It's the same thinking behind the phrase uttered when a king died: "The king is dead! Long live the king!" The person embodying the identity of the king is mort

It's the same thinking behind the phrase uttered when a king died: "The king is dead! Long live the king!" The person embodying the identity of the king is mortal and has died, but the identity of the king lives on and will be embodied by another mortal person soon.