As Britain is left reeling, the Queen remains silent
LONDON — From pubs in Peterborough to beaches in Brighton, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone in the United Kingdom holding back their views on Brexit.
Well, actually, there is one person: Queen Elizabeth II.
She is Britain’s longest-serving monarch and is the head of state of the U.K., a political union made up of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
However, the Queen’s united kingdom is looking anything but. It’s very existence has come under threat after the U.K.’s stunning decision to leave the European Union — popularly known as Brexit. Although no one knows where all the pieces of the puzzle will land, some have questioned whether the map of the U.K. might be redrawn to include just England and Wales.
On Monday, the 90-year-old monarch attended a number of public engagements in Northern Ireland. As of Monday afternoon, she had not said a word — at least publicly — about Brexit.
The Queen’s deafening silence is in stark contrast to what happened after the 2014 referendum on Scottish independence, when she issued a statement within hours of the results. Of course, these are unusual times. When the Queen visited Northern Ireland in 2014, she stopped by the set of “Game of Thrones.” If she doesn’t have time on this trip, she could always turn on the telly to see a PG-rated version playing out in Westminster’s corridors of power. British Prime Minister David Cameron, the Queen’s 12th prime minister, resigned Friday morning, and both of Britain’s main political parties are in turmoil.
Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister of Scotland and one of Britain’s canniest politicians (future Queen of the North?), has been busy pushing her dream for Scottish independence. She says it is “highly likely” that there will be a second referendum on Scottish independence, given that the majority of Scots voted to remain in the E.U.
The Scottish National Party has said that if Scotland were to gain independence, the queen would remain head of state with the title “Queen of Scots.”