On September 8th, at around noon EST, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom passed away after a long reign. Suffering from medical complications for quite some time, and even at one point contracting COVID, as well as being 96 years old, her death was anticipated for some time, with protocols such as Operation London Bridge if the queen were to die in England, and Operation Unicorn should she die in Scotland being put into place. Her death, no matter the preparations put into place, has caused shock waves throughout the world.

Queen Elizabeth II was born on April 21rst, 1926 on Bruton Street in London, within the United Kingdom. Born as Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, though born as royalty as a grandchild of King George V, initially she wasn’t meant to inherit the throne of the United Kingdom and her many colonial possessions at the time. Her father, Albert Frederick Arthur George Windsor, was secondary heir to the throne as brother of Prince Edward, the first in line, but due to a scandal involving Edward wanting to marry a non-noble American who had once been divorced, Edward abdicated the throne, allowing Albert to become George VI, and for Elizabeth to become first in line to the royal throne. Even before her ascension, during the second world war she spoke on the radio, and provided comfort to the British people through the hard times of the Battle of Britain and the blitz.

Queen Elizabeth ascended to the throne upon the death of her father, George VI in 1953. Reigning over the UK at a time on the brink of nuclear war, she provided great inspiration to the people of Britain, and encouraged them to always stand for democracy. She famously ruled over the United Kingdom when Argentina invaded the Falklands, a war in which Britain won.

With her death, her first son, Prince Charles, who will become Charles III now ascends to the throne, and with his ascension, marks the first time in over 50 years that a king has sat upon the throne. Charles, while it is assumed will reign as Charles III, has expressed in the past that he might choose instead to reign as George VII, due to the poor reputation associated with the Charles name. Charles I was a traitor to England who was beheaded for his crimes, and Charles II was known for his hedonistic lifestyle.

England, just having suffered a leader change in the realm outside the royal family, with the resignation of Boris Johnson, and the ascension of Liz Truss to the title of prime minister, now suffers a monarch change, which while not unexpected, has nonetheless been a shock. Already, world leaders have sent their condolences en-masse, as the UK prepares for the first king in over 50 years. Notably, Queen Elizabeth now holds the title of the second longest reigning monarch in history, just barely being eclipsed by Louis XIV, the sun king of France.

The United Kingdom, and the royal family is now certainly about to suffer great change, that much is known for certain. What can overall be said, is that a new monarch means great changes for one of the few monarchies left on Earth.