With the death of Queen Elizabeth II, thus ended the reign of the longest reigning monarch of the modern era. For 70 years, we have only known one queen and her name was Elizabeth. She was not only the queen, but she was also a mother, a grandmother, and a great-grandmother. I am not a subject of Her Majesty, but I respect and want to honor her service to her country and the world. When she was only 21 years old, she pledged, “I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.” She lived up to that pledge until the day she died.

As a fantasy author, monarchs are a part of my genre. I have loved the idea of a monarch since I first read the stories of King Arthur and Camelot, something I based my first novel, Forever Avalon, around. Britain and the monarchy are the stuff of legends, and Elizabeth II was no exception. She led Great Britain and the commonwealth by example in pursuit of nothing but the best for her people. She served in World War II at the tender age of 18 in the Auxiliary Territorial Service as a driver and a mechanic. Can you imagine, the future Queen of England driving an ambulance and performing tune ups on vehicles?

The world was a different place when she became queen. Women did not lead in many roles in our society in the 1950s and yet, she did it with steadfast determination. That’s the kind of inspiration a writer like me looks for in creating monarchs for my fantasy stories. Throughout my life, I have been surrounded by strong women, whether in my family or my military service, and Queen Elizabeth was a part of that. You can’t fake that kind of character when writing, you have to see it and experience it to believe it.

So now, we have a king, King Charles III. He has enormous shoes to fill to live up to the legacy his mother laid out for him, but at the same time, he had her as the best teacher possible. I hope and pray he will continue the great service of her life. These are trying times and leadership is desperately needed. Even as a writer, that continued inspiration is needed. In all the pomp and circumstance surrounding the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the eventual coronation of King Charles III, it fuels the fantasy stories within me. We live in an age where kings and queens, princes and princesses, and other royal titles are mostly found in storybooks.

Queen Elizabeth II was the true representation of what it meant to be a monarch. May she rest in peace. Thank you, ma’am, for your service to us all. God bless the Queen. God save the King.

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Mark Piggott is an award-winning independent author of several fantasy/steampunk novels and short stories. A 23-year U.S. Navy veteran, his stories will take you from the shores of eternal Avalon to a dystopian steampunk future and other worlds.

The Forever Avalon fantasy book series—including Forever Avalon, The Dark Tides, and The Outlander War—is available online at Amazon and other booksellers. His fantasy steampunk novel, The Last Magus: A Clockwork Heart, is available through Lulu and other booksellers.

Get ready for The River of Souls fantasy novella from Curious Corvid Publishing. Coming in 2023 from Curious Corvid—the steampunk historical fiction, Corsair and the Sky Pirates, and The Last Magus: Dragonfire and Steel. Stay tuned for more new fantastic stories from the imagination of Mark Piggott.