England has often fared better with queens on the throne. Will Elizabeth II be its last?

Pity the poor Brits. In the midst of a serious cost-of-living crisis driven by the shocks of COVID-19, Brexit and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, they have lost the only monarch they have known: a genuinely revered figure whose mere name could bring Oxford dons and Labor members of Parliament to tears. 

Pity them also for what comes next: a whole lot of men on the throne. Upon the death Thursday of Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles became king. He is set to be succeeded by his son William, then his grandson George. If George, who turned 9 in July, lives to 86 and a half, the 21st century will elapse without another queen. That could be a problem.

King Charles III, stiff as a collar stay and blamed by many for the collapse of his marriage to the glamorous Princess Diana, probably won’t be as popular as his mother. Subsequent generations could restore some luster to the monarchy, but don’t count on it. Significant anti-royalist sentiments exist throughout the monarchies of Europe and could grow in the United Kingdom without a beloved monarch such as Elizabeth. What’s more, England has a long history of bad kings and pretty impressive queens.