No war, no climatic catastrophe and no virus will have prompted on a planetary scale an emotion and media coverage similar to the disappearance of the Queen of England, as if it had been a instant of improve, of crystallization in the chaos of the entire world.
Elizabeth had no other electric power than the symbol she embodied with self-denial and opacity – the symbol and duration – 70 several years of reign, 15 key ministers, from Winston Churchill to Liz Truss, 10 presidents of the Republic, from Vincent Auriol to Emmanuel Macron, a great number of leaders, from Stalin to Putin, from Deng Xiaoping to Xi Jinping, from Truman to Biden. Queen of England, head of condition, sovereign of the British Isles and 14 other member nations around the world of the Commonwealth, head of the Anglican Church, never ever expressed the slightest personalized feeling, but managed to make the monarchy the cement of a country and the instrument of unparalleled influence for the reward of the United kingdom.
However below is a region in comprehensive question following the decline of the Empire and the disappointments of Brexit, its cohesion referred to as into concern in Scotland and Northern Eire, a a lot even worse financial and social predicament than ours and a new Primary Minister with no states of service. convincing …
So what does this minute signify for the British, what perception do they have of their identification, of their place in the planet?
Would they nevertheless be, in the French way, hunting for a wonderful countrywide narrative?
What does the Commonwealth indicate right now, this combination of states that delivers with each other a 3rd of humanity who discuss the identical language? Now that the queen, a globalized icon, is no lengthier there, will the appeal, the efficiency of this actual soft energy endure her?
–
