HOW WILL WE REMEMBER THE ELIZABETHAN AGE?
The end of the long twentieth century? A full stop on British retreat from hegemony? Or something else?
Here’s what’s on my mind right now. And I thought maybe you could pitch in and help. It seems to me reasonably plausible that in a couple of generations’ time - no sooner - someone will write the history that nails what was going on in the 2020s.
It’s possible, perhaps even likely, that they will identify the end of Elizabeth II’s reign as a convenient and symbolic moment from which to survey the historical landscape. Not necessarily a turning point per se, but a piece of punctuation. A full stop. Maybe an exclamation mark.
At the moment, amid the confusion of the present, we can only see it as a semi-colon or a question mark. But let’s try and use our imagination.
What do we think the end of the reign will represent/mean to historians of the future? My guess is that it’ll stand analogous for the end of the ‘long’ late twentieth century - and that the late 2010s and early 2020s will seem to be the time when all the settlements and certainties of the postwar era were abandoned.
But that’s only a guess. What do you think? Comment on this article and I’ll round up the best of your hot takes in a new episode of the non-podcast First Draft.
Oh, and speaking of podcasts, I hope you’re enjoying the early instalments of This Is History: A Dynasty To Die For. The new episode lands tomorrow. Please give it a go!
From my perspective, as the second longest reigning monarch in history, she will be remembered. Unlike many in her position, she didn't sit idly by during WWII, and instead chose to take action and be as involved with the war effort as she could be. She was a constant in an ever changing world and did the best she could.
What I've noticed over the past few days, though, is just how little people around the world know or understand about the monarchy. I, myself, can't say that I know a great deal about how it functions in the modern age, yet I noticed a great many people blaming Elizabeth for events in which she was either not involved, or couldn't do anything about it.
Which brings up a question: Why is it that so many people are quick to blame someone who wasn't responsible for certain actions, rather than the people who actually did the actions, who were actually responsible?
I think the death of Queen Elizabeth II will be seen as the final nail in the coffin of Britain’s place as a “power” on the world stage. Her death, along with Brexit will I think be seen as a start of British isolation. King Charles III simply can’t garner the same goodwill as his mother, and this will translate as a loss of soft power for the country.