My grandfather, Russell Fisher. A career Marine who served in WWII.

Yes, I watched the Royal wedding. Not only did I watch that one, but by staying up the whole night before Prince Harry wed, I was able to watch three other royal weddings as a prelude. Don’t judge me. I’m a history fan. Though the prince will never be king, assuming an asteroid doesn’t come down and take out the five people in line before him, I still like to get a glimpse of those people who personify the distant past. Specifically, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. I greatly admire both the Queen and her husband, but seeing them this time was a little different for me.

Intellectually, I understand that the Queen is 92 years old and the prince is 96, but in my heart, he is still the swashbuckling naval officer and she is still the young woman who so valiantly served her country in war. Though only a princess at the time, she enlisted in the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) when she was 18 even though she was heir to the throne. As a result, she is also the only head of state in the world who served in World War II. We see that same grit in her grandsons, both veterans themselves.

And yet, upon seeing the obvious fragility of both queen and prince, I was struck by the heartbreaking realization that we will soon be reaching the end of an era. It was only 7 years ago that we said goodbye to the last surviving WWI veteran. Now, it appears that all too soon, we will losing our WWII veterans as well.

P.S. for a couple of really awesome pics of the Queen in service, click here.