UK misses Queen Elizabeth II amid crisis

“London Bridge is down,” said a taxi driver, Mohammad Karil, who has been living in London for 25 years. The Dong-A Ilbo reporter arrived in London and got in his taxi on Friday, saying, “Buckingham Palace, please.” The phrase “London Bridge is down” is the U.K. royal family’s code word for Queen Elizabeth II’s death, implying that her death is a massive shock to the nation as if the London Bridge collapsed.

People in the U.K. were in a panic, just as described in the code word. Describing Queen Elizabeth II as the U.K.’s ‘guiding compass,’ they expressed their anxiety over her death amid the chaos the country is currently facing, including 40-year-high inflation and unprecedented energy shortage. “A new prime minister took office a few days ago, and now we have a new king,” said Melanie McDonald, a London local newspaper journalist. “I am perplexed that these all happened in a week. In this difficult situation, we will miss our Queen even more.”

“Queen Elizabeth II was the rock on which modern Britain was built,” new British Prime Minister Liz Truss said Thursday. Through her remarks, she paid tribute to the queen who had shown unwavering leadership through the busy modern times of the country for 70 years on the throne.

Elizabeth II died on Thursday at 96 at her holiday home at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. Born in 1926, Elizabeth ascended to the throne in 1952 and had been greatly esteemed by the people in the U.K., becoming the symbol of ‘Noblesse Oblige’ as Britain’s longest-serving monarch. She was highly recognized for her excellent leadership as a female leader, shoring up the crumbling British royal family. Elizabeth’s oldest son Charles III took the throne at 74 on Saturday.


Eun-A Cho achim@donga.com