Why mourn the loss of someone you have never met?
Photo credit: Aidan Kirby, Y13
Long exposure of queue to visit the Queen lying in state.
Josie Montebello explores some of the reasons why so many are mourning the loss of the Queen, despite perhaps never meeting her.
The recent passing of Queen Elizabeth II has had a large effect not just on England, but the whole world. Thousands of people queued for hours and hours to pay their respects - some even sleeping overnight on the streets to see her. Of course, the vast majority of those affected by the Queen's passing would never have met her, so why has the impact been so huge? Why do people feel such a loss for someone who didn’t even know they existed?
Unless you were born before the 1950s, the Queen would have been the only monarch you would have ever known. A constant figure in your life that may have only been occasionally mentioned, but never completely forgotten. For many people, especially those from older generations, the Queen is somebody who was always there. Engraved into our lives as well as our coins, stamps and in the songs we sing, the Queen was always somehow a part of everybody.
This “feeling” of her being part of us all creates the sense of familiarity, almost as if she is a distant relative or old friend. Although you may not know her personally, you would recognise her voice or clothes or house, even the Queen's pets were known and loved greatly by the nation. All these different aspects of somebody being such common knowledge, allows the public to feel so close to someone they might never have seen. So when these things are taken away, it creates a huge impression of loss, even if you didn’t technically have the person to begin with.
The fact that not only do we feel as though we know the Queen herself, we also ”know” her family adds to this sense of grief and loss even more. We can see the Queen's children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren mourning her. This makes them seem relatable and normal, no different to the rest of us. This can also be extremely emotional for many as they can link these feelings back to their own families. People sympathise with her close relatives because they can relate to them and understand what they are going through.
Lastly, the Queen's death forces things within our country to change. Because for so many of us these things have always been a part of our lives, we never even considered them one day being different. Simple traditions like her Christmas speech or her name in the national anthem will never be the same. There are also more physical aspects to this, her face on our money or her annual jubilee. These almost insignificant details in our lives feel much more valuable when you know they are no longer there.
Queen Elizabeth II is the perfect example of “Why do we mourn those we never met?” Although there is no right or wrong answer, there are endless reasons for why we would mourn her and the huge impact she had on us as individuals and as a world.
Josie Montebello, Y11
The recent passing of Queen Elizabeth II has had a large effect not just on England, but the whole world. Thousands of people queued for hours and hours to pay their respects - some even sleeping overnight on the streets to see her. Of course, the vast majority of those affected by the Queen's passing would never have met her, so why has the impact been so huge? Why do people feel such a loss for someone who didn’t even know they existed?
Unless you were born before the 1950s, the Queen would have been the only monarch you would have ever known. A constant figure in your life that may have only been occasionally mentioned, but never completely forgotten. For many people, especially those from older generations, the Queen is somebody who was always there. Engraved into our lives as well as our coins, stamps and in the songs we sing, the Queen was always somehow a part of everybody.
This “feeling” of her being part of us all creates the sense of familiarity, almost as if she is a distant relative or old friend. Although you may not know her personally, you would recognise her voice or clothes or house, even the Queen's pets were known and loved greatly by the nation. All these different aspects of somebody being such common knowledge, allows the public to feel so close to someone they might never have seen. So when these things are taken away, it creates a huge impression of loss, even if you didn’t technically have the person to begin with.
The fact that not only do we feel as though we know the Queen herself, we also ”know” her family adds to this sense of grief and loss even more. We can see the Queen's children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren mourning her. This makes them seem relatable and normal, no different to the rest of us. This can also be extremely emotional for many as they can link these feelings back to their own families. People sympathise with her close relatives because they can relate to them and understand what they are going through.
Lastly, the Queen's death forces things within our country to change. Because for so many of us these things have always been a part of our lives, we never even considered them one day being different. Simple traditions like her Christmas speech or her name in the national anthem will never be the same. There are also more physical aspects to this, her face on our money or her annual jubilee. These almost insignificant details in our lives feel much more valuable when you know they are no longer there.
Queen Elizabeth II is the perfect example of “Why do we mourn those we never met?” Although there is no right or wrong answer, there are endless reasons for why we would mourn her and the huge impact she had on us as individuals and as a world.
Josie Montebello, Y11
