Queen Elizabeth II passed away on Sept. 8, 2022 in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. She passed due to health issues that are still not completely known. She reportedly passed peacefully in her summer estate at Balmoral Castle.
“I feel like with the queen passing people are mourning her in a way that over-glorifies her reign, because we all know she did some pretty bad things especially to third world countries and people aren’t looking at that stuff with King Charles,” senior Reem Baho said.
The news of the Queen’s death impacted the British people severely. Many were waiting outside Buckingham Palace when the news of the Queen’s death was released to the world. The Queen’s death was heartbreaking to the British people, but it was also shocking to many around the entire world. Now that the ten days after her death have passed, former Queen Elizabeth II was given an official send off at Westminster Abbey along with members from the royal family, British establishments, and heads of states from across the entire world.
“I’m kind of neutral when it comes to King Charles because knowing him and his relationship with Princess Diana before her passing, I think it’s going to be different as to what his mother brought since she really brought out a sense of class. We’re now in a time where society is different and views are different especially when it comes to kings and queens so I can’t necessarily make a decision on how I feel before he has the opportunity to fulfill the role of being king,” said Jason Cargile, AP US History teacher.
The Queen had an emotional sendoff as many British citizens showed up to pay their final respects, London’s River Thames even had a line that continued for miles. It ended early on Monday, once the last public mourners paid their final respects to the queen. The former Queen Elizabeth’s passing brought some mixed emotions from people around the world. Many refused to mourn her death because of her leadership, which people referred to as a brutal monarchy that needs to be held accountable for the deaths of millions of people.
“I hope it leads to serious conversations about what it means to be British. The monarchy is such an entrenched tradition for the British and I could see a lot of people wanting to keep it for symbolic reasons more than functional ones. The British people are not a homogenous group as of late and that ethnic diversity, I assume, is only going to grow in the near future. And so I would hope the people of Britain question whether or not they want this traditional role to continue to be a symbol for all of its citizens, particularly its citizens of color,” Miguel Ramirez said, AP World History teacher.