Queen Elizabeth’s passing comes as this island nation of 67 million was already mired in dire and complicated times, with the question of national identity blurred and divisive.
LONDON — In 1953, Eve Pollard’s parents bought a tiny black-and-white TV so the family could watch Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation. Pollard was 7, and she remembers neighbors piling into her house, all dressed up for the telecast — men in ties, women in smart outfits and Pollard in a frilly, checked dress.
Regional tensions that have long dogged London are also increasing. The Scottish, already angling for a new independence vote, may find this moment ripe for a fresh start in the absence of a beloved and shared queen. Northern Ireland, whose status has never been totally clear post-Brexit, is jittery, which carries ominous echoes.
“There will be a substantial moment of national introspection, a long moment of pause for what the queen’s death means for Britain’s role in the world,” said Tony Travers, a British politics expert at the London School of Economics.“Britain has a separate head of state and government, and both have changed in the span of two days,” he said.
The national outpouring for the 96-year-old queen’s death seems more muted than the collective mourning over the sudden death of Princess Diana 25 years ago when she was just 36. “In 1953, the U.K., its government and its civil servants were highly respected across the world,” said David Edgerton, professor of modern British history at King’s College. “And today, people look on in amazement at our prime ministers and are astonished by their seeming lack of grasp of reality.”
“This country has always thought we could at least heat our homes,” Pollard said. “Suddenly we woke to find everyone in a real bind. Suddenly we don’t seem to be quite the strong country we felt we were.” Niblett said the nation has already moved on from being defined “entirely by her.” New cultural touchstones beyond the monarchy, from Harry Potter to “Downton Abbey,” are now the more familiar global symbols of Britain.
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