Photo credit: Joel Rouse/Ministry of Defense. www.defenceimagery.mod.uk License: Open Government License 3.0. Source.
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It is certainly a sad time for many right now. Although we expected this to happen sooner rather than later, I think in the end we did not realise how soon and sudden it would be – especially so soon after the death of her husband Prince Philip. But here we are – under a new King who shall be King Charles III who will serve alongside Camilla who shall be Queen consort.
I think for many of us this fact of a new reality will not properly sink in for some time. Many of us felt like the Queen Elizabeth II was eternal and so adds more to the shock of something we were not exactly expecting. But the signs had been there for some time when you begin to reflect back. The scaling down of her duties, the now King Charles III taking on more roles from the Queen, and more frequent notice of her declining health. When looking back on that it can make it a bit less surprising when all taken in at face value. The signs existed.
It is hard to think that for all my life the only British monarch I have lived under up until now was Queen Elizabeth II and this is true for many of us – only the oldest of us would have known a time before Queen Elizabeth II. It becomes even more amazing when you look into some certain little trivia facts – she has reigned for more than 1% of human civilisation since the end of the Stone Age – and she has reigned for 30% of the time the United States has existed as an independent country. It is no wonder it can be hard to comprehend that she is now gone after seven decades on the throne – in itself a lifetime to many.
She first took the throne when Winston Churchill was Prime Minister – a very famous figure himself who was born in the 1870s and a century after that Liz Truss would be born and would become our latest Prime Minister and the final one to serve under Queen Elizabeth II.
She was perhaps one of the most famous monarchs of the modern era who was known globally. Simply calling her the Queen of Great Britain or the Queen of England was enough to make people bring her name to mind. The British Monarchy in past history has touched nearly the entire face of the Earth and so it is no wonder why it is so well known.
Of course, due to that and the past history of imperialism and colonialism – as well as those who see a hereditary monarchy as outdated and undemocratic – there are many who are indifferent or against the continued existence of a monarchy at all. But whether you’re on one side or the other you cannot discount how historic this moment is in British history.
We must also consider how a number of things will now change over time:
- The anthem will now have the line of ‘God save our gracious King’ once again.
- The symbols and prints on our money notes and coins will slowly change and postage stamps alongside them as well.
- Money notes/coins in some parts of the Commonwealth such as Canada, New Zealand and those issued by the Eastern Caribbean central bank, among other places in the Commonwealth will change.
- Thousands of flags across the UK and the Commonwealth will need to be changed.
- Prayers are expected to be amended in time.
- Hundreds of businesses serving the Royal Household will hope for their Royal warrants to be renewed by the new King or another Royal Family member.
- Pledges of Allegiance used by MPs, peers, new British citizens, cubs and scouts, and new members of the Armed Forces will need to be amended and, in many cases, re-spoken.
- Some of the 14 Commonwealth countries who are within the Commonwealth Realm (who recognise the British Monarch as Head of State) will need to amend their Constitution to recognise the new King – in some cases these may require referendums which could lead to some more countries such as Jamaica breaking away and becoming republics.
- Laws that include the mention of the Queen within them will need to be re-drafted.
So, as can be seen there will be a lot of change and uncertainty afoot over the next few years. I am sure I will be quite surprised once I get my hand on one of the newly minted coins or bank notes and see the new stamps on letters. And I am sure it will be time until many of us remember the amended line in the anthem and even remember to not just automatically say ‘the Queen’.
The Queen has had such a profound impact on history that is being covered largely across many news websites, newspapers, social media and other blogs that I thought doing a similar post to that which I did when Prince Philip died would be a bit too much of a copy and paste. So I thought I would instead just give some of my own thoughts, a few little interesting facts, and an overview of what changes will happen in time.
For me my closest contact with Queen Elizabeth II was when she visited my home town when I was a young child in early primary school. She drove along seated in a car and waved out at us as we lined the street waving little Union Jacks. My face was pictured in our local newspaper for that event which is hidden away somewhere – probably in the attic. Hopefully I can find that little historic memento one day.
And now for the first time in many of our lives – we recognise and live under a King and a Queen consort. Prince William – the eldest son of King Charles III – will now be the Heir Apparent to the throne and the new Duke of Cornwall and his wife Catherine becomes the Duchess of Cornwall. Prince William’s son Prince George will now be second in line to the throne.
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