Queen Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor II

The British Poet Laureate pays homage to "a promise made and kept for life" Evening will come, however determined the late afternoon,Limes and oaks in their last green flush, pearled in September mist.I have conjured a lily to light these hours, a token of thanks,Zones and auras of soft glare framing the brilliant globes.A promise made and kept for life - that was your gift -Because of which, here is a gift in return, glovewort to some,Each shining bonnet guarded by stern lance-like leaves.The country loaded its whole self into your slender hands,Hands that can rest, now, relieved of a century's weight. Evening has come. Rain on the black lochs and dark Munros.Lily of the Valley, a namesake almost, a favourite flowerInterlaced with your famous bouquets, the restrainedZeal and forceful grace of its lanterns, each inflorescenceA silent bell disguising a singular voice. A blurred new dayBreaks uncrowned on remote peaks and public parks, andEverything turns on these luminous petals and deep roots,This lily that thrives between spire and tree, whose brightnessHolds and glows beyond the life and border of its bloom. Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during her life and served as monarch of 15 of them at the time of her death.