London When the breaking news of the death of Elizabeth II shocked Great Britain shortly after half past six on Thursday evening, you could see the dismay and sadness on the faces of many Britons.
In the pubs, on the streets, in the supermarkets, a nation paused that could not imagine life without the Queen. The hand in front of the mouth, many with tears in their eyes, the loss felt everywhere.
As with the tragic death of Lady Diana 25 years ago, the shocked people gathered in front of Buckingham Palace to mourn together. For older people, the 96-year-old Queen was a contemporary of her own life; for younger people, she was the nation’s caring ‘granny’.
For all Brits, it was both an anchor to hold on to in difficult times and a bridge to the glorious and sometimes less glorious past – from the 1956 Suez Crisis to the 1982 Falklands War to Brexit in 2016. Only that former Prime Minister Winston Churchill enjoyed a comparable reputation on the island.
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Elizabeth II, the monarchy and Great Britain – they were one and the same for 70 years. On stamps, coins or at Christmas, the Queen was always visible. “You have to see me if you want people to believe me,” she said.
Many Britons saw in the Queen what they would like to be themselves: calm, self-disciplined, conscientious, cordial. “She was the one constant in the lives of most of us,” writes George Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury.
“The Queen is Dead, Long Live the King”
Her death leaves an emotional void in the kingdom far greater than an empty throne now occupied by Charles III. followed by a 73-year-old king, of whom no one knows how he will fill the role of head of state. “The Queen is dead, long live the King” – the old formula with which the British have accompanied the change at the top of their nation for centuries, it no longer catches and comforts – or not yet.
Eternal heir to the throne Charles is the new British king
Great Britain is in the midst of a historical upheaval and at the same time is internally torn: The country, still caught up in a melancholic nostalgia of imperial greatness, is looking for its new place in the world after Brexit. Half of Britons are still opposed to leaving the EU, according to a survey by the Panelbase survey platform.
This has long been shaking the foundations of the Union: the Scots are demanding a new referendum on their independence. After the unresolved Brexit dispute with the EU, the Northern Irish do not know where they belong. “The UK may well fall apart, Scotland go its own way, Ireland may be reunited,” warns British columnist Andrew Marr.
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Add to that the worst economic crisis in 50 years, which is shaking the kingdom to its foundations: soaring living costs that are plunging millions of families into fuel poverty.
Double digit inflation rates. A looming, long recession. And just a few days ago, the country was led by a new prime minister who seems to favor free markets more than compassion. “The Queen was a rock of modern Britain,” said Prime Minister Liz Truss in tribute to the deceased.
The new king says he is determined not to limit himself to cutting ribbons.
(Photo: AP)
“Britain is not broken, but I fear we are now entering an era of decline,” former UK EU trade commissioner Lord Peter Mandelson told Handelsblatt in a recent interview.
The country is one of the few nuclear powers and, as one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council, has global influence. However, what is hidden behind the slogan of “Global Britain”, with which ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson seduced his compatriots to leave the EU, nobody knows exactly to this day.
What is a modern monarchy in the 21st century?
In addition, Great Britain, like many western industrial nations, is undergoing radical economic, social and cultural change. The Queen herself had already described the change of times in 2002: “Since 1952 I have witnessed how the international landscape has changed and how the development in my own country has been no less rapid: in the decentralized form of our nation, in the structure of society , in technology and communication, in our work and in the way we live.”
A man dressed as a guard stands outside Buckingham Palace after the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
(Photo: dpa)
The deceased did not chase change, but followed it with measured steps. Sometimes a little faster though. For example, when she shocked the then King of Saudi Arabia, Abdullah ibn Abd al-Aziz, by driving him around her Scottish country estate of Balmoral, while women in the Saudi kingdom were still banned from driving.
Or when she appeared in a James Bond video with actor Daniel Craig in 2012. She discussed jam sandwiches with cartoon character Paddington Bear, another British icon. The “Spectator” calls her a “traditional rebel”. For the “New York Times” she was an “analogue star in the digital age”.
She discussed jam sandwiches with cartoon character Paddington Bear, another British icon.
(Photo: AP)
The British monarchy today is a well-oiled PR machine that does not always, but mostly succeed in making the royal family appear close to the people and majestic at the same time.
Charles III now has to walk this fine line if he wants to preserve his mother’s legacy. This is not likely to be easy for the new king, especially when it comes to politically sensitive issues such as climate protection, if, in his own words, he is “determined not to limit himself to cutting ribbons”.
Cultural Challenges for the House of Windsor
But the royal family itself is also feeling the pressure to change. The fact that Prince Harry prefers life in the United States with his wife, US actress Meghan Markle, to royal duties at home is just a taste of the challenges facing the Windsors – but also for the part of the conservative Brit that is dealing with the multicultural change is difficult.
It’s quite possible that in Buckingham Palace you don’t just have to make friends with a self-confident woman with Afro-American roots, as in the case of Markle. Even the London Times, which is keen on tradition, believes it is only a matter of time before there will be same-sex marriage in the Windsor house or someone of Muslim faith will join the family circle. This “moving with the times” is the strength of the British monarchy, but it is also constantly being put to the test.
More: Queen Elizabeth II – Queen of Modernity