When Trim Hahn of Peterborough was child, Queen Elizabeth II came to her church in London. She gave the queen a posy.
“I had to learn to curtsy,” she said.
And on Christmas Day, everyone in her family had to stand at attention during the queen’s annual Christmas speech, and no one was allowed to open presents until the speech was over.
It made for a long wait for gifts, as the speech was at 3 p.m.
“That’s just what families did,” Hahn said. They listened to the queen’s speech on Christmas Day.”
Hahn, 68, has lived in America for 48 years, but arrived in London for a visit Thursday, the day the queen died at age 96 after spending 70 years as the British monarch. With no television, she actually learned about the queen’s condition after getting a text from a friend in America.
Since the queen’s death, Hahn said tributes have gone on display all over London.
“It’s beautiful. It’s very touching,” she said. “People are very moved. It’s really quite something. Ordinary people are incredibly moved and saddened. She was very beloved. She touched a lot of lives and she engaged with a lot of people.”
Hahn said that even a good friend who was somewhat anti-monarchist was “blown away” after being invited to one of the queen’s garden parties to be honored for educational work.
“They were floored,” she said. “They were overwhelmed by it, and don’t regret having gone at all.”
According to Hahn, every newspaper has had huge sections on the queen’s death. In addition, broadcasters, newspapers, radio stations and social media platforms such as Snapchat and Twitter all suspended at least some advertising immediately she died.
Hahn said she wondered if King Charles III would continue his mother’s work in modernizing the monarchy, and Prince William “takes it all the way” when he eventually becomes king.
“Then I thought to myself that they’ll never get rid of the pomp and circumstance,” she said, because of the amount of tourist money it brings in. “I’m sure it will unfold over time.”
The queen’s funeral will be Sept. 19, and while Hahn will be in the city through that date, she doesn’t plan on going into Central London.
“It’s going to be thick with people,” she said. “People will be camping for days a head of time so they’ll be able to see.”
The future king in Australia
Robert Wills of Temple grew up as one of Queen Elizabeth II’s subjects, but in Australia.
“I can still remember a picture of her in our house,” he said.
Wills, 69, was born in Melbourne, and has lived in the United States since 1980, when he came to study at Dartmouth. He has three cousins living in England, and remembers his aunt, who lived in Oxford, getting a telegram from the queen upon turning 100.
“I was there when that happened, and it was a wonderful event,” he said.
Wills said the queen’s death was a very sad day.
“She will be missed, and we hope and pray for Prince Charles to be an effective and well-loved king,” he said.
As a 17-year-old in 1966, the now-King Charles III attended school for two terms at the Timbertop campus of Geelong Grammar School. On the school’s website, Timbertop is described as being “nestled in a secluded valley in the foothills of the Victorian Alps, three hours’ drive from Melbourne” and providing “a unique educational experience of indoor and outdoor learning, presenting new challenges to young people and helping them discover their best within.”
“He had a presence in Australia, and he learned things like bush skills,” Wills said. “I imagine it has a very special place in his heart.”