Northern Ireland loyalists anxious as 'stalwart' queen passes
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Loading... - Adriana Melo
- 12 Sep 2022
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Loyalists laid flowers by a huge mural of a young Queen Elizabeth in a fiercely British corner of west Belfast, looking back at what they saw as a glorious past, and forward to what they feared was an uncertain future.
A few hundred metres away, across steel and concrete "peace walls", many Irish nationalists reacted to the death of a woman they once saw as a symbol of British oppression with indifference or, at most, polite sympathy.
Elizabeth was queen for 70 of Northern Ireland's 100 years of history, and for all of three decades of the "Troubles" in which more than 3,000 died in sectarian fighting.
Opinions of her have always been as divided as the territory. Reflections on her death have touched on how much Northern Ireland has changed since her heyday, and how diminished the crown's role might be during the reign of her son.
Loyalists, who want to keep the region under British rule, remain among the royal family's most devoted subjects.
"It's part of our culture here ... monarchy is a big, big thing. And the queen is the monarchy, as far as we're concerned," said Bill Martin, 75, who drove 30 miles to take pictures of the royal shrine with an iPad.
"She was a real stalwart for the United Kingdom. I don't think Charles is anywhere near that. He has no interest in Northern Ireland," he said. Read More...
