Mourning Across the Atlantic: Queen Elizabeth II’s Life, Legacy and Passing

Condolences across the Atlantic: the Queen's front and back Yes.

On the afternoon of 8 September 2022, Queen Elizabeth II died in Balmoral, Scotland, at the age of 96. On that day, Buckingham Palace dropped its second half of the flag and issued an official announcement stating that “His Majesty the King and Queen Camilla will return to London on Friday (9 September)”.

Queen Elizabeth II ruled for 70 years from the moment of accession to the throne in 1952 to its death, and became the longest-held monarch in British history. In her lifetime, she appointed 15 prime ministers, following major events such as the reconstruction of World War II, the transition of the British Empire to the Commonwealth, the beginning and end of the cold war, British accession and secession from the European Union, the new British Prime Minister, Dras, stated in her address that the Queen had been “the cornerstone of modern Britain” and had provided the country “the stability and strength we needed”.

The death of the Queen has also caused considerable shock to the American people and politics. According to CNN reports, Mr. and Mrs. Biden went to the British Embassy in the United States at the first time to sign a condolence book and pay tribute to the Queen. Mrs. Biden sent a bouquet of flowers to the British Ambassador to the United States, while President Biden said to the Embassy staff: “We offer our condolences to the Queen through you. The Queen is a great woman, and it is an honour to meet her.” Throughout the United States, people have spontaneously expressed their condolences to the Queen in a variety of ways, and the New York Times wrote in a certain tone that, although the Queen has never really been involved, very few have been able to take such a place in American life for such a long time that “the Queen has taken up one third of the history of the United States since independence”.

"A great woman like a mother."

The Queen has appointed 15 British Prime Ministers throughout her life, and she has also met 13 United States Presidents, with the exception of Linden Johnson, who have been received by the Queen for every United States President since Truman. “This has become an important part of the `British-American special relationship'”, according to the New York Times, although the Queen certainly has her own views on different presidents, she has always shown the same kindness and welcome by treating Republicans and Democrats fairly. The report also cites the words of the historian Alvin S. Felzenberg, who worked in the Bush and Bush Administrations, saying that, for every president, meeting with the Queen is usually the culmination of his career and symbolizes recognition of their place on the world stage. “I think all the Presidents believe that when the Queen is willing to visit and talk about the bonds between the two countries, you really succeed.”

In Washington, the front line of American political division, when bipartisan rivalries are “challenging the foundations of American democracy”, only the Queen's death can put an end to the hotening of the struggle, with all factions sharing their condolences. The House of Representatives announced the lower half of the flag and plans to adopt a resolution next Tuesday to adjourn the meeting to pay tribute to the Queen. The Queen visited and delivered a speech in the United States Congress in 1991, and she was the only British monarch in history who spoke in the United States Congress. At the same time, Biden issued a statement stating that he had ordered the United States military and political institutions around the globe to drop their flags in mourning, which was a very high courtesy of United States politics to foreign dignitaries.

As President of the United States, Biden's assessment and attitude towards Queen Elizabeth II is a microcosm of most contemporary American politicians. In an official statement issued by the White House, Biden stated that “Queen Elizabeth II is not just a monarch. She defines an era... in a changing world, she is the source of stability, consolation and pride for generations of British.” According to CNN, Biden said he would attend the funeral the day after the Queen's death and took the opportunity to meet the new King.

Biden's attitude towards the Queen has always been related to “mother”. According to the Washington Post, Biden “the Irish in this bones” has always paid tribute to the Queen “in his own way”. Biden wrote in his memoirs that he first met the Queen in November 1982. Prior to that, his mother specifically told him not to kiss the Pope's ring, nor to bow to the Queen. Biden recalled that the mother wanted to tell him that all were equal and that no one was superior. Biden followed her mother's instructions and held hands to greet the Queen. And when Biden paid tribute to the Queen, he also did not depart from the element of “mother”. Following a meeting with the Queen in 2021, Biden said: “We have had a long conversation, and the Queen is very generous, so I do not think it would offend her that she reminds me of my mother, who is very kind (like her) in terms of her appearance and generosity.” According to the Washington Post, this is one of the highest praises that Biden can give.

It is not just Biden who compares the Queen to “mother”. At the Queen's welcoming ceremony in May 2007, then-President Bush made a clear mistake in reading 1976 as 1776, which triggered a laughter. Bush later recalled that the Queen had given me a look that only a mother could give to a child. Two years later, when the Obamas met with the Queen in London, the Queen’s hand extended to her by Mrs. Obama, who was not familiar with the Queen’s courtesies, caused a tumult, but the Queen held her by her hand and eased the ceremonial embarrassment. “The Queen has shown me that humanity is more important than protocol or form.” Mrs. Obama later wrote, “She opened her arms and very generously welcomed us to the world stage.”

Unlike his usual image, former President Trump, with his personality, is equally awe of the Queen. During his presidency, Trump reported that he was a “super fan” of the Queen and told the British Sun that “she has never made a mistake”. According to The Washington Post, Trump often tells of his mother watching on television for hours while crowning the Queen. When he met with the Queen in Trump in 2018, he walked in front of the Queen when he inspected the Queen ' s Tribune, once causing controversy in the social media. But in the eyes of the staff around him, it actually reflects his agitated mood. According to the New York Times, Trump was particularly eager to see the Queen and had been urging staff to arrange the matter as soon as possible.

“Trump himself is obviously the Queen's admirer, and when he speaks of the Queen, he always has a bit of awe — his voice and face will be softened,” Fiona Hill, a former member of the National Security Council in Trump, recalled in her book, “The meeting with the Queen is the ultimate sign of Trump's success.” After the Queen's death, Trump also made the first statement that “the historic and extraordinary rule of the Queen left Britain with an important legacy of peace and prosperity... Me and Melanie will forever cherish their time with the Queen and will never forget Her Majesty's generosity, wisdom and wonderful sense of humor. She's such a great and beautiful lady that no one can be like her!"

Posterior: the passing of an era

In fact, this American love of Queen Elizabeth II stems from the contradictory attitude towards monarchy in its political and cultural context. On the one hand, the roots of the Republic have made it very exclusive of the autocratic monarch, and Politico News Network quoted the British historian James Warne of the University of Chicago as saying that Americans like the Queen not only because she is “from the other side of the ocean” but also because Americans “understand the fact that British politics separates Heads of State and Government...” In the United Kingdom, the monarch lives in the palace, while the Prime Minister lives in a row house on Downing Street. But our White House is more like a palace than a villa, and our President is more like a king than any Prime Minister. And the existing British monarch is merely a demonstration of tradition, and the Queen plays the role of Head of State with great diligence and avoids interference in the political functioning.”

On the other hand, America ' s desire for celebrities and its expectation of immortality seem to preserve its sense of monarchy. The former editor of Bloomberg, Stryker McGuire, said that Americans loved the Queen's “all luxurious feelings and solemn ceremonies” and that her family was considered “Royal Kardashians”. At the same time, Americans are very appreciative of the idea of the royal “resistence”: “Celebrities come and go, pop stars move away; artists, television stars, movie stars disappear, but the royal family still exists.” James Vaughn said. Similarly, the historian Maya Jasanov of the British Empire at Harvard University said, “I think Americans have always had a desire for celebrities, a admiration for wealth and an interest in people who have left politics. And for decades, the Queen managed to satisfy American aspirations.” In an interview with The New York Times, she added, “Don't forget that there was a discussion in the early history of the United States of America as to whether George Washington should become a monarch”.

As with all prominent figures, not all have always been fond of the Queen. Within the United Kingdom and in the Caribbean, the treatment of the royal family and the issue of extinction have been the focus. Especially in the context of the sharp rise in British prices caused by the Russia–Ukraine conflict, the Queen ' s death did not prevent discussion of royal treatment. “The royal family seems to be worshipped by so many people, but I find it a little frustrating when so many people still suffer and those in power seem to care.” One of Sheffield's teachers, Movalli, said to The New York Times, “I don't think you can keep a tax-supporting family from being censored by citizens.” In the United States, negative comments about the Queen are more focused on events related to Princess Diana. In the Washington Post, when asked about the Queen's death, a woman whose parents had emigrated to the United States laughed: “I love Princess Diana, that's what I'm saying.”

For the United States, the more difficult issues than the Queen's posteriori assessment are likely to arise from the new King, Charles III. Stryker McGuire, a former editor of Bloomberg, said that the Queen had avoided making controversial comments and had shaped herself into a “whiteboard celebrity”, “the whiteboard celebrity means that admirers can write anything they want to write on the board and identify with this celebrity in the way they want.” Unlike his politically intelligent mother, the new king is known for his frankness, and the scandals and disputes surrounding him and his family may be re-fertilized at any time after the Queen's death, while the British Crown, which lost its “dominant heart”, is afraid to win a new public relations battle.

At the same time, the new king’s radical attitude to climate issues is no different from his image in American minds. “The US is one of a series of countries with quite extreme polarization on this issue. There is also some polarization, albeit less extreme, in countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia, where “Mato Milldenberg, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of California in Santa Barbara, stated that “in this context, it is likely that the new king will be forced to choose between his `climate politics' and the bipartisan support his mother enjoys in the United States”. According to Politico News Network, in a February 2022 poll, nearly half of Americans had negative views of Charles.

The Atlantic Monthly, on the other hand, concludes a story very forthrightly by saying that for most people around the world, generations know the Queen, who is almost irreproachable, an icon, a symbol. By contrast, Charles is human, flawed and clearly reprehensible. The Queen is the shield of the monarchy, but will her next generation be free from the racist stains of Harry and Megan, or the scandal of Prince Andrew? No one knows the answer.

At the end of this story, Atlantic Monthly concluded with a gentle and worrying pent-tip: it is clear that the Queen's era is truly a golden age: an era of extraordinary prosperity, peace in Europe, human rights development, and the collapse of tyranny. Queen Elizabeth II was one of the great symbols of that time. She was not the creator of the time. She was also its servant, not its master. But if she is asked what legacy she has left, it is that even if the objects of symbol and service have to change with reality, symbol and service remain important.

Appendix: First meeting between Queen Elizabeth II and successive United States Presidents (photos from Forbes News Network)

Queen and President Truman, 1951.

Queen and Eisenhower, 1957.

Queen and President Kennedy, 1961.

In 1970, the Queen met President Nixon.

In 1976, the Queen met President Ford.

In 1977, the Queen met President Carter.

In 1983, the Queen met President Reagan.

In 1989, the Queen met President Bush.

In 1994, the Queen met President Clinton.

In 2003, the Queen met President Bush Jr.

In 2009, the Queen met President Obama.

In 2019, the Queen met with the President and his wife.

In 2021, the Queen met with President Biden and his wife.