National mourning in England until the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II who left us this Thursday at the age of 96. Flags at half mast, sporting and cultural events canceled. A moment of meditation and remembrance that resonates with us, in the hearts and voices of the British in Nord-Franche-Comté.
What she has done for the country is enormous, she has achieved a flawless result,” says John Phillips, English teacher at UTBM.
“We are not driving on the same side of the road, but we are going in the same direction.” This is the quote from Elizabeth II that Myriam Thibon, president of the Friends of Stafford association, a town near Manchester twinned with Belfort, remembers. She remembers seeing her riding a horse in 1969 during a troop review she was attending. “I was blown away by the ceremony”she recalls.
Michael Lewis, a former soldier in the British Army and now a mediator in the neighborhoods of Pays de Montbéliard Agglomeration remembers the the day he met Queen Elizabeth II : “When I came back from Afghanistan, we were doing a military parade in front of Buckingham Palace, and I saw in front of me this lady who is everywhere, on our money, our passports. To see her in person, it was a big moment”.
For me it was this 17-year-old girl who didn’t want to leave London during the Nazi bombings” – Michael Lewis, ex-British Army