Queen Elizabeth II was a ‘lovely lady’ who had a ‘great innings,’ said one ex-pat living in Chicago

“I wasn’t prepared for this day,” said Sarah Hall, fighting back tears Thursday at the British Consulate on Michigan Avenue. Though she is not British, she had spent time in London in 1989 for school and many days near royal grounds, she said. (Pat Nabong/Sun-Times)

As a boy growing up in England, Craig Marney — like a lot of Brits — watched Queen Elizabeth II’s Christmas Day speech on TV every year.

Not because it was particularly enthralling; it was just something everybody did, like finishing off the Christmas feast with a dome-shaped pudding smothered in brandy and then set on fire.