A couple of observations from the weekend around the passing of the Queen.

Piers Morgan came up with the best explanation of what she meant to the British.

Look it up, it's thoughtful, insightful, and moving.

That’s observation number one. In a world of vacuous comment, more people than not these past few days have come to the party with their thoughts in an eloquent and kind fashion. The energy and effort was put in to say more than you would have expected on other occasions.

Secondly, Morgan's words reinforce the Queen was more British than she was Commonwealth. Yes, she is mourned all over the world, but no more so than Britain. She was more the Queen of the United Kingdom than she was the Queen of anywhere else.

But her global standing is of note as well. The world is full of royal families and most of us don't care about any of them. But the queen elevated the British monarchy to its own unique status.

America loves royalty. But not for royalty’s sake, they love the British version of royalty. And they love it because it offers them, like it offers us, something better than us or our circumstances. It's above the politics of the day, the discourse of the day, and the discontent of the day. It's a stable, reassuring presence no matter what happens in the world.

Another observation though, FaceTime call from our youngest from school at lunch time. We ask whether she's been talking about the Queen.

"Not really. It's not really the topic of the day here." There's a pause. "I think most of us just thought she was an old lady and eventually she would die." Ah, the reassuring superficiality of the young

But my great joy in the monarchy, especially of late, is the dedication to service and duty.

• Royal correspondent amongst the crowds watching Queen Elizabeth's coffin down Royal Mile
• UK correspondent as Queen Elizabeth II's body arrives in Edinburgh

It almost sounds old fashioned saying that. In a post-Covid world where we have indulged ourselves to a ludicrous degree, for the monarch little changed.

Little changed as we moved to the country, invented quiet quitting, started the great resignation, and all wound up and bound up in our own wee world of upheaval and change.

I wonder how many times the Queen wanted to quietly quit?

But duty, service, and a promise made all those years ago overrode it all. They are wonderful, uplifting, life-affirming characteristics that are so sorely and sadly missing too often these days.

And you didn’t have to be a monarchist to admire that.