Mixed Emotions....

Unless you have been hiding in a cave for the last couple of weeks, you probably know that Queen Elizabeth II has died. She was the longest reigning monarch in the UK and second longest in history surpassed only by Louis XIV who managed a couple of years more than the 70 the queen clocked up (however he was just 4 when he took to the throne and she was 25).

It's at time like these that we take stock of our society, how we do things and whether we should carry on as before.

Because she has been the monarch for such a long time we haven't seen this kind of change in most people's lifetime. So what are the British people feeling and what happens to the Royal family from here?

I can't speak on behalf of the great British public but recent events have caused me to assess how I feel about the House of Windsor (formally Saxe-Coburg-Gotha but changed to sound quintessentially English in 1917 due to anti German sentiment).

Of course it is a sad day when any family loses a loved one. And it's little consolation to say that she lived a long life. In my experience this is often harder to bear as they were such a constant you expected them to be around for ever.

But what role does the royal family play in the 21st century? This is the challenge for Charles and those that follow him.

Historically our Kings and Queens were the embodiment of leadership. They would literally lead us into battle. We were prepared to follow because we could see them taking exactly the same or an even bigger risk than us.

Even when this ceased to be the case there was a certain mystique about royalty. Marriages between royal households were common place and so even if our royal family carne from different countries - Victoria's Albert was German and even Elizabeth's Phillip was of Danish and Greek heritage- at least they had some form of royal pedigree.

But what about the next generation? Let's look at our next "Queen" - Camilla.

Her father had a military career and was wounded in the 2nd world war and retired with the honorary rank of Major. Later he became a wine merchant..

Less is known about her mother but it is believed that her family's wealth came from construction in the Mayfair and Belgravia areas of London. All very nice and middle class but not exactly blue blood.

When we look at the next generation of royally Kate Middleton's parents were an airline pilot and cabin crew. Not that there is anything wrong with either of those jobs but now we are being asked to curtsy and doff our caps to this Queen in waiting.

So how exactly does it work? Can anyone be plucked from the common masses and elevated to Royal status and all the privileges that come with it.

Many will argue that alongside the benefits come duties and responsibilities.

Others will counter that the perks far outweigh the downsides.

Is the monarchy an out dated concept? Tourism is often quoted as a reason to maintain the status quo.?France hasn't had a royal family for over 200 years and yet over 10 million people per year visit the Palace of Versailles as opposed to just over half a million who pay to go into Buckingham palace.

Technically every law and act of parliament is sanctioned by the reigning monarch, but in reality it is just a rubber stamping exercise.

It is an unwritten rule that the King on Queen will not comment on political issues - something that could well be a challenge for Charles as he has had a habit of speaking out on issues considered by politicians to be inappropriate.

The Queen was the last of a certain type of monarch. Things have certainly changed in her lifetime. In fact she only became queen because her uncle wasn't allowed to remain on the throne and marry a divorced woman -something her eldest son has done.

Whilst most commentators are extolling the virtues of her time in service, there were several events that damaged her popularity.

Controversially she took a long time to come out and look at the tributes to Princess Diana after her tragic death. The common consensus is that she only did so under intense pressure from the prime minister of the day -Tony Blair - someone who was acutely aware of the importance of optics and public opinion.

Much more recently people were less than impressed with her defense and ultimate financial assistance given to Prince Andrew over alleged under age sex offenses.

Today the country mourns a much loved figure head. The media has gone into over drive to imply we have no other option but to seamlessly hand oven the reigns to her eldest son.

But is that really the case? Are we looking at an outdated concept - maintaining wealth and privilege amongst the few while so many are struggling to get by on a daily basis.

Who can say. Maybe it will be down to God to save the King!