San Diegans, as many others around the world, are mourning the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday. She died at her Balmoral estate in Scotland at 96.
On the throne for 70 years, Elizabeth was the United Kingdom's longest-reigning monarch and a source of stability for many.
"It's a very, a very sad day," said Mark Hargreaves, the rector of St. James by the Sea Episcopal Church in La Jolla.
He moved to the U.S. from London six years ago, and, since moving, he said, he has come to appreciate constitutional monarchy as a form of government. He said the monarchy brought continuity.
"The world is already in an uncertain kind of place, and we're going to miss that continuity and the confidence, that knowing the queen was there," he said.
Fellow expat Charlotte Nguyen agrees. She moved to San Diego four years ago after marrying a U.S. citizen whom she meet while working abroad in Italy.
"Growing up in the U.K., you just accept that the queen has always been there and has been a constant source of stability, even when the U.K. has seen other crises," she said. "So it's difficult to accept that her presence is no longer with us."
Nguyen was surprised at how emotional she got after hearing of the queen's death because she said she was not exactly a royalist. But being in San Diego and away from her family in the U.K. makes it harder.
"I think it's hard to put into words why it feels so big for someone who didn't grow up there," Nguyen said. "I rang my family and messaged my U.K. friends here in San Diego. My mum says that the U.K. is in mourning, and I can believe it. I feel like even nonroyalists acknowledged and respected the queen, more so than other members of the royal family."
While she doesn't have a specific memory of the queen that she can point to, Nguyen said the queen had always been a presence in her life.
"I think it's fair to say that most Brits know that the queen's speech plays on Christmas Day at 3 p.m.," she said. "It's just something automatic that you know, and it's really strange to think that she won't be there anymore. When you think of the U.K., I think a lot of people automatically think of her."
She said the queen had grace and strength that guided the nation through tough times and will be greatly missed.
"It feels like the end of an era for the royal family and U.K. in more ways than one," Nguyen said.
At Shakespeare Pub and Grille, a local eatery with British-style comfort food in San Diego, general manager Nicola McEwan-Beatty said she was "gutted" when she heard the news.
“Absolutely gutted. We all were shocked. It seems to have happened really quickly,” she said.
Since the news broke, McEwan-Beatty said her phone has been ringing nonstop.
“We anticipate a lot of expats coming in to be with each other and to celebrate her life," McEwan-Beatty said. "She's gonna be with her husband. That was the greatest love of her life, so that's the only compensation we're taking from that right now."
There is a 10-day mourning period leading up to the queen's funeral set for next Sunday at Westminster Abbey.
Shakespeare Pub will host an event for San Diegans to attend. The House of England and the House of Scotland in Balboa Park will also host events celebrating the life of Queen Elizabeth II.
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California has its own connection to the British royal family, along with hundreds of thousands of other expats, Prince Harry, his wife Meghan Markle and their two children now live in California.
