On September 8th, 2022, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II entered peacefully into rest at the age of 96. At 6:30 PM, Buckingham Palace placed a noticed saying “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral Castle this afternoon.”
At the young age of 25, Her Majesty took on a significant role as becoming the monarch of the United Kingdom. On June 2nd, 1953, her coronation took place at Westminister Abbey in London. Coronations have been held at Westminister Abbey for nearly 900 years, making it the location for every coronation since 1066. Queen Elizabeth II was the 39th Soverign to be crowned in Westminister Abbey. A total of 8,251 guests attended Her Majesty’s coronation.
The Queen’s coronation was delayed a year due to a tradition of not hosting a festival of such great capacity after the death of a monarch without an appropriate amount of time to grieve. The monarch prior to the Queen’s reign was her father, King George IV. In total, the coronation ceremony required approximately 14 months to prepare. Her son, King Charles III, ascended to the thrown on the day of her passing. It is expected that a formal coronation will begin to be planned upon the completion of the Queen’s 10-day national mourning period.
“Operation London Bridge” was a plan made specifically for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. The plan included details about the period of mourning, the announcement of her death, and logisitcs about her state’s funeral. Operation London Bridge was created around the 1960’s, but revisions were continued to be made until 2022 prior to her passing. When the phrase “London Bridge is down” was used, that would signify to the UK Prime Minister and essential personnel that the Queen had passed and to begin putting the plans in motion. It is said that the plans were highly specific and even noted down to the minute.
While the United Kingdom holds a 10-day national mourning period following Her Majesty’s death, a procession of her casket is led starting from the Scottish Highlands to Edinburgh, flown to London, and then brought to Buckingham Palace. The Queen helped to design the hearse carrying her casket prior to her passing, because it is said that she wanted as many people to be able to clearly see it as possible. The private funeral ceremony will take place at Buckingham Palace on Monday September 19th, 2022.
The Queen’s body will be laid to rest in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, next to the resting place of her beloved husband, Prince Phillip.
With the procession of her casket taking place across a large portion of the United Kingdom, tourist rates are skyrocketing. According to one travel app ‘Hopper’, their searches to fly out to London from the United States spiked about 49% on the day of Queen Elizabeth II’s passing. It is expected for people from all over the world to come mourn and celebrate her life, although finding a hotel room might be difficult as they are all booking up.
On the morning of Her Majesty’s death, Buckingham Palace made an announcement that the Queen is under medical supervision after the doctors became “concerned for her health”. Additionally, the announcement mentioned that the Queen was “comfortable”. Citizens began to infer that something was wrong, as it was unusual for Buckingham Palace to make public announcements about the monarch’s private medical matters.
After the announcement, it was quickly discovered that the Royal Family was rushing to make it to Balmoral Castle to say their goodbyes. It was said that Prince Harry, the Queen’s grandson, was not able to make it in time to Balmoral to say goodbye. Additionally, it is rumored that King Charles III asked Prince Harry to not bring his wife Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, to Balmoral. There has been ongoing family drama regarding Meghan and Harry with the Royal Family, that it is suspected that the drama continues upon that rumor. The Duchess of Sussex was not seen at Balmoral Castle on the morning of the Queen’s passing.
The day prior to Queen Elizabeth II’s passing, she appointed and welcomed the UK’s newest Prime Minister, Liz Truss. The last-known photos of the Queen were taken upon her meeting the new Prime Minister. This was the last official duty the Queen fulfilled before her passing.
In the Summer of 2022, Queen Elizabeth II hit a remarkable milestone celebrating her Platinum Jubilee. This event marks 70 years of her reign as Queen, making Queen Elizabeth II the longest-reigning monarch in British history. This surpasses the reign of her great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, who spent 63 years as the monarch from 1837-1901.
To put Queen Elizabeth II’s 70 year reign into perspective, this means that she has reigned as the monarch for approximately one third of the United States history timeline.
As we celebrate the extraordinary life that the Queen has lived, we also remember all of the major historical events, accomplishments, and challenges that she led the nation through. World War II, The Great Depression, and the COVID-19 Pandemic are just to name a few.
Queen Elizabeth II continues to bring the world together, even among her passing. Two days following her passing, during the changing of the Guard, a UK military band honors the tradition that the Queen set in place following the 9/11 attacks in 2001. She requested that every year, even after she was gone, that the United States national anthem, the Star Spangled Banner, to be played.
As the United Kingdom begins to move forward with a new monarch, King Charles III, it is expected that a series of changes will slowly start to come in. The national anthem has already been replaced to say “God save the King”. Stamps and currency are expected to change to feature the King over time. It is rumored that King Charles III might keep the monarch’s birthday (a UK holiday) as the Queen’s birthday instead of switching it to his actual birthday.
After a life of many accomplishments, Queen Elizabeth II has given the world many moments of joy that are to be continued to be celebrated and remembered.
