Britain lines up for its future without Queen Elizabeth

As I write this, on Friday morning, there is a 5-mile queue lasting at least 14 hours winding its way through central London. Starting in So [Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( As I write this, on Friday morning, there is a [5-mile queue lasting at least 14 hours winding its way through central London](. Starting in Southwark Park, it finishes in Westminster Hall, where Queen Elizabeth II lies in state. Known as “the Queue,” it’s hard to find a better symbol of the respect and admiration that the only monarch most Brits have ever known inspired. The calm, well-organized queue (that’s a “line” to non-Britons) no doubt helps reinforce the stereotype about the great British love of lining up. But this is something else. Therese Raphael writes that it takes a [certain stoicism, humility and determination]( to pull your kids out of school, take days off work, and drop everything else to pay respects to someone you’ve never met. Of course, that someone isn’t just anyone. It’s Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s beloved longest-serving monarch. [Her seven decades on the throne have seen countless changes]( — the introduction of color television, birth-control pills and computers; the UK’s entry into and exit from the European Union; 15 different prime ministers. It is testament to her that the monarchy has even survived those 70 years. Her most obvious achievement was to provide continuity in an ever-changing and turbulent world. The queen devoted her life to performing duties both big — inaugurating Parliament, for example — and small — opening hospitals, attending charity functions. Adrian Wooldridge notes that [her sense of duty and dignity was a direct counterbalance to the modern day](, where the meritocratic elite have no time for local ties or obligations and a man who has been repeatedly sacked for lying can become prime minister. For Americans, it may be more difficult to understand what the queen stood for. Therese explains her own personal experience: “My younger self couldn’t grasp how one person with all that inherited wealth could come to embody a nation’s view of itself.” For Therese, [becoming British meant working toward an understanding of things that come automatically for the native-born](. In her words, the queen may have inherited a crown, but she earned the world’s admiration with her relentless service and the values she lived by. Still, it’s natural that old republican debates and discussions over the future of the monarchy have returned. Critics, as Bloomberg’s editorial board notes, point out that for all the modernizing she did, [Elizabeth did fail to scale back the extravagant privileges]( enjoyed by the royal family. In the last full year of her reign, the monarchy’s taxpayer-supported expenditures topped [100 million pounds]( ($115 million), up 17% over the previous year. Others have criticized the fact that while other royals have [acknowledged Britain’s history of slavery](, she never did. Preserving the monarchy will now be the job of King Charles III, who has perhaps already shown himself to be less dignified than his mother after [a couple of pen-related outbursts]( (though it’s likely that any tantrum can be blamed on nonstop traveling during a period of grief). That said, [Charles does come to the throne with baggage](, as Martin Ivens explains. Many members of the public haven’t forgiven him for his treatment of Princess Diana. Known to have strong opinions on everything from climate change (which he was ahead of his time on) to the [government’s controversial policy of deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda](, if he’s to perform his duty, he’ll have to learn to keep his opinions to himself. Fourteen overseas nations are still ruled by the British monarch, but only a few are now considering change: Jamaica’s long-mooted plans to move to a republican system are likely to get a boost, and Antigua and Barbuda has promised a referendum following Barbados’s decision to remove the monarchy in 2021. David Fickling explains that the main issue holding the rest back [is a lack of constitutional flexibility]( — something most Commonwealth nations didn’t inherit from the UK. Elizabeth’s death at 96 wasn’t a great surprise, but it means saying goodbye to a woman who was a symbol of calm continuity for many generations. There’ll be more successions in my lifetime, but none will carry the same weight. It’s hard to sum up the nation’s feelings toward her better than [Paddington Bear did at the Platinum Jubilee](: “Thank you, ma’am, for everything.” More UK Reads: - [Liz Truss inherited the nation amid a whirlwind of misfortunes](. Max Hastings is worried about how she’ll handle them. - Ben Schott explores [how “the Firm” branded itself]( under Queen Elizabeth II. - In theory, British politics is on pause. Therese Raphael explains that, in reality, [these days have been as loaded with political consequence as historical significance](. More Data From Bloomberg Opinion Robert Burgess makes [the case against a massive Fed rate increase]( after new inflation data. Leisure travel is booming, says David Fickling. [Business travel, however, is another story.]( [(Re)introducing the Lipstick Index](: Andrea Felsted explains how strong demand for beauty products says a lot about the economy. Notes: To contact the author of this newsletter, email Lara Williams at lwilliams218@bloomberg.net. This is the Theme of the Week edition of Bloomberg Opinion Today, a digest of our top commentary published every Sunday. Like getting this newsletter? 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