The people of London in England pay tribute to the coffin of the Queen of England
Toward the long river (International Scholar)
html On September 8, Queen Elizabeth II of England died peacefully in Balmoral Fort, Scotland at the age of 96. Her eldest son, 73, Crown Prince, Charles 4, inherited the throne. In the past few days, a national mourning event is underway in the UK. The Queen's oak coffin was solemnly transported from Balmoral Fort to Edinburgh , and was then transferred to the Palace of Westminster, London for people to pay homage. Many people watched by the streets they passed by, and many people rushed from all over the country to London, queuing outside Westminster Palace to enter and pay homage to the Queen. On September 19, Britain will hold a state funeral for the queen, and many national leaders will attend the queen's funeral.Elizabeth II was born on April 21, 1926, became the crown prince in 1936, inherited the throne in 1952, and was the longest-reigning monarch in British history. Historian Kate Williams believes that the Queen is "the embodiment of 20th century history." Elizabeth II experienced the ups and downs of the British Empire in , and witnessed the process of the former "Empire that never sets" step by step towards "sunset".
16th century Elizabeth I reigned for 50 years, creating the "golden age" in British history. The British Empire under her rule gradually developed into the " day " empire. Elizabeth II reigned for 70 years. During her tenure, the British Empire that had been running through the Victorian era had almost shrunk. In 1997, Hong Kong returned to China, and "Britania" left the Bay of Victoria sadly, becoming the last back of the empire at dusk.
In the 21st century, although the United Kingdom still speaks on the international stage by relying on its identity as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, it has declined in terms of national strength and has become a regional power. Not long before Elizabeth II's death, as a former colony of Britain, India's GDP surpassed Britain and became the fifth largest economy in the world. The "son" was bigger than "I'm sorry."
Recently, European and American media have summarized five important moments during the 70 years of the Queen's reign, which are quite representative and have become a typical label for the British royal family in this era of Elizabeth II.
One was an unexpected ascension: In 1936, King Edward VIII, the uncle of Elizabeth , announced his abdication, which led her father, George VI, to ascend directly to the British throne. Elizabeth's fate was completely changed as a result. Queen Elizabeth II was officially crowned in 1953, and her crowning ceremony was broadcast live for the first time, and 277 million people watched it worldwide.
The second is the Northern Ireland conflict: Elizabeth II witnessed the "unrest" period in Northern Ireland - For 30 years, fierce conflict broke out between Ireland nationalists and the pro-British unification faction. In 2012, the Queen visited Ireland and met and shook hands with former IRA senior general Martin McGuinness , becoming a landmark scene of British-Iraq reconciliation.
3: The death of Princess Diana in 1997 was one of the most serious crises experienced during the reign of the Queen. After the tragedy, the queen was still staying at the countryside residence of Scotland . She went to London five days later to express her gratitude to the people. The delay initially caused strong dissatisfaction among many British people. The Queen learned from this tragedy. In the following years, the British royal family reshaped the public image. Later, Prince William married Kate Middleton , which helped to create a more modern royal image.
4 is Brexit : During the reign of the Queen, she witnessed the process of Europe integration starting from the "coal and steel joint venture" and the process of the UK joining it, but later she also experienced the historic moment of Brexit in 2020. The Queen and the British royal family tried their best not to interfere in political affairs and did not publicly view Brexit. She simply called on all parties to "respect different views" and "unity to find common ground".
5 is family problems: At the end of the Queen's reign, there were many dramatic events in the British royal family that had never been seen since the 1990s, causing many people to worry about what would happen if she had not been her future. The Queen herself once said that 1992 was a "terrible year" in her life, when she had three children (Prince Charles, Prince Anne, , Princess Anne, and , Prince Andrew, ) divorced. In recent years, Prince Andrew's relationship with the poorly-known American financier Jeffrey Epstein has been criticized by the outside world; Prince Harry and his wife decided to withdraw from the royal family in 2020, which has also had a great impact on the reputation of the British royal family.
Looking back at the era of Elizabeth II, the queen's reputation is still widely respected around the world, especially in the Commonwealth countries. It is precisely because of the Queen's cohesion that many former British colonial countries remain united in the Commonwealth, a loose voluntary alliance of 56 countries. These members are linked because of their common history and have similar legal and political systems. Although there is no formal trade agreement in the Commonwealth, trade between members is relatively frequent. Commonwealth member states have no formal relationship with the British royal family, but 14 of them still regard the British monarch as head of state, and some countries also have images of the queen printed on the currencies.
However, after the death of the Queen, calls for complete independence among the 14 countries are becoming increasingly strong. From Caribbean to the Pacific, people are asking: Why do we swear allegiance to the monarch in London? University of Sydney historian Mark McKenna said: "In a sense, as long as the queen is there, the whole puzzle will be connected. But I'm not sure if it will continue."
An era is over. With the passing of the Queen, whether the owner of Buckingham Palace can continue to be regarded as the head of state of some Commonwealth countries, and even whether the Commonwealth can continue to be maintained, the world is waiting for the answer to the historical mystery to be finally revealed.
Photo provided by /Visual China
