Great Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, Elizabeth II, died peacefully Thursday at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. She was 96 years old.
The Royal Family broke the news in a tweet – the digital release serving as a stark reminder of just how much the world has changed throughout the queen’s life.
Born in 1926, she was just 13 when WWII began, and was taken to the countryside for safety while her parents, the King and Queen at the time, remained in London in solidarity with those enduring the Blitz. During the war, she distributed messages of hope, was named honorary colonel of the Grenadier Guards and eventually enrolled in the women’s branch of the army at age 18, working as an auto mechanic until WWII ended.
Elizabeth married Prince Philip in 1947 and became queen at only 25 when her father, King George VI, died in 1952. Her coronation was held the following year in 1953 and kicked off a 70-year reign that saw technological advances, numerous scandals and a drastically changing world.
Aanya Datta, a junior studying psychology, said she has mixed feelings about Elizabeth, but had to applaud her for her ability to reign so long.
“She started at a very young age and at the time that she ascended the throne she was essentially the only female head of state,” Datta said. “In the '50s, being a female leader in a male-dominated, patriarchal society is a big deal. But what I don't appreciate, and what I think is potentially something that a lot of people tend to ignore, is with this came a sense of imperialism, colonization and genocide.”
When Elizabeth came to power, Britain still held 70 colonized territories around the world. India had won its independence less than a decade prior, in 1947. British troops were fighting independence movements in Egypt and Kenya when she took the throne – fights they would lose, along with many others.
A dive into decolonization published by Princeton University described decolonization as “the simultaneous dissolution of several intercontinental empires and the creation of nation-states,” specifically between 1945 and 1975. However, Britain still has 14 Overseas Territories with a constitutional link with the U.K. as of 2022.
For many, the Queen’s passing was symbolic of the British history of colonization. Twitter erupted in debate of whether or not users were mourning the loss given the complicated dynamic between an empire that colonized much of the world and the individual who was its figurehead.
“I will instantly block anybody who makes a derogatory remark about Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,” Twitter user @SamanthaTaghoy tweeted Sept. 8.
This tweet was met with backlash, as user @JuneFantasyAdct replied to the initial tweet, “Oh you mean the colonizer? The protector of her pedophile son?? That Queen Elizabeth???”
Isaac Boersma, a junior studying integrated social studies, said he is not mourning the Queen.
“I don’t care,” Boersma said. “F--- the monarchy, and even if you can get past that she was still a bad person. She led the country to do a lot of really bad imperialistic things. Just because she’s an old lady doesn’t really get you past that. Jimmy Carter is old and builds houses now, but do we put him past what he did?”
Elizabeth’s death has also affected the recently renewed mobilization for Scottish independence. According to the New York Times, political analysts have predicted Scottish respect for the Queen and her devotion to Scotland could momentarily dampen the independence debate.
The Queen’s departure has also sparked many conversations about the future of the monarchy. Reagan Goldberg, a senior studying restaurant, hotel and tourism, said she was shocked when she heard the news and is most interested in looking forward to the monarchy’s next chapter.
“I’m interested to see how the monarchy goes on after her passing considering all the news we’ve been getting about Charles taking the throne and possible plans for him to change the way that the monarchy is set up,” Goldberg said. “So I'm more interested to see what happens after the mourning period and everything like that.”
Elizabeth is succeeded by Charles III. His younger brother, Prince Andrew, was stripped of his military titles and royal patronages last January due to a friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and a sexual abuse allegation against the prince.
Goldberg said she was surprised that with negative rumors circling Charles and Andrew, she had always assumed the throne would skip a generation and go to William, Elizabeth’s grandson who is now first in line for the throne.
Datta said the new ascension to the throne was not something she was happy about.
“When I look towards leadership, I'm looking for some grain of morality,” Datta said. “I'm not saying Queen Elizabeth was the perfect picture of morality, but … an idolizing adulterer who has been a so-called advocate for environmental change and then is zipping around in planes across the world? Not his biggest fan at all.”
Boersma said his main sympathy was for Queen Elizabeth’s beloved and trademark corgis. The New York Times reported they will stay in the family, as Prince Andrew and his former wife Sarah will assume responsibility for the pups.
“As far as the Queen is concerned, I have mixed feelings about her,” Datta said. “I can definitely appreciate leadership rules, overseeing so many prime ministers and managing to keep together the United Kingdom is something that deserves major praise. But at the same time, I cannot ignore the fact that genocide was committed under her watch and nothing was done about it.”
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