At around 6.30am Friday morning (Samoa Time) the United Kingdom’s Royal Family announced the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, the head of the realm and the Commonwealth.

The passing of Britain’s longest serving monarch who ruled for 70 years also marked the change of guard, with her 73-year-old son King Charles III ascending to the throne on Thursday and became the Head of State of 14 other realms including Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

The Queen’s eldest son, King Charles III who ascended the throne upon his mother’s passing, also released an official statement following her death. 

"The death of my beloved Mother, Her Majesty The Queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family," he said.

"We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished Sovereign and a much-loved Mother. I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world.

"During this period of mourning and change, my family and I will be comforted and sustained by our knowledge of the respect and deep affection in which The Queen was so widely held.”

The British High Commissioner to Samoa, David Ward, told the Samoa Observer in an interview on Friday that the sudden death of The Queen is a sad occasion for the Royal Family, the United Kingdom and many people around the world.

"Today [Friday] is a day of great sadness for the people of the United Kingdom, of the Commonwealth and for people all around the world,” the High Commissioner said. 

“The passing of The Queen after a reign of 70 years and the life of 96 years is a moment of loss of an inspirational leader, transition and reflection. 

“Our thoughts and our prayers are firstly with her family, those closest to her. Millions of people around the world will have their own memories of the Queen.”

According to Mr. Ward, the Queen visited over 100 countries including Samoa during her seven decades reign and many Samoans have memories of that visit.

"She visited over 100 countries around the world including Samoa which she visited with the late Prince Phillip in 1977. 

“Many Samoans have spoken to me of their memories of that visit and before I arrived here, she herself told me of her fond memories of her visit to Samoa.”

The testimony of our former High Commissioner to Britain and New Zealand, Feesago George Fepulea'i, will give you a sense of appreciation of the steadfastness and duty that The Queen held and felt not only for her kingdom but the Commonwealth of nations, including Samoa.

Feesago gave a speech in March 1981 to commemorate the Commonwealth Day, while wearing his cap as Samoa’s High Commissioner to New Zealand at that time, which we believe encapsulates all that The Queen stood for during her reign as the Queen of the United Kingdom and the realms of the Commonwealth.

"The Queen as Head of the Commonwealth, symbolises the unity of the Commonwealth, and all that is good and beautiful in its highest aspirations and values,” Feesago said at that time.

“Through her tremendous sense of and devotion to duty, and her exemplary personal and family life, her graciousness and decency, and her obviously being attuned to the ever changing Commonwealth, she has endeared herself to all within and without this community of nations." 

We could not agree more – in fact the values she stood for and promoted of graciousness and decency and dedication to duty that promote human wellbeing and prosperity – are values that The Queen now leaves behind for us in the Commonwealth to take up and move with as part of her legacy.

Mr. Ward’s remarks that the Queen remembers her visit to Samoa in 1977 and she fondly recalled her experiences when she was in Apia with her late husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, speaks volumes of how knowledgeable she was of the different Commonwealth countries she visited during her 70-year reign and the impressions that those nations and their people made on her.

Having now witnessed the closing of one chapter through the death of The Queen, which a lot of our golden generation in Samoa will have a connection to, and the ascension to the throne of her son King Charles III we are indeed witnesses to history in the making in terms of the change of guard.

With the passing of The Queen on Friday, questions remain on whether King Charles III will live up to the expectations and the values that his mother stood for during her 70-year reign.

And while the future remains unknown, we will remember The Queen for her life of service and devotion to the Commonwealth of nations, and her acknowledgement of the journeys that small nations like ours take amid so much uncertainty and turbulent times.

We offer our sincere condolences to the Royal Family and to the people of the United Kingdom.