Dear Shipmates,

When Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, our Patron, died on 8th September I think we were all shocked. It was not just that 48 hours beforehand she had been receiving the new Prime Minister, but it was also the shock of the strength of our collective national feeling of loss. I can only speak for myself, but my reaction was one of shock, sadness and loss.
Although I had met The Queen more than most - she in many ways book-ended my career, taking my passing out parade at Dartmouth and I had a private lunch with her the year I retired, with a couple of other events in between - I could not claim to know Her Majesty. But as for all of us, she had been the constant, reassuring presence in our lives. She embodied so many of the qualities we like to think are the backbone of our national culture: service; selflessness; modesty; understated; an even, calm presence; and a rallying figure we could all rely on in good times and bad.
The extraordinary 11 days of mourning seemed to show that we still respected and in many ways yearned for the qualities she demonstrated every day for 70 years. Like you I followed the period of mourning closely and think as a country we rediscovered things about our collective selves that we thought had slipped away. The number of people who wanted to pay their respects and the bonding of strangers queuing together showed that the silent majority is still not as the shrill voices in society would have you believe.
I was also struck that what Her Majesty stood for was everything we do in the RNA: service, camaraderie, concern for others, and a belief in society; our Patron and our Association had so much in common. Consequently, I was deeply honoured and privileged to represent you all at the State Funeral. It was a wonderful and very moving service and I will never forget the fading piper that ended the Service. I missed the procession live, but felt very proud to see our National Standard Bearer performing immaculately on the Global Stage; our Standard played a very prominent role; BZ Steve Champion, you certainly lived up to your name.
Finally, I would like to reassure you that Bill Oliphant and I have already started the process of securing our new Patron. We are shooting high, God Save The King.