Hiatus, Week 6: Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III

We all knew that Queen Elizabeth II would die during our lifetimes; it was inevitable, she was in her 90s. But when it was announced last night, I still hesitated to believe it. I waited for several confirmed sources before I felt anything—it wouldn’t be the first time in recent memory that a death has been announced prematurely.

I was in my hotel room in Paris when the news broke. Coincidentally, I was reading an article from 2017 about Operation London Bridge when I got a news alert on my phone about her death. That 5-year-old article is incredibly relevant right now if you’re wondering what comes next; it has correctly predicted a lot of what has happened in the ~16 hours since her death was announced. Be warned though: It is incredibly long.

As an American, I don’t feel particularly connected to the Queen. But she’s always been alive, in some undefined ‘there,’ as long as I’ve been alive and as long as my parents have both been alive. My grandmother has told me stories about watching her coronation on TV, the first ever British coronation to be broadcast. It feels strange to think of her not being ‘there.’

This will be a moment of huge change for Britain. King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort aren’t beloved like Elizabeth II was. The extreme cost of the pomp and circumstance over the next few weeks will be thrown into sharp relief against the ongoing economic crisis in Britain—while few will be able to afford to heat their apartments and eat this winter, Charles will have a coronation that costs millions of pounds. Finding some sort of balance there will be among his first challenges as the monarch; it’s not hard to wonder if the monarchy will survive that challenge. Add on top of that the ongoing lack of British reparations to the countries they’ve hurt through colonialism, and this tense moment has the potential to change the face of British government forever.

I’m curious—how are you feeling about the Queen’s death?