Her 73-year-old son Charles became king immediately after his mother’s death, as Charles III. He will address the nation soon, but the coronation is months away.
The first sign that things are going badly for his 96-year-old mother comes around noon on Thursday. Newly-appointed Prime Minister Liz Truss gives a worried face when she receives a note during an important debate on the energy crisis. Opposition leader Keir Starmer is also concerned. Moments later, the news comes that Crown Prince Charles and his wife Camilla are on their way to Scotland, followed by Princes William and Harry. The royal doctors announce that Elizabeth is under medical supervision, and after this candid announcement from the palace all the alarm bells go off.
London Bridge
Immediately after the death, operation ‘London Bridge’ was put into operation. The Queen’s body will be transported by Royal Train to London, where Prime Minister Truss will meet the vehicle at St Pancras station. Next, Elizabeth is transferred to Buckingham Palace. There, the royal family gathers to mourn Elizabeth, who had four children, eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. She had been widowed since the spring of 2021, when Prince Philip died after a long illness at the age of 99.
In a few days the revelation will follow in Westminster Hall, where the British can pay their last respects day and night to their queen. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people are expected to want to do that. Elizabeth, like her father George VI, enjoyed great popularity among her subjects – and around the world. Not only was she Queen of the United Kingdom, she embodied the island nation. In her seven decades on the throne, she was an anchor for a country ravaged by many storms.
Westminster Abbey
In ten days, the state funeral is expected to take place at Westminster Abbey, which will be an unprecedented event in British history. Monarchs and world leaders will flock to London. Over the years, Elizabeth has honored as many as 110 countries with an official visit. No living person has seen more political leaders than Elizabeth, who became Queen when Winston Churchill was Prime Minister, Harry Truman the US President and Willem Drees resided in the Torentje in The Hague.
She is buried next to her husband Philip in the George VI Memorial Chapel at Windsor Castle, the castle where she spent most of her life. Its great merit is in keeping the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth together. ‘Elizabeth the Great’ has always considered herself a servant of the nation. She has been that way until the end of her long life. Her advisors always struggled to slow her down. In total, she has performed more than 21 thousand official ceremonies.
‘Keep calm and carry on’
She was known for her reserved and stoic demeanor, with a touch of mischievous humour, traits typical of England in her formative years. She never gave interviews, nor did she complain. ‘Keep calm and carry on’ was her life motto. Only at the end of 1992 did she briefly drop her mask when she spoke of the past ‘annus horribilis’. In that year, the marital problems of her four children were widely reported in the press and a fierce fire raged at her beloved Windsor Castle.
Five years later, the monarchy faltered when Elizabeth and the rest of the royal family were said to have reacted too soberly to Diana’s death from Balmoral Castle. The royal family recovered after this error of judgment, helped by the film The Queen. Her image of a cool lady melted with the years and she became more popular than she had ever been. This became apparent when the British population celebrated en masse at the beginning of June on the occasion of its platinum anniversary. Only Louis XIV, who was still a baby when he took the throne, has been monarch for longer.
Last year it became clear that the queen was ill; she was getting thinner and thinner. There was talk of ‘mobility problems’, but that seems to have been a smokescreen. Elizabeth once spoke of aging in the distinctive and melancholy words: “No one can slow the passage of time, and while we often focus on everything that changes in the intervening years, much remains the same, including the gospel of Jesus and his teachings.” .’