Queen Elizabeth II, R.I.P.

If I were to set up a country from scratch, it would not have a monarch. But Britain, my country of birth, has already been set up. Which makes the material question not whether Britain ought to have a monarchy, but whether the monarchy — and, indeed, the monarch — that Britain has can be considered worthwhile. For more than 70 years, Queen Elizabeth II made it easy to answer that question with a resounding “Yes.” She was a model of duty, honesty, and hard work, and for those admirable qualities she will immediately be missed.

Elizabeth’s longevity was remarkable. This week, she invited the 15th prime minister of her reign to form a government. Her first PM was Winston Churchill, who was first elected to Parliament in 1900 — when Queen Victoria was still on the throne. Elizabeth was queen during Beatlemania, during the Moon Landing, during the Cold War, during the unrest of the late 1970s and early 1980s, during 9/11, during the war in Iraq, during the 2008 financial meltdown, and beyond. Like Victoria’s before hers, her epoch will need to be split up to be understood: Early Elizabethan, mid-Elizabethan, late-Elizabethan, and so forth. The world of 1952, when she took the throne, bears little resemblance to the world of 2022 — except, perhaps, that in both worlds, she was the queen of England. That, too, has now changed.

About the Author

Charles C. W. Cooke

Charles C. W. Cooke is a senior editor at National Review and the host of The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast.

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If I were to set up a country from scratch, it would not have a monarch. But Britain, my country of birth, has already been set up. Which makes the material question not whether Britain ought to have a monarchy, but whether the monarchy — and, indeed, the monarch — that Britain has can be considered worthwhile. For more than 70 years, Queen Elizabeth II made it easy to answer that question with a resounding “Yes.” She was a model of duty, honesty, and hard work, and for those admirable qualities she will immediately be missed.

Elizabeth’s longevity was remarkable. This week, she invited the 15th prime minister of her reign to form a government. Her first PM was Winston Churchill, who was first elected to Parliament in 1900 — when Queen Victoria was still on the throne. Elizabeth was queen during Beatlemania, during the Moon Landing, during the Cold War, during the unrest of the late 1970s and early 1980s, during 9/11, during the war in Iraq, during the 2008 financial meltdown, and beyond. Like Victoria’s before hers, her epoch will need to be split up to be understood: Early Elizabethan, mid-Elizabethan, late-Elizabethan, and so forth. The world of 1952, when she took the throne, bears little resemblance to the world of 2022 — except, perhaps, that in both worlds, she was the queen of England. That, too, has now changed.