‘Collective sadness’ on the streets

AUSTRALIANS in the UK have described the mood since Queen Elizabeth passed away as “surreal”.

“It does feel a bit sombre and solemn and you sort of exchange knowing looks with people,” former AJN journalist Phoebe Roth, who is in the UK on a working holiday visa, said. “There’s kind of an unspoken, collective sadness. It’s sort of surreal.”

Roth told The AJN that there’s “wall-to-wall” signage and coverage remembering the Queen across different shops and on the tube, while most events that had been scheduled to take place have been cancelled “out of respect”.

“When I came over here I always wondered if I’m going to be here when the Queen dies – that will be quite historic,” she said. “If one day I have grandchildren, I feel like I’ll tell them about this time.”

Nicole Rabie, who has been living in London for four years, told The AJN that the reaction to the Queen’s death has made her understand the “deep connection” Britons felt to her.

“She was a constant in the lives of almost every British person; the face of their culture and moral underpinning,” Rabie said.

“Walking through town, from Buckingham Palace to Piccadilly, was an experience I’ll never forget. The flowers that line the streets, the collective understanding that this is a country in mourning, the outpouring of emotion from everyone … it was surreal.

“As I took in the atmosphere I finally understood the full power of this momentous, historic event – what Queen Elizabeth meant to her people and how deeply the connection to her runs through the veins of London, and the uncertainty of life in the UK without her.”

Anthony Orkin, who has lived in the UK since mid-2016, said: “The outpouring of grief from British Jews has shown just how loved and respected the Queen was by the Jewish community. Tributes have poured in from Jewish leaders. Like countless other Jews, I went outside Buckingham Palace to say thank you for her remarkable life of service.”

Roth said King Charles is being received in a “reasonably open manner”.

“He’s spoken quite well in his couple of appearances so far and I don’t think the sentiment towards him is negative at this stage,” she said.

“I’m sure there are exceptions, but I think I think they’re giving him a chance.”