By B. DeZwaan
Howard University News Service
Queen Elizabeth II lived a long and fulfilled life from 1926 to 2022. Throughout her life, she has impacted not only the United Kingdom but the world.
Her funeral on Monday capped off the United Kingdom’s 10-day mourning process called Operation London Bridge. But the United Kingdom is not the only country that is mourning the queen’s death.
In the United States, Union Jacks line Pennsylvania Avenue in the nation’s capital. The Washington National Cathedral held a memorial service in collaboration with the British Embassy on Wednesday.
“Her Majesty devoted 70 years of service to her God and to her people,” said the Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith, dean of Washington National Cathedral, said in a statement. “We will remember her unwavering sense of duty, devotion and fidelity she embodied, and the many visits she has made to the cathedral over her lifetime.”
Terry Lopez, who lives in Asheville, North Carolina, said that “she was a staple of Europe’s political scene for my whole life — not that she was my queen, yet her people loved her.”
“I’m not familiar with her politics as I would be had I lived under her law,” Lopez said. “So, I cared, I guess, as much as any celebrity death from my youth.”
Although Queen Elizabeth will be missed by many, some criticize her politics and her family’s role in the British Commonwealth.
“The queen lived a full lavish life better than most will ever have the chance of experiencing,” said Domenick Chan near the British Embassy in Washington. “She hoarded billions, selfishly taking funds meant for the impoverished and vetted laws to suit her family’s needs. She also engaged in brutal colonial violence and racial subjugation. I’m relieved that such a grand pillar of institutionalized racism has finally passed on.”
Another bystander, Caitlin Schiavoni, was also critical. “I did not really care that much and couldn’t help but think about all of the countries that they have conquered during her reign,” Schiavoni said. “She’s just a rich white lady. I don’t know why monarchs are still a thing.”
Schiavoni also questioned the time and attention devoted to Operation London Bridge. “I feel really, really bad about everyone in the U.K. that can’t do anything normal in their lives right now because of her death,” she said.
Katie Williams had similar sentiments. “I think that it got more coverage by the media than it really deserved,” Williams said, “especially when there are things happening in the world that have way more consequences like Azerbaijan invading Armenia and these migrants being dumped in sanctuary cities.”
B. DeZwaan is a reporter for HUNewsService.com.
For more coverage …
Long Did She Reign: Britain Mourns the Passing of Queen Elizabeth II
Queen Elizabeth II Leaves Controversial Legacy
