More than half a century ago I stood by the Kingsway to catch my first glimpse of the Queen.
Today, I was there with thousands of fellow Dundonians, to witness the late monarch make her final journey through the city.
In 1969 she was on her way to visit the National Cash Register factory and I was standing next to a field of horses and donkeys.
Today, of course, circumstances were entirely different but what remained the same was the level of affection shown towards the woman who was at the centre of national life for 70 years.
The route along Kingsway was one she had travelled often. As Queen she was a regular visitor to Dundee, Angus, Fife and Perth and Kinross.
Many of these visits were official but she also spent private time in the area.
We know that because her relative, Mary, the Dowager Countess of Strathmore, told us about the family visits to Glamis Castle, near Forfar.
Back in 1969 my perspective was that of a child. As I stood there with my brothers, mother, aunt and cousins, the crowd towered above me.
Today I saw many children who will hold memories of today for as long as I have, maybe even into the next century.
I spoke to Sally and David Carus of Broughty Ferry who brought along grandsons, Finlay, 9, and Sam, 12.
Sally said: “We felt it an important moment in history for our grandchildren to witness.
“We won’t see another event like this but they might. We came because we wanted to celebrate the life of the Queen and her life of service.
“We arrived about 12.30pm and a householder (Elaine Smith of Elgin Gardens) kindly brought out seats for us.”
Gratitude
The mood in Dundee today was one of gratitude rather than grief. Speaking to people in the crowd, there was a sense that the Queen had not wasted a moment.
She had completed a lifetime of duty and this was a final chance to show their appreciation and they did so with respectful applause.
It was a moment of unity, quite different from the days following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
I was at Balmoral on the morning of Diana’s death in 1997 and watched the Queen, Prince William and Harry leave the castle to attend Crathie Kirk and a service conducted by Bob Sloan, previously minister at North Church, Perth.
The shock among the crowds who had gathered since early that morning could be felt.
Respect
Today, however, the mood was relaxed as people patiently waited for the opportunity to pay their respects to the late monarch who had been a constant in the lives of almost everyone alive in this country.
Among those waiting by the Kingsway were sisters Maureen Phillips, of Dundee, and Irene Knight of Broughty Ferry.
They explained that as former pupils of Downfield Primary School, they remembered standing by the Kingsway to witness royal visits.
“It seemed appropriate to return today to pay our final respects,” said Maureen.
The Queen had witnessed dramatic changes in Dundee over the course of her lifetime.
When she travelled down the Kingsway in 1969 it was still a city of jute and heavy industry, smoke stacks and 19th century industrial architecture and even more ancient closes and wynds.
She visited a jute business but then onto NCR, one of the new manufacturing concerns that located in the city after the Second World War, bringing with it high-quality jobs.
That day she also visited one of the many new multi-storey blocks which were springing up in Dundee to replace crumbling, outdated tenements with limited sanitation.
She dropped into Dudhope Court, a multi off Lochee Road to view the new standard of housing, called in on the Robbie family and could be seen waving from a balcony.
Today, the Queen made her final journey through Dundee in a matter of minutes but once, again she left a legacy in the hearts and minds of those who lined the route.
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