For the last 70 years, the United Kingdom has been led by the British Monarch Queen Elizabeth the Second. She lived to an incredible 96 years old and managed that while being a figure of stability in the United Kingdom’s government and in the world. In fact, Queen Elizabeth II set many records involving the length of her reign. She set the record for longest-serving monarch, for the United Kingdom as well as the longest serving female monarch in the history of the world ( www.history.com ). Many teachers and students at Apopka High School have their own opinions and concerns about the death of the Queen.

Many people have long lasting memories about the Queen. The Queen had influence on a lot of places and people, and Ms. Yvonne Ortin-Pitts, a teacher at Apopka High School, has some memories and experiences she would like to share with us. “When I was in the 6th grade, I began reading her old newspapers that showed pictures of the coronation and became interested. We watched the installation of King Charles being made the Prince of Wales on TV. We watched the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana together. These were memorable times that I spent with my mother. I lost my mother this summer, and when the Queen died, I felt like I lost my mother all over again because of the bond we created paying attention to the Royal family.” To many, the Queen was more than just a monarch. Queen Elizabeth had a lot of impact on the state of the world, as some of the biggest periods in history rolled by. Ms. Ortin-Pitts describes the strength the Queen had. “Over the last 70 years, she became a constant when the world was changing. She lived through the Cold War and was able to help bring it to an end. She has lived through the years of extreme terrorism, she saw the world change and she was able to remain a constant, steady rock.” The Queen was indeed a steady rock for the duration of her reign. She remained strong to the very end installing a prime minister before her death.

With all things, there’s the positive and there’s the negative. Mr. Houvouras, an art teacher at Apopka High School has some contrary opinions about what the queen meant and signified during her reign and some of the decisions made after her death. “Her title is fake because there is nothing inherently better about her family than anyone else’s. They are not smarter, they haven’t created better inventions, haven’t created any great art that has advanced culture at all, and so this whole everything is predicated on the idea that their bloodline is somehow better than yours, mine, or someone else’s. That’s a preposterous assumption.” Many things happened while England was mourning for the Queen, and Mr. Houvouras had opinions on that as well. “She lived a long time, that’s fine, and I’m not even a bit of the viewpoint that people need to celebrate her death or revile her necessarily. But there’s really no reason that she should be getting attention. One thing that I find despicable is that during [ceremonies] yesterday or the day before some hospitals stopped cancer treatment, and food banks were closed in London. Meaning that this dead millionaire who is supported by hard-working peoples tax money is so deserving of honor that we’re going to let kids go hungry for a day‘s which is absolutely horrible.” This was one of the most controversial events that happened after the event. During the mourning period, the United Kingdom shut down most of the normal functions of the city like flights overhead, certain hospital treatments, food banks, most businesses, etc.

Of course, the most pressing question of all is what happened to the Queen’s famous Corgis. Mrs. Gardiner, a teacher at Apopka High School, wondered the exact same thing. “So for me I have always loved that the Queen has had only one type of dog. Corgis. And that she doesn’t have just one Corgi, but typically multiple Corgis that come along with her. They’re my favorite type of dog because of her, and because of that one of my first concerns when she passed is what’s going to happen to the Corgis.” The ownership of the dogs was given to multiple qualified people around England. The Queen is quite famous because of having only owned Corgis her whole life, but that was recently broken. “The Queens had many Corgis, and I believe that the Queen received her first Corgi when she was seven and has stuck with Corgis ever since. The only new addition to the Corgis is when her sister gave her a Dorgi (Corgi + Dachshund). She had two Dorgis and two Corgis.” These were her last dogs before her death.

The United Kingdom holds one of the largest empires of the modern world and was even larger when the Queen became the Queen. Mr. Russell teaches AP European History, so he has quite a bit of knowledge about the topic. “Lots of comments have been made about her being the monarch of the world’s greatest (or worst) imperialist country, but after the world wars, she presided over the dismantling of that empire. There were instances where the British didn’t handle that well, but many in which they did. “The Queen started the long process of dismantling their large empire and is appreciated for that. Many believe that the monarchy is not needed anymore and that the monarchy serves for nothing. Mr. Russell continued, “She was a voice of stability in the European world, even though her control over the government and diplomatic policies of England was nominal. It is not at all clear whether her offspring will rule as well as she did. I don’t think monarchies are needed anymore, so if the House of Windsor fell, it wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing.” It’s up to the United Kingdom whether the Monarchy serves for nothing or not.

Many here in the United States know minimally about the United Kingdom and can’t even claim to have been there. But Ms. Pettengell, a guidance counselor at Apopka High School, has lived in England and has British heritage. “Having lived in England and my mom is British, I’ve watched the Queen and I’ve seen the effect of the monarchy. Then having moved to the states, and of course, England has their own form of government, the monarchy. But the United States is run by a President and the democracy. England has no need for a monarchy as far as government and power. However, they will never get rid of their King and Queen because they love them and they will follow it forever.”

 For our last interview we have a student at Apopka High School, Thony Ramos. He does not feel the same connection, but rather loves to know about history, as well as current events. “Well I’m not sure how her death will affect the United States directly, but do have to consider that we have to deal with King Charles. I don’t like him. I think a lot of people care about the death of Queen Elizabeth II because there’s people like me that genuinely look up to her and enjoy learning about her important role in history.”

The opinions about the death of Queen Elizabeth II are many and each is quite different. The Queen may not have had much sway in the United Kingdom’s government, but she was held dearly in the hearts of many. For others, she represents negative things and has caused some strife. But either way, we mourn for her loss and wish the best for the United Kingdom.