At 96 years old, Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, the queen of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth realms, has passed away. Now that the British period of nationwide mourning has ended with Queen Elizabeth’s funeral on Sept. 19, how does this all look through the eyes of the American people?
With King Charles III now head of the British Monarchy, what do the people have to say about this turn of events? More specifically, what do the people of America have to say about the queen’s death, since the US is a republic without a monarchy?
People here at Bucks had a variety of things to say about the queen and her reign. John Ivanchenko, an Arts Teacher at Bucks, recollected upon the time of the queen’s rule as the end of an era.
“I think it’s very hard for us to understand it, not having a king or a queen where we live, but I was impressed with the British people, being that she was the only queen most of them have ever known, and how they all want to pay their respects,” Ivanchenko said.
Along with Ivanchenko, students at Bucks gave their two cents into what the queen’s death meant to them. Most people’s initial response was like Ella Bryan’s, a 19-year-old from Doylestown, majoring in fine arts, noting that the queen’s death didn’t matter much to her.
“It doesn’t really matter to me, but it was a shock, knowing that she was the longest reigning queen, but it just came as a shock,” Bryan said.
Other students, on the other hand, had very different thoughts towards the late queen’s reign, however. Quinlan Trask, an 18-year-old from Lithia Spring, Georgia, majoring in fine arts, said that she didn’t feel impacted by the queen’s death due to her deep qualms with the British monarchy.
“With how they went and invaded so many sovereign nations, going on and destroying their monarchies to make room for their own,” Trask said.
People like Trask aren’t alone on how they believe the British monarchy is unnecessary. Adrian Prinos, an 18-year-old from North Philadelphia, majoring in fine arts, was thanking God for the end of the queen’s reign.
“I hate her, and I can’t wait for the rest of them to croak,” Prinos said.
With Queen Elizabeth’s funeral service all wrapped up, now it is time for King Charles III to take the stage. With the controversies surrounding the new king, from both past and present, including Princess Diana and her death; Prince Andrew and his close relationship with the American convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein; the British colonial past; the Commonwealth; the ongoing Irish question; the unending media coverage and reports surrounding his son, Harry and his wife Meghan; and the recent questions surrounding Charles’ acceptance of a suitcase of over $1 million from a former Qatari prime minister: all continue to trouble his reign and so, the time is now to ask if people believe he’s fit to rule.
“He’s got some big shoes to fill, and I don’t feel nearly as confident in him as I did with the queen. But I’m hoping that he’ll rise when they need him,” Ivanchenko said.
While some are doing their best to remain open minded to King Charles III, others aren’t. People’s thoughts on the new king all followed a similar path of doubt. On the other hand, some called him right out.
Take Prino’s response to the king, who described Charles as a straight up brat.
“Not a great guy, I saw this video where he wouldn’t sit down because the table wasn’t cleared for him. That goes only to show that he thinks of himself as so superior, when he eats just like us, and he sh–s just like us.”
Only time will tell if King Charles III will live up to the reputation his mother left behind, and yet what kind of reputation has the British monarchy left over the course of thousands of years on the people of today?
People like Bryan believe that the role of the monarchy isn’t unimportant nor silly.
“I see a lot of jokes online of people making fun of the king and queen. I think it’s an interesting government, and I think a lot of people forget the political power kings and queens really have,” Bryan said.
Whereas people like Prinos calls the British monarchy the UK equivalent of the Kardashians.
“I think it’s a clown show, they need to get rid of it already. What good is having a monarchy besides having a ‘tradition’? They are wasting the taxpayers’ money to keep the parade going while most people are left without heating,” Prinos said.