Today started off with the sad and unwelcome news that HRH The Duke of Edinburgh has passed away at Windsor Castle at the age of 99.

Prince Philip as he was also known was a larger-than-life figure who was a decorated veteran of the Royal Navy prior to marrying Princess Elizabeth who ascended to the throne much earlier than anyone had expected in 1952 and has been sovereign ever since.

His tireless devotion to his various causes and patronages until he was finally forced to retire from them in 2017 was the stuff of legend as was his ready wit and humourous turn of phrase which sometimes got him into a bit of hot water with the advent of the 24-hour news cycle.

But what people may not truly appreciate about someone who willingly gave up his own career and life to serve one step behind Queen Elizabeth II is just how much he was her rock and confidante and how much influence and power he wielded in the Royal Family behind the scenes.

The two of them were well-nigh inseparable and I’ll confess that I am genuinely concerned about the effects this will have on her and her ability to carry on with her own public duties which were as strenuous if not more so than his or many in the Royal Family who still attend to public affairs. Do keep in mind that she’s 95, though certainly she seems to be in far better health and stamina than many people half her age.

That she will stay on the throne until literally the day she dies is a foregone conclusion. She was raised in a time where tireless service and devotion to the duty to her people and the nation was considered the standard rather than the exception. And she’s made it very clear consistently through the years that she views her job as one for life, however long it may be.

But suddenly being deprived of the one person she could depend upon and confide in may be a shock too great to completely ignore even with her customary stoicism.

She’s managed to survive the various scandals through the years starting with Prince Charles’ infidelity and the Royal Family’s brutal miscalculation of the mood of the nation when Princess Diana was killed in that horrible accident in Paris in 1997. And we will soon see if her assertion that Prince Harry and Meghan are still really part of the family even though their stepping back from the royal duties and subsequent interview with Oprah Winfrey would have been seen as the ultimate betrayal of everything Her Majesty the Queen holds near and dear to her heart.

I have no doubt we will see her employ her customary stiff upper lip during the upcoming period of mourning and I’ve no doubt that the nation’s reaction to the death of Diana will still be fresh in her mind as she attends to the public aspects of Prince Philip’s funeral arrangements because like it as not, the public by and large do feel that the Royal Family is relevant to their lives (if a bit out of touch at times) and mourn the loss of a senior royal which I am sure she would prefer to be a more private period of reflection.

But it’s what comes after this period of mourning that truly concerns me. She really has no one else she can truly share the burden of her royal duties in the same way she did with Prince Philip. He was her confidante and sounding board and often was the wind that filled her sails to give her that extra motivation to carry on.

Prince Charles may well have benefited from her tutelage on the day-to-day aspects of how to be the sovereign but I know full well I’m not the only one who means “God Save the Queen” most fervently (and now even more so) with the hopes that he never ascends the Windsor throne.

There’s just too much baggage and history that comes with him, not the least being his infidelity to Diana that makes the idea of him being crowned King not only unpalatable but an outright repudiation of the sense of loyalty and dignity the Queen has brought to her throne every waking day of her life. Certainly he’s been dutiful and diligent in attending to his various causes and patronages but the sheer lack of judgment and moral character in maintaining a mistress that he later married is a complete deal breaker.

There are more than a few people who wouldn’t mind seeing Charles stand aside in favour of William ascending the throne instead when that dreaded day comes that Buck House posts a very similarly worded statement to the palace gates…only this time for the Queen herself.

Unfortunately, Charles’ ego will not allow himself to even consider such a step and Camilla Parker-Bowles’ ambitions to being named Princess Consort most certainly will not allow him to do so. He’s been waiting to be King for so many decades (in fact, longer than any previous Prince of Wales!) that he can’t imagine that there is a significant population that will never forgive him his ill-treatment of the much beloved Diana.

Prince William carries none of that baggage, he’s got a good head on his shoulders, and Kate Middleton is eminently suitable as the partner of the sovereign. They have more than enough children to continue the dynasty and I’m sure that when it is their time to ascend the throne that they will do well have been trained up to do the job properly.

Dear God, please save the Queen and long may she continue to reign because the heir presumptive is a right twit who would do the Windsor throne a great disservice. And I know I’m not the only one who thinks Charles would do well to allow William to ascend the throne in his place.

But for today, I do wish Her Majesty the Queen will find comfort and solace that her beloved companion of so many years is in a better place free of the ailments that have afflicted him so and that she may find some measure of peace in the days to come.

God save the Queen!