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Doing the school run this morning the radio played sad song after sad song, and my teenager daughter questioned why.
I explained that for the ten days of National Mourning the radio stations have to drop all adverts and competitions, and the sad songs reflect the mood of the nation.
But, "why?", she asked - "we didn't know her."
Pictured: Chris George captured images of the Queen such as this one above.
While the death of a 96-year old woman is terribly sad, albeit not unexpected, the death of this 96-year old woman will affect many people very deeply.
The death of Queen Elizabeth II set in motion a trail of events which have been in the planning for a long time and which all of us will remember for the rest of our lives.
Her death brings to an end the second Elizabethan age, an age which saw the rapid advance of technology, including the first man on the moon. There have been tragedies such as Aberfan which Her Majesty was said to be deeply moved by.
She lived through the war years, the swinging sixties, the Cool Britannia 90s, and into the second decade of the 21st century.
There will be a few people who can remember a time before she was Queen, but very few will remember a time when as Princess Elizabeth, with her younger sister Princess Margaret, she was not at the forefront of the national consciousness.
Pictured: Queen Elizabeth II and her sister, the Princess Margaret.
During my lifetime Queen Elizabeth II has not just been a constant, but she has always been like a grandmother to the nation.
I don't remember her as a young woman but I have grown up as a similar age to her eldest grandchildren. All of their faces have always been on the TV and in the newspapers. Their lives have been shared with ours whether we welcomed that or not.
The Spitting Image caricatures, the irreverent versions seen in comedy films, the dramatical interpretations of key moments in their lives, cartoon images, books and more, have all forged life long links which evoke memories of that one little old lady who has now died.
So, while some people may feel like they did not know her, many others will feel like they did.
Events today to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II
Bailiwick mourns Queen Elizabeth II...and what happens next
Tributes paid across the islands as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II dies
Lieutenant Governor pays tribute to Her Majesty The Queen
"HM offered an example to us all in her enduringly strong sense of duty and public service"
Chief Minister describes The Queen's "continuity, constancy and commitment"
