‘Doing your duty’ is sometimes thought of as a dull, boring thing. Maybe reflection on the legacy of HM the late Queen will make us see it as what it is — a vital practice of a well-functioning and compassionate society

Graham Tomlin, former Bishop of Kensington, Twitter, 9 September

The paradox [is] that constitutional monarchy, as we have known it in this country, is good for democracy. It declares that not everything is up for renegotiation; that we are all committed, more than we realise, to a system in which a set of symbols that we have not chosen to suit our preferences reminds us that we are linked with one another, before we are divided by opinions and interests. The late Queen set the highest of standards in honouring this vision and making it a reality

Rowan Williams, Politics Home, 13 September

She has demonstrated the phases of ordinary dying to us all. How dying is mainly living, after all. And how, in the end, we can all plan ahead, address the unfinished business in our lives, and die with symptoms well-managed, even in our own bed if circumstances permit

Dr Kathryn Mannix, retired palliative care doctor and writer, Twitter, 11 September

I can’t help but feel that the Queen’s dying in Scotland, and the opportunity it has given for these first rituals of public mourning to take place in Edinburgh, is her last great gift to the cause of Unionism. She cements our common bond

Philip Murray, Twitter, 12 September

The relationship between God and the Queen was not one-sided. She relied on her Maker, but she clearly felt that he should rely on her too, speaking up for her faith

Catherine Pepinster, iNews, 9 September

I strongly expect his [the King’s] role as the Church’s head, and his interest in faith, to be one of the most marked characteristics of his reign

Daniel Finkelstein, The Times, 14 September

So many pro-republican arguments at the moment seem to be framed in a way that assumes those in favour of the monarchy are simpleminded or infantile and need to grow up. This is a mistake, I think (not to mention insulting). Think Bagehot, rather than Paddington

Richard Coles, Twitter, 12 September

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