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The Queen Effect: Rest in Power

Queen Elizabeth in the final years of her reign (Source: http://www.twulasso.com)

By Eliza Peddi

As most know by now, Queen Elizabeth II, queen of the United Kingdom and commonwealth realms, passed peacefully on Thursday September 8, 2022, due to ongoing medical issues. With this news, many people have been left wondering what is going to happen next. Now, we have since gotten some information about future plans that I will be sharing as well as protocol is for her majesty’s death and how the UK will be affected.

Queen Elizabeth’s coffin as it passes through London (Source: http://www.japantimes.co.jp)

So first let’s discuss how the UK and commonwealth realms are responding to her majesty’s death. Before she died, Queen Elizabeth created “Operation London Bridge”, which detailed what needed to be done in the case of her death. The first objective of this plan was to be completed by Edward Young, whose job was to inform high-ranking government officials of her death and release an official notification of her death. This notification signaled Whitehall to lower their flags to half-mast. After this, the Prime Minister made the first official government statement and spoke with King Charles before he addressed the nation as the new Monarch.  

Operation London Bridge also stated how the queen’s body was to be handled. In the case of her dying at Balmoral Castle, she was to be brought into London by the royal train and then a small reception at the capital was to occur. The last stage of this plan was the queen’s funeral, which is meant to occur 10 days after her death. She will be buried at St. George’s Chapel where her father, mother, and sister are also buried. Elizabeth’s late husband Prince Philip will be moved into the same vault as his wife.  

After Queen Elizabeth’s death, there is a 10 day national mourning period which started on Friday 9, 2022.  With this mourning period no business will be required to shut down but the government encouraged them to allow workers to take time off for mourning if they would like to. Normally the mourning period would not be such a big deal, but just a few days before her death, the British pound’s currency decreased to $1.14 American dollars. Even without her majesty’s death, this is a massive deal considering it is the lowest the currency has been within a 35 year period. With possibly many worker taking time off work and the currency changing, the economy likely will not be doing well by the end of the process. 

The economy won’t be the only aspect of the country that will change. With the loss of one monarch comes the uprising of a new one. King Charles III is the new ruler of the UK with the new Queen Consort, his wife Camila, by his side. With this change in power we can presume that many changes will come along with it. One thing that will most likely change is the way the monarchy responds to politics. King Charles has been known over the years for sharing his point of view on many things, for example his passion to fight against climate change, and he will most likely continue to publicly support his views. 

Queen Elizabeth in her younger years (Source: http://www.history.com)

New details are coming out daily about what is now going to happen after her majesty’s passing. They bring clarity to unanswered questions, but simultaneously bring even more. For many, Queen Elizabeth’s death was a shock, but for others, they were shocked her death hadn’t occurred yet. Some were happy about her majesty’s passing while others were devastated. But one thing that is certain is that our world lost someone who will be remembered for many years on. Rest In Power Elizabeth. 

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