Mourning people began flocking to Myers of Keswick, a small British grocer in Manhattan, on Thursday morning, even before Elizabeth II died, in search of tea towels, royal memorabilia, utensils Cornish and other small British items to mark a moment in history.
But when the news that she died Finally arriving by phone, Irene Donnolly, a shop owner, just knew what to do: After hearing “God save the queen” in the store’s kitchenette, she pulled up a framed portrait of queen out of the wall and placed it carefully against the window. , nestled in Union Jack bunting.
“It was the end of an era,” said Ms Donnolly, who has worked at the store since moving to New York from Ireland two decades ago. “I can’t even tell.”
Britain’s longest-reigning monarch was mourned by the world on Thursday as a source of incomparable eternity, whose reign helped shape the modern world order and Britain’s colonial legacy. But in some places outside the UK it’s as pervasive as in the United States, a distant former British colony she never ruled and only occasionally visits but still manages to get through, in one way or another, for generations.
From Independence Hall in Philadelphia to the California beachfront home of Prince Harry, the Queen’s grandson, Americans are buzzing about the “special relationship” between the two nations (a favorite term among celebrities). American and British politicians), gawking at The rare world of riches and celebrities surrounds her (tens of millions of Americans watched Harry’s wedding to American actor Meghan Markle) and marvel at her sheer longevity.
Although the queen was never really a part of it, few were able to stay fixated longer in American life. In her 70 years of service, Elizabeth has served alongside 14 American presidents since Harry Truman, sitting on the transatlantic throne for nearly a third of the history of the United States as an independent nation.
Maya Jasanoff, a Harvard historian who studies the British Empire, said: “Americans crave fame, admire wealth, and care about people who come out of politics. political friction. “The royal family has managed to fill that American longing for decades.”
“Don’t forget that in the history of the American republic, there have been some conversations about whether or not George Washington should be a monarch,” she added in an interview.
In modern Washington, where partisan forces are once again testing the groundwork of America’s republican experiment, Republicans and Democrats have shelved heated domestic disputes to share admiration. their graves. One of them, President Biden, who first met the queen in 1982, called her “a female statesman of unparalleled dignity and steadfastness”. Another, former President Donald J. Trump, had a more personal view: “What a wonderful and beautiful woman she is,” he said.
Both sides promise friendship and support for her son and successor, King Charles IIIwhich the government worked with the Biden administration to orchestrate an international response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
At the marble Capitol, which still bears the scars of British raids during the War of 1812, the House of Representatives has lowered its flag to half staff and is due to pass a bereavement resolution on Tuesday. arrival, then adjourned in memory of the queen, as then. the death of her father, George VI, in 1952. Elizabeth was the first and only the British monarch participates in the general meeting of Parliament in 1991.
A few miles away, outside the British embassy, tributes were left in letters and flowers on Thursday afternoon.
Meg Massey, 36, a non-fiction writer who stopped by, said the monarchy’s “colonial history” was fair game for criticism. But as an American who has long been fascinated by royalty, she said, “we could see the movie without paying for it.”
She said that Elizabeth made a promise as a young woman to serve her country for the rest of her life, and she did. “You can also honor and celebrate that,” she added.
That service not only inspires admiration. Although she ruled through the gradual shrinking of the British Empire and the independence of the former colonies, for some Americans Elizabeth remained a symbol of British imperialism. Many other Americans see the monarchy as an outdated and costly institution.
Ms Jasanoff said: “I have no reason to deny the queen as a person, but the institution became increasingly an inextricably linked institution in the 19th century and into the 20th with consolidation. of the empire.
Donations poured in from unexpected parts of the country – some felt worldly far from the stately confinement of Balmoral Castle in Scotland, where the queen spent her final days.
University of Maryland Terrapins shared a picture of a commemorative show from October 1957, when Elizabeth attended an American football game in College Park during her first state visit to the United States.
At Madame Tussauds, the wax museum in Times Square modeled on London’s original, the ninth floor where visitors can normally “snack tea” with the queen has been replaced with a wooden table and logbook. pen for condolence.
An English-themed pub in downtown Philadelphia has planned to serve up the queen’s favorite chocolate dessert. Nearby, at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, David Lubin, a guide escorting tourists from Israel, demonstrated her stamina and adherence to the rules.
Mr. Lubin, 64, said: “She was a strong woman.
Across the country, in Montecito, California, the sun-drenched coastal region where Prince Harry and Miss Markle moved two years ago, Elena Hancock, 26, said the pair are often the source of “questions”. hot gossip”. But not the queen.
As an avid viewer of “The Crown,” an award-winning Netflix series about Elizabeth’s life, Ms Hancock said she viewed the queen as timeless.
“She was one of those people that you would think would always be there,” she said.
As for the newest occupant of the throne, Elizabeth’s son, King Charles III, some Americans proved to be inferior.
Jennifer Myers-Pulidore, owner of Myers of Keswick in Manhattan who was born in the US to British parents, laughed out loud when asked about Charles, turning the conversation to his beloved late ex-wife he.
“I love Princess Diana, and that’s all I’ll say,” she laughed. “I’ll leave it there.”
Report contributed by Jon Hurdle in Philadelphia, Sarah Maslin Nir in New York, Ariel Sabar in Washington, Jill Cowan of Santa Monica, California, and Jackie Sedley of Montecito, Calif.
