Coping with unexpected feelings

The Queen's death has triggered a range of emotions, which are completely normal and understandable.

Your colleagues, patients, friends and family may be experiencing unexpected emotional feelings and so could you. As such, this is a time for empathy and understanding.  

Many people will experience a deep sense of loss even if they have never met the Queen. Most of us have lived our entire lives with The Queen as a steady presence in our society.

Grief encounter, an organisation which supports young people through loss, say:

It is completely normal to feel grief when an inspirational figurehead dies, especially if it is someone who has been a constant in your life, such as The Queen

The passing of someone so familiar, along with the public show of grief, may also trigger suppressed feelings of grief for your own lost loved ones, especially mothers or grandmothers. The release of such suppressed emotion can be intense.

In addition, for some people of Black or Asian heritage, the focus on the institution of the British monarchy, and the recent death of Chris Kaba, may trigger negative memories of colonial rule or racial trauma.

For anyone dealing with the release of such feelings, help and advice is available.

Grief Encounter provide advice on managing grief following the Queen’s death on their website: How you may be feeling after the death of the Queen - Grief Encounter

And mental health charity MIND provide information, advice and signpost to support services on both bereavement and racial trauma.