"The King is dead, long live The King," is the traditional proclamation when a monarch dies and another immediately ascends to the throne, first heard in 1461, on the death of
Charles VII of France. The seemingly contradictory phrase simultaneously announces the death of the previous monarch and assures the public of continuity by saluting the new monarch. Last week we heard, "The Queen is dead, long live The King," as the seventy year regin of Elizabeth II ended. While there are countless books about the British Monarchy, I was surprised to learn only 36 were about Her Majesty herself, and one she wrote a forward to when she was 90! As writers, we know that anyone and anything can be the subject of our stories. So keep writing, your imagination is a gift. Use it well. The Queen would expect no less.
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