Queen Elizabeth II Dies at 96: Her Death and Legacy

Max Mumby/Indigo via The New York Times

Queen Elizabeth II died on Sept. 8 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. She was 96 at the time of her passing.

Elizabeth was the Queen of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth realms from 1952 to 2022, making her the longest-reigning British monarch in history. Throughout her life, Queen Elizabeth II was the monarch of 32 countries. At the time of her death, she was the monarch of 15. She was the patron of over 500 organizations in her lifetime and modernized the British monarchy.

On her 21st birthday in 1947, she said, “I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.”

On the morning of Sept. 8, Buckingham Palace released an unusual statement saying doctors were “concerned” for her health, and that she was under medical supervision. The royal family was then seen rushing to Balmoral throughout the day.

At 6:30 p.m. GMT, her death was announced over the news, on Twitter, and through an official statement affixed to the Buckingham Palace gates. According to her official death certificate, Queen Elizabeth II died of old age.

After her death, her body was brought to Edinburgh for ceremonial events before being flown to London, where she was transported to Westminster Hall to lie-in-state from Sept. 14 to 19. Her funeral took place on Sept. 19, 2022 at Westminster Abbey.

Most of the royal family attended the funeral, with Prince George and Princess Charlotte being the queen’s only great-grandchildren to attend. Liz Truss, the then British prime minister, in addition to six former prime ministers, attended. About 500 heads of state and foreign dignitaries were thought to be there, including Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau. All global monarchs were invited.

The queen’s funeral procession makes its way down The Mall on Sept. 19. - Dan Kitwood/Getty Images via NPR

The queen was buried at Windsor Castle, at the King George VI memorial chapel, an annex within St. George’s Chapel, beside her parents and her late husband, Prince Philip. Upon the queen’s death, her son Charles, became King Charles III. In his first televised statement, he stated that his mother’s death was “a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family... I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world.”

The royal family received sympathy from Commonwealth leaders, with Prime Minster Trudeau giving a speech in Vancouver shortly after Elizabeth’s death, saying “she was our queen for almost half of Canada’s existence and she had an obvious, deep and abiding love and affection for Canadians.”

Not everyone was in mourning for the queen’s death, however. The police arrested anti-monarchy protesters at royal events in England and Scotland. A woman was arrested for holding up an anti-monarchy sign at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh. In Oxford, England, a man was arrested for shouting “Who elected him? as the document formally proclaiming Charles as king was being read.

In Australia, hundreds of people marched in anti-monarchy protests. In South Africa, a political party called the Economic Freedom Fighters said in a statement, “we do not mourn the death of Elizabeth, because to us her death is a reminder of a very tragic period in this country and Africa’s history.”

Many people have been vocal about how destructive they feel British colonialism was and the role the monarchy has played. Priya Satia, a history professor at Stanford University who specializes in the British Empire told TIME magazine, “I think Elizabeth II’s rule prevented a reckoning and allowed for a sense of continuity and continued denial about the extent of change in the last 70 years.” She continued; “decolonization was supposed to force the acknowledgement of wrong. That never came because it was always masked by the continuity of the queen.”

Anna Arabindan-Kesson, a professor at Princeton University in the study of Black diasporic art, had similar views as Satia. Arabindan-Kesson told TIME, “the monarchy, in general, is an incredibly spectacular symbol of the huge social and economic inequalities of modern Britain.”

Satia and Arabindan-Kesson both expressed to TIME that they are hopeful that there continues to be more conversation about monarchy’s legacy and that the future of monarchy is more open about its history.