Queen Elizabeth II: A Royal Parting

Queen Elizabeth II died at 96 years old on September 8th, 2022. According to The New York Times, the death occurred around 3:10 pm BST (9:10 am CST) at Balmoral Castle in Scotland and was announced from Buckingham Palace in London at 6:30 pm (12:30 pm CST). On the same day before her death, doctors were concerned about the Queen’s health, and their concerns were released to the public at 12:35 pm BST (6:35 am CST). She was then placed under medical supervision. According to The New York Times, Queen Elizabeth also had mobility problems several months before her death and canceled public appearances.

Her funeral was on September 19, 2022. Her family, along with British soldiers, escorted the coffin on a 22-mile journey from Westminister Abbey in London to Windsor Castle, where she was buried. People in the United Kingdom gathered around the coffin to mourn for their queen.

The Queen’s death was announced in the middle of the school day, and students and staff at Central had a mixture of reactions when finding out about it.

Senior Eric Whitehead first heard about the queen’s death while scrolling through TikTok. “I just saw a bunch of posts about the queen, but I wasn’t taking them seriously until I got a notification from Twitter, which confirmed it for me.” He was surprised once he figured out it was confirmed. “I didn’t think it would be on that day [September 8th], but it was bound to happen eventually.”

Sophomore Katie Hettinger, who heard about the Queen’s death during Spanish class, wasn’t as surprised. “I knew she was going to die. Everybody said she was going to die. I just thought it was sort of abrupt.”

US History Teacher John Staab received a notification from his email on the queen’s death. He didn’t have much of a reaction, but he found it interesting how much attention she got in the media. “Here in America, we don’t believe in monarchs, and fought against a monarchy and Britain, but it seems like a lot of Americans sided with the queen, and paid homage to her. I thought that was kind of interesting because obviously our history with Britain up until World War II was not very good.” Staab also mentions that flags in the United States were at half-staff, in honor of the queen’s death.

According to gov.uk, when a member of royalty dies, the United Kingdom goes into national mourning until the end of the funeral. Some businesses close, and U.K. residents are encouraged to leave flowers as a tribute to the queen during this time. Many people were upset about the queen’s death because she was considered one of the greatest monarchs in Britain.

The United States also paid its tributes to the United Kingdom. President Joe Biden and the First Lady, Jill Biden, presented a statement on the Queen’s behalf and talked about her with admiration and respect. “Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was more than a monarch. She defined an era,” Joe Biden said. He talked about how he first met the Queen in 1982 for a Senate delegation, and how she extended her hospitality to him and his wife on their first overseas trip. “...[S]he charmed us with her wit, moved us with her kindness, and generously shared with us her wisdom,” he said.

Joe Biden’s speech shows how Queen Elizabeth II was an important figure, but students disagree that the queen was important to Americans.

“I don't really think she was important because she’s in the UK,” Hettinger says, “She didn’t do anything political with us, really. She’s almost like a celebrity. It’s like if Britney Spears died.”

“She was really just a famous person. I didn’t really see much of her at least in my social media, and I don’t think her death affects any of what we are doing in the United States”, Whitehead says.

However, Staab believes the queen’s death was important to Americans. “I think it's because our relationship with Britain got a lot better during WWII,” he says. “We fought together against fascism during the Cold War. We were allies. I think [paying tributes to her death] is more of a sign that we’ve just been strong allies for almost 100 years.”

Immediately after Queen Elizabeth II’s death was announced, her son, Prince Charles III, became the new heir to the throne. According to the New York Times and BBC News, he has declared to maintain the constitutional government and made an oath to protect the Church of Scotland, where the queen’s body was buried. He expressed his commitment to his mother’s legacy, and signed off a proclamation to make the day of queen’s funeral a public holiday for all of Britain.