The British Monarchy has been around for thousands of years, and although the current royal family does not have any legal power, they have a great influence on the general public. Recently, Queen Elizabeth II passed away. She died on September 8th, 2022 in Balmoral Castle, sparking an interest in many regarding the Royal Family.

Queen Elizabeth’s father, who was the king preceding Elizabeth, passed away in February of 1952, after suffering from coronary thrombosis and lung cancer for a long period of time. Something many don’t know is that the Queen’s Uncle, Edward VIII, was supposed to take the throne after her father died, but declined so that he would be permitted to marry a divorced American woman, which would not have been allowed if he were to become King. The Queen was crowned on June 2nd, 1953 in Westminster Abbey. With her new title came several new responsibilities for the Queen to undertake at the young age of twenty-seven years old. Queen Elizabeth went on to have four children with her husband Prince Phillip. Her son, now King Charles, sparked lots of drama surrounding the family in his young adult years.

The drama involving Prince Charles started when he fell in love with a woman, who is now the queen consort, named Camilla Rosemary Shand who later became Camila Parker Bowles. Charles asked for permission to marry Camilla, but his request was not granted due to the fact that Camilla had been divorced, and was an “experienced woman,” meaning that she had relationships with other men before. This greatly upset Charles as well as Camilla. Soon after his controversial request, he was sent to the military by his family in hopes of taking his mind off Camilla. Following his time in the military, Charles met Diana Frances Spencer while dating Diana’s sister, Sarah Spencer. Diana was sixteen years old when she first met the twenty-nine-year-old Charles. Charles and Diana began to date and speak on the phone occasionally, and shortly after meeting, Charles proposed to Diana. At first, Diana was overjoyed about the proposal. She was head over heels for Charles and excited to marry him. She soon found out about Camilla, and began to have doubts about the wedding. Her sister told her that it was too late to call off the wedding, so Diana hopefully went through with it. Almost immediately after being introduced as the new Princess of Wales, she was loved by everyone and became “the people’s princess.” The paparazzi quickly became an issue for Diana as they became obsessed with her every move. Diana and Charles had two sons, William, the oldest, and Harry, the youngest. After their boys were born, their marriage began to go downhill due to Charles’ alleged ongoing affair with Camilla, according to Diana’s interview in 1995 with BBC. Princess Diana and Prince Charles ended up getting divorced, and in turn Diana became more independent regarding the way she went about her life. She was still followed and harassed by the paparazzi daily, no matter where she went. She tragically died in a car accident after the paparazzi followed too closely behind the car she was in. Diana’s death sent a shockwave across the globe, and many were devastated, including her two sons. King Charles married Camilla in 2005, eight years after Diana’s death.

Diana and Charles’s sons, William and Harry, also caused lots of drama and speculation in the tabloids as they got older. William got married first out of the two boys, marrying Kate Middleton. A few years later, Harry married Meghan Markle. All seemed to be going well until rumors of drama between the two couples arose. Rumors were spread that Meghan made Kate cry, and news sources suggested that Megan wasn’t liked within the family. Her wedding was a highly anticipated televised event. After they married, Meghan and Harry lived in the castle for a short time, until they made the decision to leave the castle to live in America where Meghan was born. Of course, this was quite a shocker to all who follow the Monarchs. A few months after leaving the castle, Harry and Meghan did an interview with Oprah where they revealed that allegedly, someone in the royal family was concerned about how dark their baby’s skin would be. Meghan also claimed that Kate actually made her cry, contrary to what the news had said about her. This sparked more tension between the two couples, and it seemed as though they had completely cut contact with each other for months, until of course the Queen died. Meghan and Harry attended the mourning events hosted for the Queen, and both attended the funeral. Many viewers expressed their thoughts on the drama, describing how it seemed that Harry and William were interacting rather awkwardly.

Despite all of the drama surrounding the Queen’s death, it still encapsulates sadness and grief. Because of the Queen’s death, Charles became King. Some living in the UK were not happy about the change in leadership. According to reuters.com, 15% of UK citizens feel that Charles will not do a good job as king. On the contrary, 63% of people feel that he will perform well. Around seven in ten Britons anticipate that King Charles will address climate change and make a difference to help the climate, while the other three in ten feel that Charles will not make any substantial or helpful difference regarding the issue. Furthermore, four in ten Britons feel that King Charles will work to reduce the price of the Monarchy, while the other six in ten disagree with this statement. The Queen’s death has resulted in many needing to adjust to the new positions held in the Monarchy, and there are mixed opinions on the matter. This describes the main royal dramas that have occurred over the years, and how the Queen’s death has affected others. Rest in Peace to her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.