Feeling the Queen's absence one year on - how Charles mourned, while stepping up as King

ok.co.uk:

Whenever a loved one passes away, "firsts" – such as birthdays, Christmas and other significant anniversaries – take on an acute resonance, triggering a multitude of emotions as thoughts turn to that friend or family member who’s no longer there.

In the initial 12 months following Queen Elizabeth’s death, it’s certain her family will have found many of those occasions hard to navigate.

What’s more, with the former monarch playing such a pivotal role in so many high-profile public events, the royals will have had more firsts to contend with than most.

In addition to personal milestones, they have also had to cope with appearing at – or, in King Charles’s case, leading – major events at which the late Queen was once a key presence, from Remembrance Sunday and the State Opening of Parliament to the more recent Trooping The Colour. “The Queen was such a big part of so many of the royal family’s lives – and of our lives – it’s impossible not to think back on these occasions,” says royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams. “We all have special memories and at different times of the year they take on a special resonance. “Because of who she was, she’d naturally be the dominant figure and in that sense, now she’s no longer there, of course there’s going to be a gap.” At this year’s Trooping The Colour on 17 June, Queen Elizabeth will have been very much in her family’s thoughts.