{"id":13883,"date":"2022-09-09T07:08:38","date_gmt":"2022-09-09T14:08:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=13883"},"modified":"2022-09-13T07:09:22","modified_gmt":"2022-09-13T14:09:22","slug":"the-sovereign-and-spirit-of-britain-dies-at-96-the-new-york-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=13883","title":{"rendered":"“The Sovereign and Spirit of Britain Dies at 96”, The New York Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

By <\/span>Mark Landler, Sept.9, 2022<\/span><\/p>\n

The Queen\u2019s Death Comes at a Moment of Great Uncertainty for Britain<\/em><\/p>\n

People gathering outside Buckingham Palace on Thursday after the news of the queen\u2019s death was announced.\u00a0<\/span>Credit.\u00a0<\/span>Andrew Testa for The New York Times<\/span><\/p>\n

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LONDON \u2014 Queen Elizabeth II, whose seven-decade reign made her the only sovereign that most Britons had ever known, died on Thursday<\/a> at her summer estate in Scotland, thrusting a bereaved country into a momentous transition at a time of political and economic upheaval.<\/p>\n

The queen\u2019s death at Balmoral Castle, announced by Buckingham Palace at 6:30 p.m., elevated her eldest son and heir, Charles, to the throne. He is Britain\u2019s first king since 1952, taking the name King Charles III.<\/p>\n

At 96, visibly frail, and having survived multiple health scares, the queen had been in the twilight of her reign for some years. But news of her death still landed with a thunderclap across the British realm, where the queen was a revered figure and an anchor of stability.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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In itself, the queen\u2019s death is a watershed moment. But it also comes at a time of acute uncertainty in Britain. A new prime minister, Liz Truss, has been in office for only three days, following months of political turmoil in the British government. The country faces its gravest economic threats in a generation, besieged by inflation, soaring energy bills and the specter of a prolonged recession.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Queen Elizabeth II: A Life in Photos<\/div>\n
Elizabeth took her first steps in a world we recognize only from sepia photographs, and became Britain\u2019s longest-reigning monarch. Here are a selection of images from her life.<\/div>\n
Sept. 8, 2022<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The death of Elizabeth sets in motion a royal transition more complicated than any change in prime ministers. It will be meticulously choreographed in its rituals, but what kind of monarchy it will produce is a mystery. At 73, Charles is the oldest person to become monarch in British history \u2014 a familiar figure, to be sure \u2014 but one who has made clear he wants to transform the nature of the royal family.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon,\u201d the palace said in a stark, two-line statement affixed to the front gate of Buckingham Palace. \u201cThe King and Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and return to London tomorrow,\u201d it said, referring to Charles and his wife, Camilla.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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A notice of the queen\u2019s death was brought from Buckingham Palace and posted on its gates.<\/span>Credit…<\/span>Andrew Testa for The New York Times<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The announcement came after an anguished vigil of several hours, following a lunchtime statement by the palace that the queen had been placed under medical supervision. Family members rushed to her side at Balmoral Castle, suggesting this was no ordinary medical crisis but that the end was near.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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News of the queen\u2019s decline began circulating as Parliament was debating an emergency aid package to protect Britons from huge increases in gas and electricity bills. After a senior minister whispered in her ear, Ms. Truss rose to leave the chamber. Hours later, clad in black, she emerged from Downing Street to pay tribute.<\/p>\n

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Some Key Moments in Queen Elizabeth\u2019s Reign<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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Card 1 of 9<\/span><\/p>\n

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Becoming queen. <\/strong>Following the death of King George VI, Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary ascended to the throne<\/a>\u00a0on Feb. 6, 1952, at age 25. The coronation of the newly minted Queen Elizabeth II<\/a>\u00a0took place on June 2 the following year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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A historic visit. <\/strong>On May 18, 1965, Elizabeth arrived in Bonn<\/a>\u00a0on the first state visit by a British monarch to Germany in more than 50 years. The trip formally sealed the reconciliation between the two nations following the world wars.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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First grandchild. <\/strong>In 1977, the queen stepped into the role of grandmother<\/a>\u00a0for the first time, after Princess Anne gave birth to a son, Peter. Elizabeth\u2019s four children have given her a total of eight grandchildren, who have been followed by several great-grandchildren.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Princess Diana\u2019s death. <\/strong>In a rare televised broadcast ahead of Diana\u2019s funeral<\/a>\u00a0in 1997, Queen Elizabeth remembered the Princess of Wales, who died in a car crash in Paris at age 36, as \u201can exceptional and gifted human being.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Golden jubilee. <\/strong>In 2002, celebrations to mark Elizabeth II’s 50 years as queen<\/a>\u00a0culminated in a star-studded concert at Buckingham Palace in the presence of 12,000 cheering guests, with an estimated one million more watching on giant screens set up around London.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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A trip to Ireland. <\/strong>In May 2011, the queen visited the Irish Republic<\/a>, whose troubled relationship with the British monarchy spanned centuries. The trip, infused with powerful symbols of reconciliation, is considered one of the most politically freighted trips of Elizabeth\u2019s reign.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Breaking a record. <\/strong>As of 5:30 p.m. British time on Sept. 9, 2015, Elizabeth II became Britain\u2019s longest-reigning monarch<\/a>, surpassing Queen Victoria, her great-great-grandmother. Elizabeth was 89\u00a0at the time, and had ruled for 23,226 days, 16 hours and about 30 minutes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Marking 70 years of marriage. <\/strong>On Nov. 20, 2017, the queen and Prince Philip celebrated their 70th anniversary<\/a>, becoming the longest-married couple in royal history. The two wed in 1947, as the country and the world was still reeling from the atrocities of World War II.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Losing her spouse. <\/strong>In 2021, Queen Elizabeth II bade farewell to Prince Philip, who died on April 9<\/a>. An image of the queen grieving alone at the funeral<\/a>\u00a0amid coronavirus restrictions struck a chord with viewers at home following the event<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cQueen Elizabeth II was the rock on which modern Britain was built,\u201d Ms. Truss said. \u201cShe was the very spirit of Great Britain, and that spirit will endure.\u201d Ms. Truss concluded by swearing fealty to the new monarch, disclosing for the first time that he would be known as King Charles, rather than by another name, as is a monarch\u2019s prerogative.<\/p>\n

\u201cGod save the king,\u201d Ms. Truss declared.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Prime Minister Liz Truss before speaking about the death of the queen on Thursday.<\/span>Credit…<\/span>Alberto Pezzali\/Associated Press<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The new king said in a statement, \u201cWe mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished sovereign and much-loved mother. I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the realms and Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tributes also poured in from around the world. President Biden and his wife, Jill, said in a statement that the queen was \u201cthe first British monarch to whom people all around the world could feel a personal and immediate connection.\u201d Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, said she had embodied the \u201ccontinuity and unity\u201d of the British nation for over 70 years.<\/p>\n

As dusk fell on London, large crowds began to gather in front of Buckingham Palace, echoing the mass demonstrations of grief after the news that Princess Diana had been killed in a car accident in Paris in 1997.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Others lingered on street corners, staring at news updates on their phones. In South London, Tiana Krahn alluded to Britain\u2019s mounting problems, saying the queen\u2019s death came at the \u201cworst possible moment in history.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cWe are going to see some crazy falling apart,\u201d she added. \u201cThere was something solid about that, about knowing that she was in charge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many of those who crowded pubs on Thursday evening described being at a loss as to how they should feel. \u201cI don\u2019t think people around the world realized just how brilliant she was,\u201d said one customer, Jeff Nightingill. \u201cIt\u2019s like losing your grandmother. My wife will be in tears when I get home tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Outside Buckingham Palace on Thursday.<\/span>Credit…<\/span>Andrew Testa for The New York Times<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The queen\u2019s death had none of the awful suddenness of Diana\u2019s. The stark language in the palace\u2019s statement on Thursday was highly unusual and left little doubt of the gravity of the situation.<\/p>\n

By midafternoon, the queen\u2019s children and several of her grandchildren had converged on Balmoral, a sprawling 19th-century castle in the Scottish Highlands where the queen and her family have long spent their summers.<\/p>\n

Charles and Camilla had been staying in a royal residence not far from Balmoral, and he was reportedly paying regular visits to his mother. Her daughter, Princess Anne, was also in Scotland already.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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A Royal Air Force jet carried several other members of the royal family to the nearby city of Aberdeen, where they boarded a motorcade to Balmoral. That included her two other sons, Andrew and Edward, and Prince William, the eldest son of Charles, who is now the heir to the throne.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Mourning Queen Elizabeth II, in Photos<\/div>\n
The death of the queen marks the loss of a revered monarch, the only one most Britons have ever known.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Prince Harry, who with his American-born wife, Meghan, had a bitter rupture with the royal family, made his way to Scotland on his own, arriving well after the queen\u2019s death was announced. The couple saw the queen at Windsor Castle recently to introduce her to her newest great-granddaughter, Lilibet, who bears the childhood nickname that Elizabeth\u2019s parents gave her.<\/p>\n

The cause of the queen\u2019s death was not known; the palace has said in the past that she has problems with mobility. She recovered from a bout with Covid-19 in February, which she later said had left her exhausted.<\/p>\n

With no further updates after the midday statement that her doctors were \u201cconcerned,\u201d there was a mounting sense of portent as the day unfolded. The BBC suspended its regular programming to carry continuous news coverage, its cameras trained on the iron gates of Balmoral, which swung open periodically as vehicles arrived or left. Heavy rain showers added to the gloom.<\/p>\n

The vigil came after a week that offered a powerful reminder of the queen\u2019s role in Britain\u2019s constitutional monarchy. On Tuesday, she met Ms. Truss and her outgoing predecessor, Boris Johnson, both of the Conservative Party. In a photograph, a smiling, if fragile-looking, queen greeted Ms. Truss before a roaring fireplace, a walking stick in her left hand.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Queen Elizabeth greeting Liz Truss on Tuesday in Aberdeen, Scotland. The queen broke with the tradition of meeting the new prime minister at Buckingham Palace, after needing to remain at Balmoral Castle because of mobility issues.<\/span>Credit…<\/span>Pool photo by Jane Barlow<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Mr. Johnson, who spoke to the queen on an almost weekly basis for his three years in office, issued an emotional statement upon her death.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cAs is so natural with human beings, it is only when we face the reality of our loss that we truly understand what has gone,\u201d Mr. Johnson said. \u201cIt is only really now that we grasp how much she meant for us, how much she did for us, how much she loved us.\u201d<\/p>\n

By tradition, the monarch invites a new prime minister to form a government after the outgoing one submits his or her resignation. This time, the ceremony, known as kissing hands, was moved from Buckingham Palace to Balmoral on the advice of her doctors to spare the queen the need to travel to London.<\/p>\n

Beyond such formal rituals, the queen was a symbol of continuity and constancy over eight decades. She served as a living link to the glories of World War II Britain, presided over its fitful adjustment to a post-colonial, post-imperial era, and saw it through its bitter divorce from the European Union.<\/p>\n

There is no analogous British figure who will be mourned as deeply \u2014 Winston Churchill might come closest \u2014 or whose death will provoke a greater reckoning with the identity and future of the country. Her extraordinary longevity lent her a sense of permanence that makes her death, even at an advanced age, somehow shocking.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Queen Elizabeth II in 2018.<\/span>Credit…<\/span>Tim Ireland\/Associated Press<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Her steadfastness also helped the House of Windsor weather its own upheavals. Dignified and dutiful, she managed to rise above the tabloid headlines, whether about her troubled sister, Princess Margaret; Charles and his failed marriage to Diana; her second son, Andrew, who settled a sex abuse case linked to his ties with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein; or the soap opera of Harry and Meghan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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One well-documented misstep came after Diana\u2019s death, when the queen declined for days to leave Balmoral to join in the nation\u2019s grieving. She finally expressed her sorrow in a televised address, speaking, she said, as a \u201cgrandmother.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The queen\u2019s declining health had been a recurring cause of concern for the past few years, forcing her to cancel many public appearances, even much-loved events like her annual commemoration of Britain\u2019s wartime dead.<\/p>\n

She had largely retreated to Windsor Castle, her country residence outside London, though this year she kept to her summer habit of decamping for Balmoral, where she enjoyed walking on the estate\u2019s craggy hills and sylvan dales.<\/p>\n

During the Platinum Jubilee in June, marking her 70 years on the throne, a smiling monarch appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to watch a parade and a Royal Air Force flyover in her honor. But she skipped most of the rest of the celebrations, including a gala concert held in Queen Victoria Square, in front of the palace. She stopped traveling outside Britain several years ago.<\/p>\n

As the queen receded from public view, Charles took on many of her public duties, including the state opening of Parliament and the conferring of knighthoods.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Prince Charles at the House of Lords in May.<\/span>Credit…<\/span>Pool photo by Ben Stansall<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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In April 2021, the queen lost her husband of 73 years, Prince Philip, who died a few weeks before his 100th birthday. At Philip\u2019s memorial service, she sat, masked and alone, in a choir stall at St. George\u2019s Chapel in Windsor Castle, a poignant symbol of the pandemic\u2019s social distancing restrictions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Even near the end, in her declining state, the queen was a constant, revered figure in the public life of her country. During the depths of the pandemic, she addressed a socially isolated nation, assuring Britons, in the words of Vera Lynn\u2019s beloved World War II-era song, that \u201cWe will meet again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Megan Specia and Emma Bubola contributed reporting.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Mark Landler, Sept.9, 2022 The Queen\u2019s Death Comes at a Moment of Great Uncertainty for Britain People gathering outside Buckingham Palace on Thursday after the news of the queen\u2019s death was announced.\u00a0Credit.\u00a0Andrew Testa for The New York Times LONDON \u2014 Queen Elizabeth II, whose seven-decade reign made her the only sovereign that most Britons […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1001004,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13883"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1001004"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13883"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13883\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13885,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13883\/revisions\/13885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}