Tributes to 'unifying' Queen from Preston Historian
We've been speaking to Dr David Stewart from the University of Central Lancashire
Last updated 13th Sep 2022
Tributes continue to pour in for Queen Elizabeth II who died on Thursday last week at the age of 96.
We've been speaking to Dr David Stewart who is a lecturer in Modern British History at the University of Central Lancashire.
He told us why the Queen has been held in such high regard.
He said:
"The Queen was regarded as the person, regardless of your personal political persuasion, or wherever you came from, she was promoted as a unifying figure.
"During the latter part of her reign, the last 30/40 years, particularly since the 80s, Britain became a much more socially divided country, pretty much until the present day. The monarch and the Queen was seen as one of the remaining sources of unity in the country.
"Another reason people might be sad it's because it's more evidence of the passing of the wartime generation. A generation that is increasingly revered because they stuck together during wartime.
"It was a difficult experience and the royal family and the queen in particular was seen as an important part of that.
She is being succeeded by HM King Charles III, a man Dr. David Stewart says will be a very different head of state.
He said:
"It does seem that he is going to be a very different style of monarch. Somebody who, certainly in his previous role, wasn't scared to express opinions.
"King Charles faces a more testing time than maybe some previous monarchs have faced, in that there's already question marks there.