SStanding solemnly in front of Buckingham Palace, Kamala Thiagaras said she vividly remembered the day Queen Elizabeth II got married. Then, a student at a Catholic church, she and her fellow students had cakes, cookies and chocolate to celebrate.
“We’ll still remember him until we die. We were happy to be there when she was queen and she ruled us as we were in the Commonwealth,” said Thiagaras, who is Sri Lankan.
But when she spoke to her grandchildren last night after news of the Queen’s death swept the nation, no sadness could register in their response, Thiagaras, 80, recalled.
“Our generation, we were all saddened when we heard the news. But kids, I think, in this day and age they think it’s something that’s happening, they’re taking it as it comes.”
It was an exchange that exposed a fault line between an older generation commemorating an era-defining monarch whose work ethic, sense of duty and stoicism they have known all their lives, and a younger generation with which the institution of monarchy resonates less.
Despite the split, the feeling among the thousands of people who continue to gather outside Buckingham Palace is largely one of loss and sadness.
Shahid Khan, a 19-year-old royal from Cardiff, assumed the generation gap was circumstantial.
“With the younger generation, I think we don’t have that situation to bring us together,” Khan said of his peers. “I think that’s one reason why they don’t connect.”
Should the disconnect surprise us? During her 70-year reign, the Queen witnessed seismic changes in technological development, industry, economy and social life around the world, many of which have been reduced to historical records for young adults.
The Queen was the head of state of 15 other countries, all once part of the former British Empire. For seven decades she was head of the Commonwealth, whose 54 countries make up 2.1 billion people, a third of the globe’s population.
For many, a figure they have long revered is suddenly gone. Bentley Roach, 77, from Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago, has spent his life searching for the queen.
“I’m from the Caribbean, a Commonwealth country, so people of my generation don’t know anyone else,” Roach said. “I feel loyalty to the monarchy. This does not mean that if countries become independent, it is the right of people to choose where they want to go. I respect that.”
Conversely, for some Britons the Queen’s death revived the conflicting emotions of a colonial past. “We have a relationship with the Commonwealth, whether it’s a good thing or not,” said one woman, who asked not to be named, for whom the Queen’s work ethic and duty are values she identifies with as a Sri Lankan. born in Britain.
“You can never forget the mistakes of the past,” she added. “I have a lot to be grateful for from this country, but I’m also aware of my heritage and the struggles that people have.”
For others, like Kylie Benson, whose family is from Belize, the Queen was the “head of power” of her community, whose reign provided a sense of stability.
“She meant a lot to me and my family,” Benson, 32, said. “Coming from one of her Commonwealth countries, she’s grown that country and when she actually got independence it changed – to be honest, the politics aren’t as good as they were when she was under the Queen’s rule. Always I have said that if I were there I would vote against independence from the British colony.”
Speaking to some young adults, the emotional response to life without the Queen was less obvious. “I think everyone is questioning the same thing – whether the monarchy is going to last much longer,” said Ellie Cheek, 21.
For her friend Yele, 24, who did not want to share her last name, the royal family is a staple of British culture. It depends, she said, on who is willing to say goodbye.
“It will depend on each individual person. I know that for some people, like outside the UK, maybe in the Caribbean islands, they are ready to part ways with this. But I think really, it’s hard…” she said.
Steph Hamilton, 32, who described the royal family as privileged and not representative, said it was a historic moment. She made her way to Buckingham Palace from Shake Shack when news of the Queen’s death broke on Thursday afternoon.
“I’m not too worried about the monarchy,” said Hamilton, who predicted the Queen’s death would have a big impact. For example: “What about the Commonwealth? The fact that we have a king is a bit strange.”
