I was wondering about that. Are people in the future going to refer to an “Elizabethan era” or the “second Elizabethan era”? Or are we past that sort of thing?
Not just the British. She’s the only monarch i’ve ever known here in Canada.
If anyones wondering,this is what happened when George VI died
I somehow doubt the same would happen now.
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They probably don’t know, since George VI died in his sleep when nobody else was around.
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Its considered bad form for a king to sleep with his wife.:dubious:
Ronald Reagan, who was long-time a past president when he died in 2004, had a scrumptious not to mention splendiferous funeral that lasted a full week, in a venue that literally went from coast-to-coast.
When Hirohito died in 1989, American newspapers were full of retrospective articles about his life-and-times, most of them painting him as a not-so-bad guy after all.
When Richard Nixon died in 1974, he got an unrestrained op-ed obituary from Hunter S. Thompson, who was never bashful of speaking ill of the dead.
Charles has been Duke of Cornwall (oldest son of the reigning monarch) longer than any one else – 63 years so far. The closest were King Edward VII (60 years) and King George IV (58 years), who wee both Duke of Cornwall at birth.
Yes, I was thinking that myself. You said it much better than I could have.
I thought HST was pretty kind to the Trickster in that obit. Well, kind for HST, that is.
(Emphasis mine) Oh, if only… 
You don’t think so? I’m pretty sure it would.
The flags thing would definitely happen, certainly in town halls and other official buildings. Probably a lot of private businesses, too.
The BBC would certainly drop their programming, at least on BBC1 (BBC2 didn’t exist when George died; I expect they’d have their schedule shuffled to take on a lot of the BBC1 stuff), and probably the main commercial channels too.
I don’t know about the sports fixtures, but there would at least be a moment of silence or a dedication beforehand.
I doubt many cinemas (or in fact, other businesses) would close, though, at least for any length of time. Business is business, after all.
On a constitutional basis, the death of the Queen is known as the Demise of the Crown. Once the Queen’s heart stops, Charles is instantly King - it doesn’t wait for coronation. The Sovereign never dies.
However as soon as possible the Accession Council (which would be the members of Elizabeth’s Privy Council, members of the House of Lords, the Lord Mayor of the City of London, the Aldermen of the City of London and the High Commissioners of some Commonwealth countries) gathers in St. James’ Palace to make a formal proclamation announcing the new King to the realm, and to hear the King take the Oath:
The Council commands the Proclamation be read in London, Edinburgh, Windsor and York. Here’s a video of the Queen’s Proclamation in 1952, but the herald mumbles it pretty awfully, so here’s the text:
The new King’s first act must be to swear an oath to uphold the Church of Scotland:
He must also swear to uphold the established Church of England, but that’s done publicly at the first State Opening of Parliament of His reign, and it’s considerably snappier, too:
Also, if the Queen dies in the middle of a General Election, then by law the date of the election is pushed back a further fourteen days.
At the first meeting of Parliament under a new monarch there is no speech from the Throne written by the Government. All Members of the Commons and the Lords take an oath of allegiance to the new King. The Houses vote separate Addresses to the Crown in response to the official notification of the Queen’s demise, expressing condolences upon the death of Elizabeth and loyalty to the new King.
*Yes, yes, I know about the rumours of Charles calling himself something else, like George the Seventh…but nothing has been affirmed by Clarence House, and until the day it all happens, we shall never know.
In the short term (up until the state funeral), there will be a lot, the official ceremony of proclamation, lying-in-state in Westminster Hall, flags on public buildings at half mast (and I’d imagine tabloid open season on anyone else who doesn’t), and so on.
But I imagine radio and TV programming will continue more or less as normal, but with some modification (repeats of almost all the documentary histories that have already been shown, and “how life has changed” and all that) and steering clear of any re-runs of The Naked Gun, or more seriously those plays and movies that have sought to portray her in real life. With so many digital and internet channels available, I can’t see anyone going out of their way to tone down entertainment programmes, or anything of that sort.
In court circles and some aspects of public life, the period of “official mourning” will have some minor effects (on official receptions, state visits and the like), but I doubt if you would get many ordinary people wearing some sort of mourning indicator (black armbands or ties, for example) as certainly quite a few people did for George VI.
I suppose it’s an open question on how soon Charles’s apparent plans to speak out more will get on people’s nerves, and on whether republicans in the other realms, like Australia and Canada, may raise the issue again, particularly if people in London mishandle the transition by taking them for granted rather than going through the motions of consulting their governments about how they want to handle things.
At least it doesn’t cause a general election like it did until the law was changed in 1867.
I may be mistaken but I understood that on a Demise of the Crown flags are not on half mast because the Sovereign cannot die?
You may be right, but after the Diana hooha, I suspect that will quietly be forgotten.
Ah, just checked: Wikipedia claims the royal standard is never flown at half-mast (because there is always a sovereign), but the Union Flag is “From the announcement of the death up to the funeral of the Sovereign, except on Proclamation Day when flags are hoisted to full-mast, from 11am until sunset”.
I think that’s understandable. WWII had just ended 6 years earlier, and King George had been a steady image of determination for the entire war, a symbol not just for Britain but for all the Allies.
Yeah, the wishful thinking seems to have gotten to me too! Well, wait a minute – once he resigned (in 1974), it didn’t matter much after that. Maybe early 1968?
ETA: He died in 19-NINETY-4.
I have to hand it to the Brits; that’s some fine speechifying there. Far more powerful and moving than anything us mere Colonials have ever strung together.
Let’s talk about something much more important with regard to the Queen’s future demise: ALL HAIL QUEEN CAMILLA!
Read the article for details. Of course money will remain in circulation, but all of the portraits on new money need to change. Commonwealth wide, its a lot of bills and coinage going through a redesign.
Here is the quote:
Read more: http://uk.businessinsider.com/what-happens-when-queen-elizabeth-ii-dies-2015-3#ixzz3jreq5jeN