Queen Elizabeth's long goodbye
When Queen Elizabeth II marked the 70 thanniversary of her accession to the throne with a “ sincere wish “ that her son’s wife be Queen Consort, I started thinking about obituaries. It was obvious that her mortality was very much on the Queen’s mind, which is hardly surprising for someone who’s 95.
Most media outlets, of course, already have an obituary of the Queen ready to go, as well as multiple pre-writes (as they are called) on the reign of the new King Charles III. That may sound rather heartless, but it’s not. It’s not morbid but magnificent organisation to have pre-writes, including an obit, ready to roll out the minute the Queen or any other world leader or celebrity passes.
The pre-writes about British royalty would, no doubt, cover the new court, the changed mood of the country, the political implications of having a monarch with defined and vocal opinions on several testy issues, such as architectu…
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