LONDON — Now that the Royal Family has said farewell to Prince Philip, attention will turn to Queen Elizabeth II’s 95th birthday today and, in coming months, the celebrations marking her 70 years on the throne.
This combination of events is reminding the United Kingdom that the reign of the queen, the only monarch most of her subjects have ever known, is finite. That has triggered speculation about how long she will remain on the throne, what the monarchy will look like in the future.
“The queen is certainly moving now into the twilight of her reign and a new phase of her reign,’’ said Anna Whitelock, director of the Centre for the Study of Modern Monarchy at Royal Holloway, University of London. “She now is a widow, and it remains to be seen how she’s going to respond to that.’’
The has already started to turn over more responsibilities to Prince Charles, 72, her eldest son. Charles’ increased role began gradually, when the queen began cutting back on long-haul flights, resulting in Charles taking her place at a 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Sri Lanka.