Students and Teachers React to Queen Elizabeth’s Death

William Kluttz, staff writer|October 14, 2022

  • While Mrs.Thomas’ government class was going on, the news of Queen Elizabeth’s death broke.  “One of my students…broke the news while we were in class and I just wanted to cry, she actually said, ‘Are you crying?’ and I said ‘yes.’ It broke my heart… I think it’s because the relationship is more with her former daughter in law Diana, because Diana and I were the same age and I stayed up and I watched her wedding… and then I watched her funeral. So it was just kind of sad.” -Nancy Thomas, teacher
  • “I wasn’t too in touch with British politics, so I’m alright.” -Johnny Penberthy, 12
  • “(My Mom) was devastated. She was crying. She was texting me all day. She was sad about it. It was awful.” -Will Frye, 11
  • “I was saddened to hear about Queen Elizabeth’s death – I lived in Scotland for 2 years and Bermuda for 2 years, so I grew up seeing her face on everything, including the money I used… I think it will be very interesting to see what happens to the British monarchy going forward since I don’t see any of the current royals having the same allure that she did, but I could be wrong. But it makes me wonder how much longer the monarchy will be around.” -Jamee Robinson, teacher
  •  “Personally, it doesn’t really affect me, so I don’t really care.” -Cameron Harper, 10

A History of Queen Elizabeth

  • The Queen was born on April 21, 1926, in London. Originally, she was not expected to become Queen, but in 1936, her uncle, Edward VIII, abdicated the throne to marry the twice divorced American Wallis Simpson. Her Father, George VI, ascended the throne.
  • The then princess Elizabeth was 13 when World War II began, and in 1944, at 18, she was a truck driver and mechanic.
  • In 1947 she married Prince Philip of Greece. The next year, Prince Charles, Now King Charles III, was born, the first of four.
  • In 1952,  Elizabeth’s father, King George VI, died. Now Queen Elizabeth was crowned on June 2, 1953, at only 27 years old.
  • One thing done by numerous monarchs throughout the world is the practice of knighting famous people from their respective countries. Among the people the Queen has knighted include Winston Churchill, Paul McCartney, Elton John, and David Attenborough.
  • In 1992, the year the Queen described as her “Annus Horribilis” had involved a fire at Windsor castle, and the dissolvement of the marriages of three of her children.
  • In 2002, Queen Elizabeth celebrated 50 years as monarch, however this year also involved the deaths of her sister, Margaret, and her mother, also named Elizabeth.
  • In 2015, the Queen became the longest ruling monarch in British history, passing Queen Victoria’s previous record of 63 years.
  • However, on April 9th 2021, the Queen’s husband, Prince Philip, died at age 99 after 70 years of marriage.
  • The following year on September 9th, the Queen herself died. She was 96, had ruled for 70 years, and had seen 15 prime ministers during her rule. Although as queen she never had any political power, throughout the UK, she was met with huge crowds of people saying their goodbyes.