It is a unique moment in history in the U.K. Our wonderful Queen for over 70 years has sadly passed away, and the country is united in our grief for her family, and at her passing. It is a difficult time for everyone, with grief affecting the young and the old in many different, and personal ways. As always at KiddyCharts, we keep going through grief. We did so even when my own father died. Personally, I love to keep busy when I am sad. My own personal view is that the Queen kept going, even in the most difficult of circumstances, so that’s what we are choosing to do, even though her loss is heart-breaking for the country and her family. With this in mind, we have put together some Memories of the Queen worksheets designed to help children, and even adults, to work through their feelings about the Queen, and to also remember some of the significant events in her life with fondness.
At times of grief, memories of our loved ones can be painful, as well as cathartic. The Queen was a constant, with the world now feeling a less happy, and stable without her presence somehow.
Hopefully thinking about some of the memories of the Queen will make the coming weeks and months a little easier to bear.
What have we included within the Memories of the Queen worksheets?
We know it will be hard for schools to remember the Queen, and to help children to process what is going on with the world, so hopefully these sheets will provide some activities to do, both at school and at home as well. They will make a sad, but poignant memory book in years to come too. They might want to express themselves in lots of different ways, perhaps even through poetry. Here is a poem about butterflies, for example, that expresses loss in a unique way.
We have focused on a number of different ideas within the workbook, both to help kids with their feelings, and to get them thinking about who the Queen was, and what she meant to them personally. We have also encouraged empathy too, by asking children to think a little about how King Charles III will be feeling at the moment too.
The worksheets consist of 8 pages:
- Cover page, in memoriam,
- The Queen: My Memories, which covers a number of different questions about the child’s memories of the queen including:
- What did the Queen mean to me?
- What do I admire about the Queen?
- My funniest memory of the Queen
- My saddest memory of the Queen
- What would I have said to the Queen if I had met her? Perhaps thinking about what our children might have asked her? Or whether there is something they would like to have told her?
- The Queen: My Feelings, when children can talk about anything they want around the Queen’s death as it really helps to get it out. This can also be a place to start discussion about any worries that children have about death in general, as the death of someone in the public eye, can trigger feelings in our children about the death’s of those around them, both worry about it happening, and the memories of someone they have lost,
- The Queen: Quiz, with a few memories of the Queen life including:
- When was the Queen’s coronation? (2nd June, 1953)
- What are the names of the Queen’s children? (Charles, Anne, Andrew and Edward)
- When did Prince Philip and the Queen marry? (20th November, 1947)
- How many Corgis did the Queen have? (Over 30 throughout her life, and two in the household at her passing)
- Which famous actor did the Queen appear with at the Olympic Opening ceremony? (Daniel Craig), and
- What’s your favourite thing about the Queen? (No write of wrong answer here, mine was her sense of humour!).
- The Queen: My Quiz, where children can make their own quiz if they want to to help remember some of the most important times in the Queen’s life,
- The Queen: My photo tribute, with children being invited to draw their own picture of the Queen in tribute, and finally
- The Queen: Kind Charles III, with a single page to encourage a little empathy about how Kind Charles must be feeling without his mum around anymore, even though he has a big job to do to continue with her lifetime of service promise.
Here are the first two sheets in the workbook for you:
We hope that these start the conversation with your children about both bereavement and the Queen, helping them work through their feelings about what is happening more easily:
Talking about how we feel after death is so important, so we have a worksheet on this, alongside some ideas for remembering big moments in the Queen’s life too:
Alongside the quiz, why not encourage children to draw their own images of memories of the Queen in tribute too?
Finally, encouraging empathy in kids is incredibly important to do from an early age, so lets take a little time in the worksheets to imagine how King Charles III is feeling through all of this. Sad, and overwhelmed one might imagine, and possibly that he has a great burden to bare trying to carry on in his Mother’s footsteps. There are no bigger shoes to fill than the Queen’s – which might be very daunting for him.
We do hope that these Queen worksheets help to give you ideas for memories of the Queen, and are a place to start the conversation with your kids about her death. If there is anything you would like to let us know, do contact us as well. We are always happy to hear from readers.
To download these for free, just click on the button below:
Do check out some of the other resources that we have on the site, particularly about loss:
Posts about bereavement and loss
Here are some other posts on KiddyCharts about loss and bereavement that also might be helpful for you.
Winston's Wish: Comprehensive guide on how to help kids with grief (includes checklist)
A guide on grief from the amazing charity Winston's Wish.
How to help your kids cope with loss
12 tips on how to help children with loss.
Butterflies in the breeze: A poem about loss
A poem about loss that I wrote after the death of my own Father in 2020.
There are other ideas off the site as well:
Other posts on bereavement
Here are more posts covering bereavement from other sites outside KiddyCharts.
How To Prepare Your Children For Loss
This is a really original article; helping your children prepare for loss, so that when it does happen, they are better able to cope with it.
The Memory Tree by Britta Teckentrup
A book to help kids to cope with grief from Britta Teckentrup; worth a look to add additional resources if you need them.
Helpful Children's Picture Books About Grief and Death
Some picture books that help children understand and process grief.
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Thanks, as always, for coming to see us.
Take care,
Helen
Helen
Helen is a mum to two, social media consultant, and website editor; and this site is (we think) the only Social Enterprise parenting magazine!Since giving up being a business analyst when juggling travel, work and kids proved too complicated, she founded KiddyCharts so she could be with her kids, and use those grey cells at the same time.KiddyCharts has reach of over 1.1million across social and the site. The blog works with big family brands (including travel) to help promote their services, as well as offering free resources to parents of kids under 10.It gives 51%+ profits to Reverence for Life, who fund a number of important initiatives in Africa, including bringing running water and basic equipment to a school in Tanzania.Helen has worked as a digital marketing consultant (IDM qualified) with various organisations, including Channel Mum, Truprint, Talk to Mums, and Micro Scooters. She loves to be creative in the brand campaigns she works on.Get in touch TODAY!