+-year reign , Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II proved to her subjects (over and over) that she was, to her core, a truly decent and caring person – though  misunderstood at times , due in part to her unflappable nature and stiff upper lip, no matter the storm that raged around her.  Few would argue, however, that she so perfectly represented the first two lines of the Royal Anthem, “Our gracious Queen” – so much so, in fact, that many people believe that the Anthem was written for or about her:

“God save our gracious Queen,
Long live our noble Queen!

I recently came across the following story, and I wanted to share it right away,, as we mourn the passing of our beloved Monarch .  There’s a reason why over 4 billion people watched some portion of her funeral service on TV this month .  It wasn’t just because she was my country of Canada’s Head of State.  It wasn’t just because she was the longest reigning monarch in British history. 

No, first and foremost, nearly 60% of the world’s population paused to pay respects on the day of her funeral – because we truly loved her for who she was.

John and Frances Canning discovered that Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip would be in Manchester on the very same day as their wedding, March 23, 2012, and half-jokingly sent her an invitation a few weeks earlier on a whim.  They had no expectation of her actually appearing – but later stated that, if nothing else, they would forever be able to say that the Queen was an officially invited guest.

What they didn’t anticipate, however, was that Her Majesty would actually attend as well!

As they planned and then held their wedding ceremony in Manchester Town Hall that day, they were completely unaware that Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh were in attendance at a lunch with 200 local volunteers in an adjacent room of the same building.

The Queen asked organizers of her luncheon event if they wouldn’t mind her “quickly popping in” to congratulate the bride and groom.  The Town Hall staff later told media that she had wanted to ensure that no one on her staff tipped off the wedding couple about her visit.  She later quipped, with a twinkle in her eye, that “I was, after all, invited to attend”.

Having just completed their wedding ceremony, the couple immediately began their wedding reception in the same room, sharing a few thank you acknowledgements to the handful of invited guests in attendance.  Suddenly, with no warning, the door to the hall opened, and a diminutive bundle, decked out in the prettiest pink (with the ever-present purse over her arm, of course), suddenly burst into the room, with Prince Philip in tow. 

The Cannings could hardly believe their eyes.