Radhika Jones on the Future of the Crown

Radhika Jones on Queen Elizabeth, the monarchy, and what’s ahead [View in your browser]( | [Un](newsletter=vfletters)[subscribe from this email](newsletter=vfletters)   [Letters from Vanity Fair Logo]( Below, editor in chief Radhika Jones reflects on the legacy of the queen and the royals’ next act. Thank you for your continued readership of Vanity Fair.   [Vanity Fair EIC Radhika Jones] Radhika Jones EDITOR IN CHIEF Dear Reader, This summer, on a visit to Edinburgh with my family, I toured the Royal Yacht Britannia. The yacht was decommissioned in 1997 and permanently docked in the port of Leith as a tourist attraction; the new Labour government had decided the cost of overhauling its vintage engine was too high for Britain to bear. With a guide, we were afforded a sneak peek at some of the private areas of what was at once an ambassadorial vessel—complete with a state dining room that had hosted Nelson Mandela and Ronald Reagan, among others—and also the floating home of a clan who, their extreme wealth notwithstanding, also did regular family stuff. Off the veranda deck, our guide opened a small cabinet in the paneling to reveal a stack of classic board games of the sort you’d see in any vacation rental—Operation, and so forth. When news came of the queen’s passing, I thought about those board games, the unfinished jigsaw puzzle in the living room, the sofas covered in chintz. Here was a woman who ascended to the global stage at the age of 25—mourning her father and inheriting his mantle in the space of a single moment. Her personal life was inextricably bound to her duty to represent the nation. She came of age during the Blitz, and as a new queen met weekly with Winston Churchill; at the end of her life, she took tea with the fictional Paddington Bear. Who else can lay claim to such a vast cultural reach over a period of such monumental change? Whatever one feels about the monarchy as an idea, the centuries of British imperialism that it still represents, or the various members of the House of Windsor, the death of the queen is a historic event, not least because it signals the end of an era for Britain. At Vanity Fair, we have covered the royal family for decades, examining their soft power alongside their penchant for strife and scandal. Now, as Charles becomes king, with William in waiting, we bring you more of these signature stories, remembering a monarch’s life and looking ahead to the family’s next act. Yours, Radhika   [Subscribe to Vanity Fair and gain unlimited access to a year of journalism, reviews, and profiles.]( [Starting at $1.25 per month.]( [SUBSCRIBE NOW](   BALMORAL, BUCKINGHAM, AND BEYOND [Portrait and memorial for the Life and Legacy of Queen Elizabeth II]( [Remembering the Life and Legacy of Queen Elizabeth II]( [By THE EDITORS]( [After 70 years on the throne, the monarch has died at the age of 96. Follow live coverage from the VF newsroom.](   [Image may contain: Human, Person, People, Clothing, Apparel, Suit, Coat, Overcoat, and Crowd]( [Mother and Son: Inside Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles’s Complicated Relationship]( [By HADLEY HALL MEARES]( [Inside Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles’s complicated relationship.](   [Image may contain: Necklace, Jewelry, Accessories, Accessory, Human, Person, Tiara, Elizabeth II, Hat, Clothing, and Apparel]( [Queen Elizabeth II’s Crowns, Tiaras, and Other Jewels and Priceless Heirlooms]( [By ERIN VANDERHOOF]( [The world’s most photographed woman had an incredible family collection and the aptitude for telling stories through her accessories.](   [Prince Andrew]( [“It Was Catastrophic”: Inside Prince Andrew’s Misguided Bid to Explain Away Epstein]( [By MARK SEAL]( [Inside Prince Andrew’s misguided bid to explain away Jeffrey Epstein.](   [Queen Elizabeth II Inside the House of Windsor]( [Inside the House of Windsor]( [VF’s DYNASTY podcast examines the ties that bind the most influential families in the world today—beginning with the unimaginable secrets and unyielding power of the British royal family.](   [To support our journalists, critics, photographers, and more, we hope that you consider subscribing.]( [Options start at $1.25 per month.]( [SUBSCRIBE NOW](   [VANITY FAIR logo image]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [YouTube]( This e-mail was sent to you by Vanity Fair. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, vanityfair@newsletter.vf.com, to your address book. View our [Privacy Policy]( | [Unsubscribe from this email](newsletter=vfletters) Copyright © Condé Nast 2022. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.