'The Queen is dead. Long live the King'.

I knew I would hear these words in my lifetime, but it still came as a shock when I did. Queen Elizabeth II has been in my life since my birth and has been the only constant through the last five decades.

I arrived as a baby, survived adolescence, reached adulthood and now have a granddaughter – my whole life overseen by the same Head of State. I have watched Prime Ministers come and go, some quicker than others. The country has dramatically changed during her reign. Abject poverty eliminated, birth control, internet, smartphones and international travel.

Not all the changes have been positive. The breakdown of the family and lack of father involvement continues to blight society. Many social issues are related to this change. It has also affected the monarchy for they are a family when you look beyond the pomp and ceremony.

My first real memory of the Queen was in 1977 when, as a nation, we celebrated her silver jubilee – 25 years on the throne. My mum and neighbours organised a street party with union flags everywhere and tables full of food. Cupcakes decorated with the union flag were my mum's contribution. She painstakingly iced the red, white and blue stripes on each cupcake. It was definitely worth it as this is my main memory of the party as a nine-year-old boy.

In 1988, I was working as a cocktail barman at Pontins in Brixham – a small fishing village in South Devon. I did not know that 300 years prior to my arrival, there had been another visitor in the form of Prince William III of Orange. He was the husband of the daughter of King James II. He and his army landed at Brixham and marched to London to take the throne.

The following year, William III and his wife were anointed King and Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland. This ended the reign of catholic monarchs and secured the continuous procession of protestant rule up to today.

The Queen visited Brixham on 31st July to commentate this historic landing. I walked into the village centre to see her and the celebrations. My memory of the day is of her in a green coat and hat. I even bought some photos of her visit from a professional local photographer as a memento. Just to make sure my memory is what it should be, I googled this visit to check that she was wearing a green coat and hat. When the photos popped up on my screen, the memories flooded back. It is a special day when you see your monarch.

My next memory is connected to a purely selfish benefit. In 2002, to celebrate her golden jubilee - 50 years on the throne, I received an extra bank holiday. I have spent most of my working life as self-employed which means 'days off' are worthless for you never switch off from work. But during this decade, I was an employee and received an extra paid day away from work. It has never happened before and will probably never happen again. I enjoyed that day more than most.

In 2019, I was awarded an MBE in her majesty's New Year's Honour List for my work with young people and the charity sector. This was the greatest day in my life up to that point – I was 51 years old.

Before you receive such an award, you are asked if you would accept one if offered. This reflects the current state of our nation for citizens do reject the recognition and praise from their Head of State – their monarch. I am a patriot. I needed no time to think about such an inquiry.

Covid got in the way of my visit to the palace to receive my honour. Two years later, I was offered an opportunity but declined. They had enough people on the waiting list who wanted to visit the palace, they did not need me as an extra burden. I had been honoured, that was enough for me. I arranged for the Lord Lieutenant, the monarch's representative in Greater Manchester, to come to my home and present the medal. Nice and simple.

My final memory of her majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, was the day she died. I was at home watching a film on TV – 'The Boys From Brazil'. I had not seen the news that day as I had been working, so did not know about reports concerning her poor health. Partway through this Gregory Peck film, I checked my phone and Twitter.

'Shock' is the only word to describe my reaction. I am not an overly emotional man. I do not cry, not even sure if I have ever cried as an adult. I instantly knew my life and country had changed and we had entered a new era.

She was the longest-serving UK monarch. Her continued presence had been reassuring during the troubles and strife every country faces. She was never concerned about her own personal convenience or benefit. She did her duty as instructed by God and served her people.

Her greatest legacy will be her firstborn if he can grasp the reins. We need him to lead the monarchy along the same path it has traversed for the past seven decades. Our new King has trained all his life for this role. We need him to be the son of the most amazing monarch in our lifetime.

I wish him well. God save the King.