Post- Elizabethan World
I have already written about the different reactions the world has seen to the death of the longest-reigning British monarch but now I am entranced by the idea of what a post-Elizabethan world will look like.
The Queen was the last remaining link to modern history. She lived through the Second World War, witnessed- if not orchestrated- the decolonisation of the modern world, and effectively oversaw the transition into the organised chaos that we live in.
Sentiments towards the monarchy have always wavered. While the Queen was much loved soon after her coronation and anointment, the relevance of a monarch continues to be debated. Ratification of constitutional bills and proving to be a sort of moral hazard for power-hungry politicians have been the saving grace for the monarchy. That, coupled with adapting to change instead of resisting it, has ensured that the British monarchy stays alive instead of experiencing a post-war demise. Can that last now in the absence of the Queen?
Is the British monarchy only as good as the Queen who made it so? Anyone who stands in the position of the monarch hence would have large shoes to fill but is King Charles III going to be welcomed like the Queen was, with his Diana history? Perhaps the Queen herself was hanging by the thread of how old she was; now, there probably exists no thread at all after her.
The British population are experiencing the worst cost of living crisis. The funeral procession of Queen Elizabeth II has taken precedence over everything else in the country. Mourning the dead has taken precedence over the lives of the living. While not expressly the King’s fault, could the public be less enamoured with royalty in the wake of economic suffering, the like of which the country has not seen since the Second World War?
Alternatively, it could go in the opposite direction where the public warms up to Charles, hoping for him to be the messiah who in fact uses the Royal Veto and refuses to ratify laws that might harm the common man. He could be the difference that the country needs with his eccentric ways.
Whichever direction the world moves in, we know one thing for sure. The Elizabethan era has ended and so have the links with history. The world we live in now is drastically different to the one that existed 70 years prior. That cannot be said for when the Queen was coronated. Seventy years before her coronation, the world was still battling war and the British Empire was still relevant. The rate at which change happens now has also changed, so if the relevance and role of the British monarch changes too, it should not come as a surprise.
