• UK: Demise of the Modern Elizabethan Era

End of the Modern Elizabethan Era

Queen Elizabeth II, historically Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, died last Thursday at the family retreat in Balmoral, Scotland after ascending the throne for 70 years. She was 96 years old and carried out her duties till the very end. According to British constitutional law, ‘the monarch reigns, but does not rule’.

News of her death sparked a flood of grief around the world, although perhaps nowhere as intensely as in England, where thousands of tearful mourners congregated outside of Buckingham Palace, London, Winsor Castle and Balmoral [all royal residences] to pay their respects.

British Prime Minister Liz Truss, whom the queen had instated just days earlier, called her “the rock on which modern Britain was built.”

Elizabeth II “may be best remembered as a leader who provided a model of constancy in a rapidly shifting world,” wrote Foreign Policy. “She was admired by monarchists and republicans alike for her unswerving devotion to duty and her refusal to bend to the faddish expectations of critics” (Sep. 09).

World leaders paid tribute to her legacy and expressed their condolences.

U.S. President Joe Biden said the queen “defined an era”. The American ambassador to the Court of St. James was not willing to speculate whether Biden would attend her funeral. At the least, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to attend. French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted that she “embodied the British nation’s continuity and unity”. He recalled: “I remember her as a friend of France, a kind-hearted queen who has left a lasting impression on his country and her century.”

These sentiments were echoed by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who said her passing was a blow to the international community.

Even Russian President Vladimir Putin weighed in, wishing the new British king Charles III “courage and perseverance in the face of this heavy, irreparable loss.”

“The long reign of Queen Elizabeth II was marked by her strong sense of duty and her determination to dedicate herself to the four nations of the U.K. “She became for many the one constant point in a rapidly changing world as British influence declined, society changed beyond recognition and the role of the monarchy itself came into question.”

The Economist writes: “It is hard to imagine Britain without Queen Elizabeth II partly because almost everyone has only known it with her.” The magazine adds that her “unwavering professionalism helped ensure the survival of the British monarchy.”

It is that sense of duty – along with humility and a uniting presence – that dominates the reflections and tributes.