By Carter Ritchey
On September 8, 2022, the longest reigning British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II passed away at age 96, putting her son, Charles III first in line to the throne.
Elizabeth II, in full Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (and other realms and territories) Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith—what a prestigious name to have, I might add—took the throne in 1952 with the sudden passing of her father King George VI. She was beloved by the vast majority of individuals, not only in the UK, but in the United States as well. Being as permanent resident of the United States of America, I can include myself amongst those who adored and respected the late queen.
It was a devastating announcement to hear that the Queen of England was in poor health, let alone on her deathbed. Moments before the formal announcement of her passing, there were social media threads and various conversations being had that this tragic event had occurred.
With the high status and respect of the royal family of course, comes some controversy.
Arguably, the controversy surrounding the royal family—and Queen Elizabeth II specifically—began in 1992, which Elizabeth II referred to as “annus horribilis,” Latin for horrible year. 1992 for the royal family consisted of a fire that tore through the Windsor Castle, the divorce of her only daughter, Anne, and her then husband, Mark Phillips, the separation of Prince Andrew and his then wife, Sarah, and the most famous of them all, the separation of [now King] Charles and the beloved Princess Diana of Wales.
Free Getty Image of Princess Diana (left) and Camilla Parker-Bowles (right).
This event gave much backlash to the future king just for the fact that Diana possessed such beauty inside and out. Her stunning outward appearance along with her loving humanitarian and charity work set her above the rest. How could someone decide that they want to cheat on someone so perfect, especially with Camilla?
With the tragic death of Princess Diana, more controversy surrounded this event due to Queen Elizabeth II not wanting to fly the country’s flags at half mast, but declared “It was indeed dreadfully sad, and she is a huge loss to the country.”
Diana and her partner, Dodi Fayed, were in a fatal car accident due to an intoxicated driver and erratic behavior of paparazzi. The royal family responded terribly to this event, but the widespread mourning among the UK and others worldwide led to her funeral being watched by an estimated 2.5 billion people.
Furthermore, in more recent events, Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, were involved in a “scandal” of their own. Harry and Meghan were set up on a blind date back in 2016 by a mutual friend, Misha Nonoo. Harry quickly fell in love with Markle, but the media had mixed views about the new couple. After all, Markle was the first American non-royal to become a member of the royal family. There were a lot of backlashes as a result of these dearly betrothed. And so, the two decided to give up their roles as royalties in 2020. This seemingly questionable couple experienced even more media attention and from there was made various movies and TV shows describing their “forbidden love”.
With all these topics being addressed, it leaves me to wonder; why are so many people, especially in a small town in Ohio, so obsessed with this royal family?
Photos source: Getty Images
