Margaret Tyler: You’ve taken over my life

Margaret Tyler: You've taken over my life

London (Dagbladet): A rickety tube car is gradually emptying of people as it makes its way north out of central London, before finally stopping in South Kenton.

On the 35-minute journey, we passed countless posters and illuminated screens with portraits of the late Queen.

London wallpapers: Pictures of the recently deceased Queen Elizabeth can be found almost everywhere you turn in the city of London. Photo: John T. Pedersen / Dagbladet
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In the small neighborhood of Wembley County, life continues as usual.

Young man crossing the street with tennis racket slung over his shoulder while talking on the phone. A mother of two with too many shopping bags puts the key in the door and flips the lock.

But two houses down,
time stops.

Margaret Tyler (78 years old) lives here.

She devoted large parts of her life to what became a crazy group.

Her home is overflowing with Queen Elizabeth trinkets and other items that can be associated with the British royal family.

– Oh, it always happensthe old lady sighs in desperation as she stumbles upon a cardboard dog figure in the lower second tier.

Perhaps it is no coincidence that he depicted the Corgi, well known as the Queen’s favorite dog breed.

- You've taken over my life

The 78-year-old is quick to offer the Dagbladet reporter a cup of tea. Because what looks like a crowded museum or crowded souvenir shop is actually Tyler’s home.

The old lady navigates with familiar motions through the porcelain dishes and carved figures of the royal family, into a secluded and cramped kitchen.

This is where she stood when she received the message that she hoped would never come.

– I can believe it. I knew she wasn’t feeling well, but I didn’t think she was going to die so quickly. I totally lost my mind the new prime minister visited on Tuesday, right?

- You've taken over my life

She herself met the Queen four times. Never forget the first meeting:

– I was so cold that day, I was shivering and grinding my teeth. But when she came and stopped and kissed my flowers, I was just over the moon. I almost ran home to tell my daughter, Tyler says as she stares up at the ceiling dreamily.

Another time, the Queen must have laughed a little when she saw her in the crowd with a rose with a picture of the Queen herself on it, she says.

– There was a TV crew filming me. I gave her flowers at that time too. “Wait a bit, and you’ll see,” the 78-year-old says before she gets up and takes a couple of framed photos.

– Here you see me giving her flowers, and here you see her kissing. Again I brought her a cake. She says probably laughing that she got tired of seeing me at the end.

- You've taken over my life

Over the years, I became Increasingly obsessed with the royal family. She can remember how when she was a little girl she cut pictures of royals from magazines and newspapers.

However, the group did not start in earnest until her children were young, and she helped out with the school’s annual flea market.

Then I won a painting with Elizabeth’s picture on it. Then she started searching for collectibles everywhere she went, says the 78-year-old, before pausing for a moment.

Well, I started as a hobby…

– But it took over my life. It has become a kind of lifestyle.

She does not know the value of the group. But the 78-year-old has private insurance for all of his belongings.

Not surprisingly, words of praise for the Queen have come at an unrelenting pace. Tyler thinks the biggest downfall won’t be receiving her annual Christmas greeting on TV.

– I know someone else can do it. But it will not be the same. Prince Charles is now King Charles, and he’s a nice guy, but it won’t be the same.

Do you think Charles will become as famous as his mother?

– It will be difficult, I think. There may be many who like him, but he’s in his seventies, he’s not that young.

In the background the phone rings. The old lady takes her time to finish the sentence she’s in the middle of, before turning away and picking up the phone.

– Yes im this person. Yes, everything here remains the same, except that it has become more compact.

It’s the BBC that wants Tyler to broadcast the evening by phone. Over the past few decades, the monarch has been interviewed by the press from all over the world.

- You've taken over my life

While there have been long queues for the past two days outside Buckingham Palace to lay flowers for the Queen, the 78-year-old has been sitting at home and answering reporters’ calls.

– I used to wake up every morning thinking I was going to Buckingham. But that never happens, because the phone rings nonstop. It’s pure Piccadilly Circus. “I don’t know where they got my number from,” she says with a laugh.

I bought everything in the house out of his own pocket. Several photos, including a giant portrait of the Queen, had to get help getting home.

The first floor consists of three rooms: one room is the Queen’s Jubilee Room, one room is Diana’s room, while the rest of the living room belongs to the entire royal family.

- You've taken over my life

– People used to say I was Diana’s number one fan, but I don’t know if that’s true, there are a lot of people who liked her, says Tyler.

In the center of the room is a dress that is a replica of the dress Kate, now the Princess of Wales, wore on her engagement night. There are also several photos of the youngest prince and his American wife.

– Harry and Meghan have already met, and they were very nice. Everyone was excited about them, but then something went wrong. Tyler: I don’t really know what happened.

She blows dust off a framed picture of Harry, and points to something gray in the corner of the picture.

You can’t see me, but you can see my hair.

- You've taken over my life

Standing happily in front of the Dagbladet camera, the 78-year-old takes the photographer’s instructions as easily as any royal who is accustomed to the media.

It might seem that the Queen’s death almost gave the old lady a new spark. Several times during the conversation, she returned to a phrase from the Queen that was being spread across London when the city was closed due to Corona.

Those are the four words you’re sticking with right now.

“we will meet again.”

- You've taken over my life
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Ashura Okorie

Ashura Okorie

"Infuriatingly humble web fan. Writer. Alcohol geek. Passionate explorer. Evil problem solver. Incurable zombie expert."

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