Alias- Forever And Always

74) Skinny Love

The Orthodox priests began the traditional funeral service and when they were finished, Vladimir stood with tears streaming down his eyes as he walked towards the podium to give the eulogy.

"We gather in this great cathedral to mourn and to give thanks. It is a fitting place to do so, a place where the story of our nation and the story of the woman we now commend to her Heavenly Father are intertwined.

It was here that Irina Nicholaevna Alexandra Dmitrievna Romanova Derevkova Bristowova was crowned as the Tsar of Imperial Russia on May 15th, 2003; it was here that she attended the weddings of her children and grandchildren and their baptisms and coronations into the Imperial Family. And it was here that on the 25th Anniversary celebrating her magnificent reign on May 15th, 2028 that she stepped in front of a bullet's path to save the life of her daughter and unborn grandchild…and lost her own." He held back a cry with a pause, "It is fitting, then, that a place that stood at the centre of her life should now be the place where we honor her passing and celebrate her life.

In the eight days since she left us, there have been countless tributes and expressions of affection and respect - including those of the many people who waited in the seemingly endless line in the harsh rain and filed patiently past her coffin Lying-in-State.

If there is one verse of scripture which captures Irina best, it is perhaps the description of a gracious woman in the final chapter of the book of Proverbs. It says: 'Strength and dignity are her clothing and she laughs at the time to come.'

Strength, dignity and laughter - three great gifts which we honor and celebrate today.

The Tsar's strength as a person was expressed best through the remarkable quality of her dealings with people - her ability to make all human encounters, however fleeting, feel both special and personal.

As her Prime Minister, I can vouch for her strength. Something of it is reflected in the fact that for a quarter of a century we knew her and understood her as Mother Russia. It is a title whose resonance lies less in its official status than in expressing one of the most fundamental of all roles and relationships - that of simply being a Mother, a Mama, a Babushka, our Mother Russia.

For her family, that maternal strength - given across the generations to children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren - has been a precious gift and blessing. It's loss is felt keenly today. And as they grieve, we say to the Emperor Consort Jack…to the Grand Duchess Katya, her sister…to Alexei and Dmitri as the fathers who raised her…to Sydney, Julian, Lena, Nicholas and Nadia as her children… to Anya, Eva, Jaxx, Ria, Alexei, Isolde, Lara, Elektra, Dmitri and Irina as her grandchildren…and to Iribella, Maxim and Rhett her great-grandchildren: you are in our thoughts and cradled in our prayers and those of countless millions round the world." He looked at each of them as he spoke their names.

"Sydney, Julian, Lena, Nicholas, and Nadia… we all care desperately for you today. We are all torn up with the sadness at the loss of a woman who was not even our mother. How great your suffering is, we cannot even imagine. She told me often on those trips away to Moscow and around the world when she was missing you dearly, that her greatest joy in life was being your mother." His tears surged giving them a smile and remembering Irina's eyes lighting up whenever she spoke of her children.

"I have the honor of speaking to you today here in the vastness of the grand St. Isaacs Cathedral. I do this in two capacities. One is that I, Prime Minister of Imperial Russia, and therefore speak on behalf of a remarkable world organization which owes more that it can ever express to our departed leader, Her Majesty, our Empress, our Tsar… Irina the Great. My second capacity is more personal and more intimate. I am sure that you, most of you, have thought about Her Majesty Empress Irina a great deal, and with warmth in your hearts and in your recollections.