On September 8, 2022, Queen Elizabeth II passed away in Balmoral Castle (Scotland). Just seven years before her death, she became the longest-reigning monarch in British History. Her passing took the world by storm and left the public with many questions regarding royal standings.Â
How did Queen Elizabeth II come into power?
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor officially became the Queen of England in February of 1952 at just twenty-five years old. Her uncle retired himself from the throne and she quickly tossed her title of Princess Elizabeth to take over rule. Her path was set for her to hold the title of monarch for fifteen countries including the United Kingdom and fourteen others: “The Commonwealth of Nations”. The Queen ruled until her death in 2022.Â
Who’s next in line to the throne?
Though Queen Elizabeth was married to Prince Charles, he passed in 2021 and was not set to inherit the throne. Her firstborn child, King Charles (father of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and William, Prince of Wales), has taken over the throne. Once Charles’ time on the throne comes to an end, he will be succeeded by William. Contrary to popular belief, William will not be followed by Harry; Prince George, William’s first born, will be immediate ruler after his father. Harry does not have sight of the throne until after all of William’s children rule. Prince George (9), Princess Charlotte (7), and Prince Louis (4) are all preliminary to the throne.Â
With the Queen’s death, titles have evolved within the royal family:
- Prince Charles | King Charles
- Camilla (Charles’ Wife) | The Queen Consort
- William and Kate, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge |Â William and Kate, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall, Prince and Princess of Wales (formerly held by Charles and Diana)
- Prince/Princess George, Charlotte, and Louis | Prince/Princess George, Charlotte, and Louis of Wales
- Harry and Meghan remain Duke and Duchess of Sussex
*It is unsure if Harry and Meghan’s children inherit the title of Prince and Princess of Wales after their separation from royal rule.
How did the world react to the monarch’s passing?
After the official announcement of the Queen’s death, the internet went wild with posts about Her Majesty’s passing. Joe Biden, President of the United States, and his wife recognized the importance she held to people all around the world and her dedication to advocating for world peace. Twitter was flooded with a mixture of condolences for the royal family and the people she ruled along with a surplus of memes about her passing. After the announcement of the Queen’s death, the official Twitter account for the book/cartoon character Paddington Bear [@paddingtonbear] wrote: “Thank you Ma’am, for everything.” With the sweet messages came the trolls, and they were not holding back. Many users were calling out Queen Elizabeth’s wrongdoings by calling her a “colonizer” and mentioning her relation to concentration camps in Kenya. Another user retweeted and added a comment to a video posted by BBC News Africa Network’s official Twitter account. The four minute and thirty five second video is accompanied by the caption: “We take a look back at Queen Elizabeth II’s long standing relationship with Africa.” [@sifanelepotwana] retweeted the post, commenting: “not yall rebranding colonialism as long-standing relationship”. TikTok was also full of videos and memes referring to the popular conspiracy theory that the Queen played a part in King Charles’ ex-wife’s death (Princess Diana of Wales). Needless to say, opinions varied widely when it came to Elizabeth’s impact on the world.Â
Queen Elizabeth II was laid to rest by burial at King George VI Memorial Chapel (London) preceded by a funeral on September 19, 2022.