A photograph of the late Queen Elizabeth II displayed in the window of a hatters shop on The Strand, London.

There are certain events in life that will always sear their way into our memories, whether big or small, good or bad. The Queen passing away was one of them.

Having just celebrated her Platinum Jubilee earlier in the year, my children learnt quite a lot of things about the Queen in school. And like many people who watched the Jubilee concert, they also liked the little sketch the Queen had performed with Paddington Bear.

It was a mixture of curiosity and, dare I say, apathy, when they heard about the Queen had passed away. They knew about the important role she took as Head of the Royal Family and the Head of State. At the same time, she won’t be the only UK monarch that they will now get to know or had meant anything significant in their lives.

On the other hand, I can recollect two occasions when I was keenly aware of the royal family in my life. One of them being picked to be the child to greet Princess Alexandra, the Queen’s cousin, and hand her a bouquet of flowers at a naming ceremony at the Barbican Centre. I remember feeling it was a slightly awkward encounter for myself, then a nine-year-old child at the time. Being whisked into an audience with a princess without fully understanding or learning about the formalities. I made my best attempt at a curtsey, shoved, or what seemed like a shove, the bouquet into Princess Alexandra’s hands. Nodded and smiled after being spoken to. Then, walking out into the cold of the winter night with my dad after the ceremony was over.

The other time was during the Hong Kong handover from British sovereignty to China in 1997. My dad and I had gone to Victoria Park, a short distance away from the HK Convention and Exhibition Centre, where the handover ceremony was taking place and we could watch on large screens along with the thousands of Hongkongers on that day. For me, it felt that a sad and solemn occasion was taking place that was also reflected on the faces of Charles, Prince of Wales (now King Charles III), and Chris Patten, the last Governor of Hong Kong. In that moment, it felt we, along with millions of people in Hong Kong and around the world, had witnessed the end of an era.

So, when the Queen’s death was announced it was like another era had come to an end. Another historic event that happened only occasionally, or significantly, as the Queen who reigned for seventy years.

We saw on television, along with everyone else, lots of people descending into London to honour the Queen. It was heartwarming to watch and, more so, felt, as I took my family to London to witness first-hand the atmosphere upon seeing masses of people coming together to pay their respect to the Queen. That she meant something to someone or simply to honour her sense of duty was a humbling experience. After all the divisions happening here and around the world, somehow her last act, in bringing people together, brought a renewed faith of empathy and compassion - for me anyway.

Whatever your views are over the past couple of weeks, about the Queen and the royal family or the monarchy, we have just witnessed a historical event take place. And having the chance to experience this unique life experience, witness the reactions and reflect on them, are all experiences that we can take forward to shape how we see the world. From which our creativity and ideas are borne through as well.