‘Constant reassuring presence’: Northampton businesses react to death of beloved Queen Elizabeth II

This morning (September 9), Chronicle & Echo visited businesses in Northampton Town Centre to find out how they feel following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II yesterday (September 8).

One thing is clear, and that is businesses are shocked and devastated by the loss of The Queen, and hope the new King Charles III can deliver and make his mother proud.

Business owners are looking back fondly on their early memories of The Queen, particularly her Silver Jubilee in 1977 and, more recently, the advert she featured in with Paddington Bear.

Jonathan Williams, managing director of Montague Jeffrey:

“It’s very sad. Queen Elizabeth II was always a constant in our lives, since I was born, and has always been there for the country.

“Inevitably, with her age, this sad day was unfortunately going to arrive eventually.

“There were a couple of occasions she visited Northampton and usually the Guildhall opposite offered us an opportunity to see the ceremonies that came with The Queen visiting firsthand.”

Yvette Prior, manager at Age UK Northamptonshire:

“It’s a loss for the nation. Everyone is going to be upset, even if they aren’t a royalist. She’s still someone’s mum and grandmother, and people will associate The Queen with their own grandparents.

“We’re changing the window displays to ensure they are appropriate and in line with the subdued nature of the nation.

“The Queen’s advert with Paddington and when she landed at the Olympics in a helicopter stand out to me as the most memorable moments.

“There will be a lot of changes with the new King Charles and we’ll have to get used to them.”

Elliott Jones, of Tony Jones Florist:

“The Queen was a constant figure in our lives. I loved seeing her at the races, and this has come as a shock.

“It’s such a shame and we don’t know what to do with ourselves. No doubt we will know when the funeral is in due course.

“I have a certain amount of flowers on standing order, but I’ve raised the number to ensure we have enough flowers – when Lady Diana died, there was a massive shortage of flowers she liked and we want to get ahead of it.”

Stephen Partington, owner of Dychurch Lifestyle:

“The Queen has always been in our lives, since I was a little boy and I remember the Silver Jubilee well.

“It came as a big shock. Everything’s going to change and I’m also looking forward to the future with our new King Charles – I think it’ll be a good one.

“There was a lot going on yesterday and didn’t set in until the early evening when I watched the television footage of her as a young child and throughout her life.

“It made me emotional, but I look forward to the next chapter with King Charles.”

Liz Cox, owner of The Eccentric Englishman:

“It was such a shock. We saw pictures of Her Majesty with Liz Truss earlier in the week and she looked very frail, but smiling and happy.

“When we got the news that the Royals were rushing to Balmoral, you could tell it wasn’t good news.

“She’s been there my whole life. My grandparents took me to Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace, and St Paul’s Cathedral.

“It feels like we’ve woken up this morning and times have changed – it’s a huge loss for us.

“My fondest memory was when I was at lower school and we watched Her Majesty open the Express Lift Tower.

“When the country’s in crisis, she’s always been there with her speeches – and Christmas Day when she addresses the nation. It’s all going to change, and we’ll miss her on days when we need reassurance.

“Hopefully King Charles will do a good job – he’s had many years of training for it and will hopefully step up.

“We’ll be closing on the day of the funeral when it’s announced, and postponing our first birthday celebrations until September 24.”

Sarah Vladi, from Mooch:

“I was shocked and surprised as I had only just heard she was unwell ahead of her passing.

“It’s sad, but she had a nice, long and happy life. Her Majesty’s passing being so close to her husband dying was not unexpected.

“The most memorable moment during her reign, for me, was being a child during the Silver Jubilee and the street parties that took place to celebrate.”

Craig Ryan, owner of All Saints Bistro:

“The Queen is all we’ve ever known – unless you’re over 80 years old.

“When we found out we were in pieces. We don’t know what’s going to happen and how things are going to work – at the moment, we’re all going with the flow.

“Good luck to King Charles, and hopefully he does as good of a job as his mum did.”

Bing Wan, owner of Matchbox Cafe:

“The Queen meant a lot to me throughout my upbringing, and all the memories of her celebrations and events – particularly during the eighties.

“I was absolutely saddened by her death as she’s the world’s biggest grandmother to all of us.

“Who knows how King Charles will perform on the throne – we’ll wait and see how he reunites the country again.”

Stuart O’Grady, managing director of Michael Jones Jeweller:

“The passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has deeply touched every member of the team here at Michael Jones Jeweller.

“She was a constant reassuring presence in an ever-changing world.

“In this defining moment in history, we collectively reflect on her lifetime of unfaltering dedication to service, which will continue to inspire many.

“Our thoughts are with the Royal Family at this time.”

A lot of Northampton businesses have not planned to do anything to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s passing as of yet, and are waiting before making any decisions.