On September 8, 2022, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen of the United Kingdom and longest reigning monarch of the British crown, passed away. The Platinum Jubilee, commemorating seventy years on the throne, has only ever been achieved by Queen Elizabeth. When her father died in 1952, she was crowned Queen at the young age of twenty-five. Although she faced backlash for many choices she made throughout her reign, she was perceived as a world leader and someone who cared deeply for the citizens of her country. This interview expresses a variety of viewpoints towards the Queen at our school, BASIS Independent Fremont. We interviewed both teachers and students, although student responses will remain anonymous.
Mr. Sanders: I had expected it to happen because I read newspapers on a daily basis.
Ms. Beth: I felt mostly kind of not exactly sad, but the feeling that it was the end of an era, she was an institution who was constant in my whole life. I would joke with my kids about having dinner with the queen to promote good manners. Now we have a king instead of a queen.
Mr. Sanders: The fact that she was the longest reigning British monarch gave a lot of credibility to the monarchy. People used her as a form of propaganda to promote monarchist ideas.
Ms. Beth: She managed her long and difficult schedule and maintained a good reputation for a very long time. People looked to her for guidance on how to be on the world stage and how to conduct oneself in front of thousands of people.
Mr. Sanders: I was interested in how she is part of a very long tradition that goes back thousands of years. She has managed to keep medieval traditions alive despite our world moving into the age of technology.
Ms. Beth: She seems close to history for a long period of time. She is a part of history and very close to the action through dramatic events in society.
Mr. Sanders: I do not actually have a lot to say to her because I think you have to distinguish what people are as a person versus as a public figure.
Ms. Beth: I would compliment her on having a demanding role and living in the public eye.
Student 1: I was in my AP English Literature class and my friend Shreya Sadhwani walked into the classroom and informed me of the queen's death.
Student 2: I was talking to my friend at her locker when suddenly another one of my friends came up behind me and screamed "THE QUEEN IS DEAD!!!"
Student 3: I was coming out of AP English language when I was told by my friends that the Queen had died.
Student 4: I was at school in AP Physics C.
Student 5: I was in the hallway and heard someone scream it.
Student 1: I was asking Mr. Betcher a question about the text we were reading, and when I heard her I stopped mid-question and yelled "the queen is dead?" When the realization hit me, my heart dropped to my stomach. I couldn't breathe and my ears were ringing. The queen was dead. She hadn't outlived Charles. One of the people that I hate the most in the world.
Student 2: I was honestly shocked. I stood there for like two minutes just looking at my friends.
Student 3: I was quite indifferent honestly. It was shocking in its own way, but I knew immediately that the whole world was going to stop just to mourn her death.
Student 4: I was shocked that such a prominent figure in society had passed away, but it honestly didn't feel that significant.
Student 5: Oh.. ok then
Student 1: I honestly do not know much about the political impact of the queen's reign, but she has lived through 10 decades and has experienced so many things in her lifetime. She has met so many influential people in her lifetime, like Marilyn Monroe, and all the critical national leaders in the world, and it's baffling that she passed away.
Student 2: First, is the fact that she was a female monarch. There have been many queens of the past, but she only has one female descendant, so it's very unlikely that we'll get another queen anytime soon. Secondly, she took office soon after the Second World War, so she helped with British morale. She became the leader of the nation's spirit, and many people looked up to her. Finally, she put Charles and Diana together like c'mon that was a horrible choice for everyone, and what did we get out of it? Nothing. The fact that she refused to let them divorce was stupid too.
Student 3: There’s no doubt there’s been an extremely bloody history under the British crown - for me, this is especially relevant to India, which only became free 75 years ago. The British monarchy feels quite irrelevant at this point - they only nominally hold power, and I can’t say they brought anything great to this world. The best part about her reign was that much of the British Empire finally crumbled under her, setting people around the world free of oppression.
Student 4: She was a figurehead and an icon across the entire world.
Student 1: Her long life.
Student 2: Her corgis.
Student 3: It’s interesting to me what a strong hold she had on the world, despite people trying to separate themselves from the past colonial authority. Shinzo Abe, the former Japanese Prime Minister was just recently assassinated - he actually changed his country and he didn’t get a fraction of the mourning and media attention she got. There’s a very racist undertone to that disparity in news reporting.
Student 4: She is the longest reigning monarch in history.
Student 5: She had some cute pet corgis.
Student 1: I would ask her about Princess Diana's death because I am genuinely so curious.
Student 2: I would say she was iconic but I'm still on Diana's side #justicefordiana.
Student 3: I’d ask her how she felt about so many of her crown jewels being stolen from India and other former colonies after spilling so much blood.
Student 4: Damn, you were born before the American great depression. That's seriously impressive.
Student 5: Maybe say sorry to India.
The death of the Queen shook the world, as many people say they were quite shocked by this event. Some were quite sad to see the Queen go, while others were relieved that the Queen’s reign had come to an end. Despite these many opinions, everyone agrees that the Queen had a substantial impact on people from around the world. From her pet corgis to the way she conducted herself in public, Queen Elizabeth has many unique characteristics that have left a lasting image of herself on the world stage. As we move on to experience the reign of King Charles, the legacy of Queen Elizabeth’s rule continues to live on.