With the passing of the Queen, many think the end is near for the imperial institution she fought so hard for. What realities lie ahead for King Charles III?
• Read more of the Observer’s From the Archive special on Queen Elizabeth II
Our ancestors were better prepared for moments like this. The inevitable corollary of having witnessed the longest reign in British history is that only a tiny fraction of us have any memory of a monarch’s passing – and such memories that do exist are faded, unreliable, childhood recollections.
The events of the coming days and weeks will be nothing like the royal events we do have experience of – mainly weddings and jubilees. The nation has entered a period of genuine trauma, one that will be punctuated by a series of unfamiliar rituals that, behind closed doors, have been years in the planning.
