For some, the news has blotted other, more important issues, like the war in Ukraine and climate change.
“It’s like a dog with a bone. The news outlets won’t let go,” said Julian Guidry, 68, a retired chemical plant technician from LaPlace, La., who has watched CNN and MSNBC. “I respect her and the people of England, but I think it’s a little bit much.”
Still others recoiled at the news, recalling the long and brutal history of British colonialism.
“If the queen had apologized for slavery, colonialism and neocolonialism and urged the crown to offer reparations for the millions of lives taken in her/their names, then perhaps I would do the human thing and feel bad,” Mukoma Wa Ngugi, an associate professor of literatures in English at Cornell University, wrote on Twitter. “As a Kenyan, I feel nothing. This theater is absurd.”
Such reactions show how the monarchy, though it’s often covered as celebrity fluff, is tied to weighty issues like the legacy of empire, slavery, women’s rights, mental illness, family relations and divorce, Professor Chernock said.
“It’s never just about the monarchy,” she said.
During her long life, Elizabeth visited the U.S. a half-dozen times, taking in sites from Washington to the West Coast. When she came to Boston to celebrate America’s bicentennial in 1976, she worshiped at Old North Church, despite its famed role in the Revolution. In June, the church hosted a celebration of her Platinum Jubilee. And hundreds came to sign her condolence book this week.
“Old North is actually a gathering place for the British community in Boston,” the Rev. Dr. Matthew Cadwell, the church’s vicar-in-charge, said. “It’s ironic to everyone else, but it’s what we do.”