The news of Queen Elizabeth II's death on Thursday 8th September has not only rocked the nation, but the entire world. As the UK enters a period of national mourning – continuing until the Queen's funeral – endless tributes have poured in from across the globe. World leaders are paying thanks, industries from sport to fashion are showing their respect, and church bells are being tolled up and down the country.
But despite the vast outpouring of support and respect for the Queen, not everyone is grieving or celebrating the Queen's life and legacy. In fact, the anti-monarchist rhetoric has been bubbling since the announcement of her ill health earlier in the day on Thursday, and indeed thriving since her death was announced several hours later, piercing the global outpouring of grief.
Let me make something very clear: I am not a royalist. In fact, like many people of my generation, I think the monarchy is archaic and does not fit into the fabric of modern-day Britain; not least the modern Britain we hope for.
It's an establishment underpinned by enormous privilege, influence and aristocratic power, yet jarringly, to uphold the monarchy is incredibly expensive (in June 2022, it was revealed that the monarchy cost the taxpayer £102.4m during 2021-22, up 17% from the previous financial year).
Then there's its justified criticisms of racism, and the monarchy's failure to address its colonial past. Elizabeth I helped to establish slavery in Britain, and the royal family have undoubtedly benefited from its role in the slave trade and the British Empire (it's understood that the wealth made from slavery helped fund the Treasury). Though Prince Charles acknowledged his family's role in the slave trade as “an atrocity”, the Queen never did.
This is before we even get into more recent issues with the royal family, like the scandals surrounding the Queen's son Prince Andrew and continued claims of racism from Meghan Markle.
But as I sat and watched the news in the aftermath of the Queen's death – the rainbow reaching over Windsor Castle, the black-and-white photos of a young Queen cradling her firstborn son Charles, and later, clutching the arm of her husband Prince Philip, whose death she mourned alone in April 2021 due to the grips of Covid – tears stung my eyes. Because I believe you can be anti-monarchist, and still mourn the death of the Queen.
It comes down to separating the institution from the individual. Yes, the Queen stood for the monarchy and in turn, stood for all the reasons people like me feel it has no place in modern society. But she also stood for much more than that on a personal level to millions of people.
The significance of her life and death cannot be overstated. You would have to be in your 80s to remember a life without the Queen or to know anyone else on the British throne. That constancy and commitment was a source of comfort to a vast amount of people. The Queen was a figure of continuity. Her death not only marks the end of a historical era, but an era of loyalty and devotion.
Over the past few years in particular, the Queen was a figurehead for a sharply divided and battered nation. I will never forget her address to the country during the pandemic in April 2020, when thousands of people were dying every day in the UK and we were confined to our homes like bewildered prisoners, terrified for our loved ones.
I, like many others, wept as she said those words reminiscent of wartime Britain: “We will be with our friends again. We will be with our families again. We will meet again.” We wept because she brought us a crucial moment of comfort in a time of such fear and grief. We wept because we believed her.
As we emerged bleary-eyed and bruised from the very worst of the pandemic, things didn't get easier. The climate crisis worsened, injustice persisted, and political divides fractured us. To have a leader who didn't continuously let us down like our elected leaders – and indeed, who had power over our elected leaders – and who never added to the rift or fuelled the fire, made us feel like we had someone to turn to. The world may have been going to hell in a handcart, but at least we had someone on our side.
Now, as we continue to live in such a fractious era and hurtle towards a frightening winter during a soaring cost of living, the Queen would have been a soothing source of support for so many. The void of her absence will be immense.
Watching the news after the Queen's death, reporters interviewed people standing outside Buckingham Palace, many with tears in their eyes and audible lumps in their throats. People of countless cultures and communities paying their respects, sharing in their sadness and gratitude, and coming together to pay their respects to the one constant they had all known their entire lives.
No matter what you think of the monarchy, you cannot ignore the immense unity and comfort that the Queen bought to so many. During times of such uncertainty and division, that is something millions of people will sorely miss. It is something worth celebrating.
