The Burning Questions Royal Watchers Are Asking After The Queen's Death

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the longest reigning British monarch in British history has died. Buckingham Palace released a statement announcing that the great monarch died peacefully on September 8 at her Balmoral Estate in Scotland. "The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow," the statement concluded. News of the queen's death came hours after Buckingham Palace shared a statement (via BBC), revealing that due to concerns about her deteriorating health, she was placed under medical supervision.

In the wake of the queen's death, tributes have continued to pour in from across the United Kingdom and the world at large. "Queen Elizabeth II was the rock on which modern Britain was built ... She was the very spirit of Great Britain and that spirit will endure," Prime Minister LIz Truss said in her statement. President Joe Biden and his wife Jill have also paid their tributes to the late monarch, whom they described as "a steadying presence and a source of comfort and pride for generations of Britons." Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau further shared his condolences with the royal family while acknowledging the queen's support for the Canadian government through the years.

Similarly, royal fans across are paying their last respects to Queen Elizabeth while seeking answers to some very dire questions burning in their hearts.

Following the announcement of Queen Elizabeth's deteriorating health status, BBC reported that senior members of the royal family, including her four children, Prince Charles, Prince Andrew, Princess Anne, and Prince Edward, made their way to Balmoral to be by the queen's side.

The outlet also reported the arrival of the queen's grandson, Prince William, who is now the heir apparent, at the Scottish estate while his brother Prince Harry was said to be on his way. Harry, however, was yet to join his family when the queen's death was announced, begging royal fans to question why the palace did not hold off the announcement until his arrival.

"But can we talk about how shady it is that the royals didn't wait until Prince Harry arrived to announce that she was dead?" one fan tweeted, adding that news of Queen Elizabeth's passing was probably stalled until senior royals arrived. A second fan suggested that Prince Charles, who automatically became king upon his mother's death, was not starting his reign on a good note. "Doesn't bode well if our new King couldn't wait for Harry to arrive before they announced Her Majesty's passing," the tweet read. "Wait for all the family, not just the main players. He would have known he was on his way. No matter what has gone on, he should have shown respect for the family."

Prince Andrew, popularly dubbed Queen Elizabeth's "favorite son," has been caught in one too many scandals over the past years. One is his eye-raising past friendship with infamous sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, who died in August 2019. That same year, Andrew faced sexual assault charges after Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein's victims who revealed she was trafficked to the prince when she was only 17. Andrew denied the allegations — but in January 2022, when a U.S. judge ruled that a civil case about the sexual abuse allegations could proceed, Andrew was stripped of all his royal patronages and military titles, per NPR.

Despite this seeming proverbial move from monarchy, royal fans have always theorized that for the longest time, the queen protected Andrew from public scrutiny. An instance to back up this speculation would be in August 2021 when the Daily Beast reported that Queen Elizabeth's legal team warned the British media to stay away from Andrew and her Balmoral Estate where he was vacationing at the time.

Therefore, with the queen's death comes the question of whether or not the royal family would continue to protect Prince Andrew. One Twitter user wrote, "do i have to remind people that the royal family happily used millions of pounds of taxpayers money ... to pay off prince andrew's victims?" Another user quipped that Andrew's actions might have contributed to the queen's stress over the years — and yes, even more than the Meghan and Harry situation.

With Prince Charles officially named the new King of England, his wife Camilla Parker Bowles has now become the country's queen consort, per The New York Post. This comes after years of speculation over whether Bowles would be given the regal title or not. Interestingly, Queen Elizabeth put all doubts to rest earlier in 2022 during the platinum jubilee anniversary of her reign. "When, in the fullness of time, my son Charles becomes King, I know you will give him and his wife Camilla the same support that you have given me; and it is my sincere wish that, when the time comes, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort," she said (via ABC).

Royal watchers are however not particularly pleased about Bowles's new rank in the royal family and have since taken to Twitter to share their thoughts. "Camila Parker Bowles is living the dream. Imagine going from being the mistress for 20 years to being Queen Consort???" one person tweeted. A second user wrote that the new queen consort might just have become a role model for "side chicks" across the globe. All of this, of course, alluded to the messy note on which her relationship with Charles started. 

But perhaps none of these matter in the moment. British has a new monarch and what can we say? Long live the king!