The Queue wasn’t just about grief, but our deep need to be part of something bigger
People were there not merely for the coffin, but for the experience of waiting for it.
ByRoyal family
The House of Windsor, presently headed by King Charles III, has been the reigning family of the United Kingdom since it was founded by George V in 1917. The heir to the throne is Prince William.
From the NS archive: The ten days
15 March 1952: Fleet Street now speculates which story would be the natural “splash” if war was declared on the…
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Britain’s final farewell to Queen Elizabeth II
However her life is memorialised, the Queen has become a conduit for the grief many feel about relatives who have…
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The Queen’s funeral: timings and details
The Westminster Abbey service will be one of the century’s great diplomatic events.
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The world’s longest reigning monarchs in world history
Only France’s Louis XIV served for longer on the throne.
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Who will be attending the Queen’s funeral?
The guest list is expected to include previous prime ministers, world leaders and European royals.
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The royal family aren’t meant to be like us mortals – that’s their power and their problem
Holiday parks will close and hospital operations cease without anyone even needing to ask. This is what having a monarchy…
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For those of us who are neither monarchists nor republicans, this is the strangest time
We’re happy to watch the funeral and raise a glass to His Majesty, but mostly we want a return to…
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Keir Starmer’s response to the Queen’s death shows he can speak for modern Britain
Starmer has doubled down on Labour’s support for the monarchy but this does not mean the status quo will prevail
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The remarkable reconciliation between the royal family and Sinn Féin
In dark times, the warmth between Irish republicans and the monarchy is an inspiring reminder of progress.
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The history of the royals is tangled and bloody. But so is that of the nation they rule
The monarchy bears the fractures of the Union’s past, and underpins its present.
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Leader: The Queen held together a restive kingdom
She was intertwined with modern Britain and its self-identity. Her loss, at a time of national crisis, is disorienting.
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How the Queen changed Britain
Elizabeth II’s legacy and example will endure. But the certainty she provided has gone.
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King Charles is popular – but for how long?
Republicans hoped this was their biggest opportunity to make their case in decades.
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The Queen’s death has become an opportunity to bash Meghan
She’s condemned both for not turning up to royal events, and for daring to appear in public.
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Portraits of a Queen
From regal paintings to punk collages, images of Elizabeth II have alternately humanised and glorified her.
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From the NS archive: A man born to be king…
21 December 1979: Christopher Hitchens on Prince Charles and the development of the commercial monarchy.
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What happens now the Queen has died?
The UK will enter ten days of national mourning and parliament will sit on Friday and Saturday for MPs’ tributes.
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Why unionism needs the monarchy
The Crown and the military are still the most important symbols of Britishness.
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Queen Elizabeth made us feel less embarrassed about Britishness and empire
Without the Queen, we are scrambling to find a national identity we can be proud of.
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