Britain | Of royals and sentiments

How the death of Elizabeth II has affected Britain

The crowds of mourners aren’t a good guide

Flowers left in tribute for Queen Elizabeth II at The Green Park in London, Sept. 12, 2022. (Andrew Testa/The New York Times) Credit: New York Times / Redux / eyevineFor further information please contact eyevinetel: +44 (0) 20 8709 8709e-mail: info@eyevine.comwww.eyevine.com
|BIRMINGHAM, EDINBURGH AND STEEPLE BUMPSTEAD

Half a dozen middle-aged and old women are loitering after the end of an Anglican church service in Steeple Bumpstead, a village in Essex. All of them are feeling rather shaky. They have just sung the national anthem, with the unfamiliar line “God save the king,” and it brought them up short. Besides, the death of Queen Elizabeth II has changed Britain in some way, says Edna Jackson: “There’s something floating around in the ether that’s completely different.”

This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Something in the ether”

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