London Bridge is Down: Now What?
Image Courtesy: Strike Magazine Tallahassee
September 8th, 2022—the day the London Bridge fell.
It is quite hard to imagine a world in which there is no Queen of England. Queen Elizabeth II had reigned for almost seventy-one years: seventy years and two-hundred and fourteen days, to be exact. That is a long time, considering the United States' life expectancy is 78.79 years. So, the question remains: What happens now? Well, let’s just say we cannot answer that question until we address the elephant in the room, Princess Diana.
Image Courtesy: History
Queen Elizabeth had three sons and one daughter, but only her eldest son is important in this narrative. Prince Charles met Diana in 1980. They began dating, and after a few months, he proposed. The marriage soon followed in 1981, and they had two children, William and Harry. Right after her second son, Harry was born in 1984, the relationship started to get rocky—and I mean rocky. Charles was cheating on Diana with a woman named Camilla. This became very public news. Long story short, Charles loved Camilla and said he did not love Diana. Diana proudly kept her head up and made her own remarks in an infamous television interview where she announced her divorce plans and said, “Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded." It’s safe to say this was the most infamous interview in history. They divorced in 1996, and in 1997 Diana tragically died in a car accident in Paris.
Okay, so . . . keep following me. Diana was loved by all the people. Not just in Britain but throughout the world. Seriously, she was named “the people’s princess” by former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. Everyone always took her side in everything she went through. Once she died, the world mourned for her.
Image Courtesy: Reader’s Digest Canada
I wonder if you can guess what Britain’s current situation is. Yes? No? I’ll tell you—Charles is now king of the United Kingdom, and he is married to Camilla. Yeah, don’t expect me to call her Queen Consort.
I think you can guess everyone’s reactions and thoughts on him reigning and being happily married to a woman who was the other woman first. On top of that, King Charles did not begin his reign in a good light. A video recording was published from the official coverage announcing the new sovereign, where Charles made some questionable choices in front of a camera that was not received well by the public. Charles was frustrated that his aide left a tray of pens on his desk for him to sign his official documents. Charles gestured repeatedly for them to be removed, so as for him not to move it. This did not serve well with the public, as Twitter went off with comments like:
"The servant must clear my desk for me. I can't be expected to move things."
"Manners cost nothing!"
"Took him more effort to wave his hand a dozen times than to move it himself."
Was this a big deal? Who knows. All I can say is that Charles is living up to Megan Markle’s characterization of him as a big fussy baby.
So, what now? Some speculate that this will be the British monarchy’s downfall. I mean, we can excuse British colonialism, but we draw the line at disgracing Princess Diana. Some hope King Charles will not follow his mother’s long reign and instead pass the crown to Prince William. Or that King Charles will abdicate (renounce his throne) due to the public’s disapproval after Diana. Some even predict a king who was never meant to rule will take the throne. Whatever happens now will be interesting, and I am sure going to follow along.
Strike Out,
Writer: Lucia Villanustre
Editor: Noelle Knowlton
Graphic Designer: Sydney Baksa
Tallahassee