The afternoon of Thursday, September 8 suddenly feels like a very long time ago. 

As with any Thursday afternoon in the Scottish Parliament, I was alongside my colleagues in First Minister’s Questions, focussed on the days and weeks ahead in Parliament. But when news came through from Balmoral that Her late Majesty had been taken ill, followed hours later by the devastating news that she had passed away, everything changed.

For so many of us, this news came as a more profound shock than we ever could have expected - such is the constant presence Her late Majesty maintained in our lives throughout her 70-year reign. While most of us never had the opportunity to know her personally or even to meet her, it nevertheless feels as though, on some level, we all knew her.

Ever since the tragic news of her passing was announced, there have been so many touching tributes, and I have been lucky enough to witness a number of these myself in-person.

I joined thousands of my fellow Scots in lining the Royal Mile to pay our respects as the procession carried her coffin to St Giles’ Cathedral. This was followed by a touching tribute in the Scottish Parliament itself, where His Majesty King Charles III and the Queen Consort were in attendance for a motion of condolence.

I was also honoured to be able to sign a Book of Condolence, both in the Scottish Parliament and in Dumbarton, before being invited to pay my respects alongside my MSP colleagues as Her late Majesty lay in state in Westminster Hall.

One reason why she was so widely respected was that her outreach was so universal. Over her 70-year reign, Queen Elizabeth II engaged with communities in every corner of the country, including here in the west of Scotland.

Her late Majesty first visited Dumbarton in the 1950s, alongside Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. At the time she was the first monarch to visit the area since Queen Victoria, but she soon followed this up with a visit in 1965 where she visited Dumbarton Common and the Vale of Leven Hospital – and cruised Loch Lomond on board the Maid of the Loch.

The efforts she made to connect with those from all corners of the globe are one of the biggest reasons why people from across our United Kingdom have mourned her passing so deeply. 

Queen Elizabeth II was not only our leader and Queen, but was a mother to our United Kingdom and Commonwealth. May she rest in peace.

God Save The King.