
I loved her.
Forget for a moment about her past, her parents, her ancestors, their ties with the Nazis, if she liked Jews, if she was antisemitic, or why she never visited Israel.
I just liked her, and yes an interview with her was on my wish list.
The Queen.
She seemed to be everything I wished I was, calm, never overreacting, diplomatic, cool and collected, always able to maintain order in a crazy family like the Royal family with all its drama and disasters.
She was a safe and reassuring figure, with her bag always on the side, her hat, her colored outfits, and her gloves.
We all thought she could never die.
I was sent to high school at the age of fifteen in London, I was an Italian girl from Milan who hardly knew what is a monarchy, in Italy the king had been kicked off his throne long before I was born.
In Italy, who gets the most respect are those who fight the mafia, like judges and magistrates.
The last State funeral I had seen in my country was the one for Judge Falcone, killed by the Mafia he had fought all his life trying to erase.
We all cried.
Then I was sent to London to a Chabad school called Lubavitch where we would recite a special blessing for the queen and I thought I had landed on the moon.
I remember one of the first times I went to one of my new classmate's houses for homework and there hanging in the room there was a portrait of Princess Diana.
"G-d bless our gracious queen" became part of my London years, we were all crazy about the Royal family, I was an avid reader of Hello magazine and Royalty magazine, I knew it all, every Friday we would get it on the corner shop for one pound and there was always either the queen or Princess Diana on the cover.
We imagined their incredible perfect life, with their tiaras, ball gowns, castles, and servants. We dreamt of their perfect weddings like in fairy tales and their perfect gorgeous children with their nannies in gorgeous crispy uniforms.
Everything seemed so perfect.
It was so not.
Their marriages were in shamble, some kids turned against their parents and their tiaras were sparkly on the outside but had seen many tears behind closed doors.
At Princess Diana's funeral, we all remember where we were like we all remember where we were on 9/11.
We all cried for the life of this beautiful woman who never found true love.
We all cried when we saw her two boys walking behind her at the funeral procession, trying not to cry.
They can't, they are princes.
Today I tried to explain to my Israeli kids what is a queen ( and no it is not Queen Ester), the Royal family, as they stared in shock at the screens watching the Queen's funeral.
"Tishachreru ota kvar", (let her go already) my seventeen-year-old says, how long is this funeral?
They just don't get it.
I lowered my head in respect, a queen is chosen by G-d, I said, even if she's not Jewish.
I stare at Prince William walking behind his father, now King Charles, and next to his brother Harry. So much love and hate in one shot.
Charles, in my eyes, doesn't have the charisma his mother had, William will make us dream again once he will be king with his gorgeous wife Kate who looks like she was born to be Queen
Meghan, the American actress, fits in this family like a fish on a bicycle. She will be soon forgotten.
The queen's other kids look old and spaced. "Mammy" was their whole world.
Camilla, I don't mind, I know you will hate me, but to me, she belongs there next to Charles like she always did, they loved each other from the very moment they met.
We watched history in the making today, excuse my frivolousness in the week before Rosh Hashana where I should be writing about G-d, but I can't help it.
G-d was very much felt today and how He rules the world.
Thank you Hashem for making me a Jewish queen, for us women we are all royalty, a light among all nations.
Today though I loved to see those Royals celebrate, unite, cry and pay respect like only the English know how to.
An incredible display of perfection in all its tiniest detail in such an imperfect family like the Royals.
Thank you Queen for your incredible 70 years of reign.
G-d bless the King.
King Charles the third.
Shana tova.
Hadassah Chen