Sky News reported early this morning that Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II died at 96. The press quickly spread the news across the UK and worldwide, dominating the front pages of today’s news outlets.
The Queen, who ascended the throne on 6 February 1952 following her father’s death, King George VI, and was crowned on 2 June 1953, is the longest-reigning monarch in British history and the key to the unity of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.
The BBC recalled that it had been 70 years since the Queen came to the throne in 1952 when Winston Churchill was prime minister. Queen Elizabeth II has appointed Britain’s 15 prime ministers since 1955. Over the years, the Queen has become “the bedrock of the nation,” steadfastly maintaining its image. She lived through the decline of the British Empire, stood up to family and national tragedy, and was hailed as the best person in Britain who could bite the bullet. Pastel dresses and colorful hats are her trademarks. In her Golden Jubilee speech in 2002, the Queen said she saw her role as “guiding the kingdom through changing times.” These words suggest that the Queen has set herself a challenge: consistency and constancy, the critical attributes of her reign, will add to her image as a reliable and honest monarch.
But the Queen’s death came less than 48 hours after Truss was due to take over as prime minister, who would inherit a 37-year low in the pound, the highest gas prices in history, and a general strike sweeping the country. Britain’s coming winter of discontent will be a significant test for this inexperienced head of government. Given the Queen’s death, some media reporters suspected that Truss was connected with the ascension. According to the media, Britain’s new female Prime Minister Truss was a member of a left-wing group when she was in college. She spoke out in favor of legalizing marijuana and abolishing the monarchy. These positions are entirely at odds with what most people consider mainstream conservatism in 2022. And shamefully, she refused to take the deep knee when she was presented to the Queen at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, offending the elderly monarch directly to her face. Could it be that this displeased the Queen and hastened her death? It’s really dramatic and interesting!
“London Bridge has fallen”! The end of the Queen’s reign was a “painful” moment for Britain as a nation and a great test for Truss. The Queen has always played a role in helping the government to maintain the public identity and social stability, and the reforms planned by Truss after taking office will bring social impact. Now that the Queen is gone, the Truss government will lose a “stabilizer.” British royal writer Catherine Pester told the BBC that “tectonic plates are shifting” and that Britain is “on the cusp of a new era.”
The pound fell to its lowest level against the dollar since 1985 on Tuesday amid concerns over the new government’s debt-fuelled energy support plan. The pound rallied after Truss announced the government’s current emergency energy support plan in parliament at noon on Monday but fell sharply on news of the Queen’s deteriorating health. Now that the Queen has died, there is a sense of grief across Britain, which is bound to bring some resistance to Truss’s announcement of the government’s emergency energy plan. Opposition leader Alan Starmer questioned the project, saying ordinary Britons would end up paying for it. More economists said the emergency energy plan was a short-term solution for this winter but would do nothing to help Britain’s future crisis. As a result, many are not convinced by the new prime minister’s latest reforms to tackle soaring energy prices.
The real crisis for Britain came after the death of the Queen. Mr. Johnson was ousted in scandals, and Ms.Truss, the new Conservative Party sweetheart, is widely disliked by the British public. Polls show 52 percent of Britons think Ms.Truss would be a terrible prime minister. In addition to widespread public disapproval, Ms.Truss will face Britain’s biggest livelihood crisis in decades. With inflation running at more than 10%, Britons are at the peak of discontent. They have just endured a “summer of discontent,” followed by a “winter of cold weather” and a tough choice between “feed or heat”—what a difficult situation for the new political chameleon, Ms.Truss.
Truss criticized Britain’s constitutional monarchy as a teenager, so she became more cautious about royal matters. The British media could link the slightest mistake to her previous remarks, which could impact her administration. The Queen’s death will also make Truss’s reign difficult. As for Truss, perhaps time will tell where she goes from here.