‘London Bridge’ is down

Britain’s longest-reigning monarch dies at age 96

COLIN MULLANEY / COPY EDITOR / THE USD VISTA

After 70 years on the throne as the reigning queen of the United Kingdom and British Commonwealth, Queen Elizabeth II died at the age of 96 on Sept. 8. Upon her passing, the United Kingdom and Buckingham Palace initiated what is referred to as “Operation London Bridge.” With the code phrase, “London Bridge is down,” officials launched the detailed and finely-tuned government plan for ten days of ceremony and mourning that will culminate with her funeral, according to NBC.

Queen Elizabeth ascended to the throne on Feb. 6, 1952, after the death of her father, King George VI. She was never “meant” to be queen, in that she was not born to inherit the crown. Her father was not the next in line for the throne either, rather his elder brother, David. That is, until her Uncle David — King Edward VIII — abdicated the throne to marry an American divorcee and left the kingship behind to Elizabeth’s father, with Elizabeth second in line, New York Times reported.  

During World War II, Elizabeth worked as an ambulance driver and mechanic. She married after the war in 1947, to then Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark. The couple had four children over the course of their 73-year marriage, ending with his death in April 2021. Their eldest son, Charles, is now the King of England at the age of 73. 

Elizabeth’s reign as Queen of the United Kingdom began in 1952, with the death of her father. Although her coronation would not be for another year in June 1953, Elizabeth was immediately propelled into her father’s role as monarch at the age of 25. Guided by Prime Minister Winston Churchill, her coronation was considered revolutionary, because it was the first ever to be televised and marked the beginning of a second “Elizabethan age,” the New York Times reported.  

As queen, Elizabeth saw the United Kingdom through great difficulty and hardships, from the Suez Canal Crisis to the Falklands Wars and the Troubles in Ireland. Elizabeth was served by 15 prime ministers, including the first female prime minister of the U.K., Margaret Thatcher. She also met with 13 U.S. presidents — from Truman to Biden — and five Popes; she was the most widely-traveled head of state. 

The most recent U.K. prime minister, Liz Truss, was appointed on Sept. 6, just two days before the Queen’s death. Elizabeth was photographed for the last time, shaking hands with Truss at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, where she would pass away later that week, according to the New York Times.

USD international student Mason Tunbridge from North London expressed his reaction to the monarch’s death.

“I was shocked. The Queen has always been a presence, a constant. She was respected, classy, and epitomized leadership through example. She always led by example and was able to avoid a lot of scandals herself,” Tunbridge said. 

Although Queen Elizabeth was popular among her subjects for much of her life and has received an outpouring of grief and remembrance, she was not without controversy during her reign. Elizabeth was occasionally criticized for having a cold, elitist attitude, especially surrounding her son Charles’ divorce of Princess Diana in 1996 and the late Princess Diana’s death a year later. More recently, Elizabeth was implicated in a scandal in the form of her son Andrew’s association with sex-trafficker and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein; this scandal resulted in Andrew being stripped of his royal titles and duties in 2021, according to the New York Times.

Elizabeth was also seen by some as a representative of colonial expansionism. Although Britain increasingly decolonized during the rule of Elizabeth II, the monarchy itself carries a history of brutal exploitation of other nations, like India during the British Raj. Likewise, although Elizabeth served as a prominent female ruler, the system that she represented is built upon the British concept and patriarchal tradition of primogeniture, inheritance of the monarchy by the eldest son. 

Despite the problems of the monarchy, Tunbridge still believes it plays an important part in the life of all British citizens, if only symbolically. 

“There is an advantage in having someone to look up to, and even though it costs the taxpayers money, it brings in a lot in the form of tourism,” Tunbridge said. “Americans don’t understand that the monarch is mostly symbolic, that they don’t actually have any political power.”

At the age of 21, Elizabeth delivered a speech in which she stated, “I declare before you all that my whole life — whether it be long or short — shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great Imperial family, to which we all belong.” In his first public speech as King, Charles III invoked his mother’s commitment to duty by quoting the selfsame speech and citing it as his ongoing commitment as the new King. 

“She was an inspiration to me and all my family, and we owe her the most heartfelt debt any family could owe to their mother, for her love, affection, guidance, understanding and example,” King Charles III stated.

Tunbridge expects King Charles to follow in the footsteps of Elizabeth, but with a caveat. 

“The new King will do a fine job, but he is quite old, and it is probably best to prepare for not only the new king, but the next king after him as well,” Tunbridge said. 

Queen Elizabeth leaves behind a legacy as the longest-serving British monarch, the longest-reigning female monarch in history, and the second longest-reigning monarch ever recorded, after France’s Louis XVI. Her funeral will take place on Sep. 19 in London, at Westminster Abbey, after 10 days of ceremony.