Mourners left flowers for Queen Elizabeth II who passed away last month after a long reign.
Queen Elizabeth II had the longest reign of a monarch in England and was the second longest reigning monarch in the world. Her presence and influence were felt one the global stage for the last 70 years. England and its 14 commonwealths account for many of the world's most populated countries, and the history of the monarchy is intertwined with the way the world works today.
“The queen's death is important and while it won't affect me personally the queen was very important for many other countries,” sophomore Kaden Homier said. “Many Americans focus on the royal family because of the secrets and privacy that come along with being royalty.”
At one point in history, the British Empire covered over 25% of the entire world's surface, and its colonization efforts went into every corner of the world. Until the late 18th Century, Britain viewed its colonization efforts as their purpose to bring the rest of the world into civilization. They often viewed the places they conquered as wastelands only useful for their natural resources and the people who lived there as savages requiring conversion to Christianity.
This history often gave an image to others as the British being brutal conquerors whose rules are only driven by their greed. The Royal family itself goes back thousands of years. The bloodlines of the modern rulers connect straight back to rulers like William the Conqueror or the Tudors.
Queen Elizabeth II rose to power in 1952 and ruled until she died in 2022. Throughout her reign, she had seen countries formed from nothing, countless wars, the rise of global superpowers, and the use of nuclear weapons. While she was in power, the United States had 13 different presidents.
“The queen's death is sad, but I guess it was her time to go. She lived a long time,” said junior Carrington Epting.
This is a common feeling for most people in the United States, especially people who are younger and haven't been around long to see the queen's life.
In the United Kingdom, they have held a two-week mourning period where various events and parts of normal life have entirely halted. For many students, school was limited to giving time to mourn the loss of the queen. This may seem minor but this can cost millions of dollars. The funeral itself cost the U.K. tens of millions, and the shutdown of critical infrastructure has greatly affected the daily lives of U.K. citizens with metros and airlines being canceled for the preparation of funeral processions.
¨I feel like they are a waste of money because the U.K. has democracy today," said Barrett Mizell.
It is estimated that the queen's death will cost the U.K. a total of 2.7 billion USD. Whether the impact is felt in the U.K. is fairly straightforward, but how does it impact countries like the U.S. that have declared independence from the monarchy?
The United States is one of many countries that declared independence from England's reign and the monarchy of the royal family, yet the monarchy still had a great influence on how these countries operated post-independence. For example, in some nations, England's impact was so great that they still operated the same way even after England left, such as many nations going from their native languages to speaking mostly in English and operating under the same strict regulations when under colonial rule.
An additional factor was that many nations' natural resources were completely taken and mined which forced these nations to rely upon the monarchy for trade for fear of starvation and total collapse. The U.S. on the other hand no longer heavily relies on the UK for trade but has become a close ally.
Regardless of if one supports the royal family, it is impossible not to feel the impact of the queen's death and the influence of the royal family throughout the world in one way or the other.
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