Queen Elizabeth II died at age 96 on Thursday at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. She was Great Britain’s longest reigning monarch, having spent over 70 years on the throne.

The Queen’s 73-year-old son, Charles, automatically inherited the throne, although his coronation may not take place for some time.

Earlier that day, the BBC reported that she was under medical supervision at the Scottish castle and “remains comfortable” after doctors were concerned for her health. 

Shortly afterward, members of the British royal family were seen traveling to Balmoral to be with the Queen.

“The King (Charles) and the Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow,” a Buckingham Palace press release said.

While outside of Buckingham Palace, crowds are mourning the Queen’s passing, there are mixed reactions for students at the University.

Elisabeth Funck, graduate student studying Aerospace Engineering, said she is from Germany, and so the royal family has always been a present topic to her.

“I think it’s so crazy,” Funck said. “She’s always been around.”

Funck added that she lived in New Zealand for a while, where the queen is still “very present” in the community.

“Hearing that she died is just unbelievable somehow. She’s just always been there,” Funck said. “And, she has my name.”

Peyton Manning, senior in LAS, said his initial emotional reaction was “happiness,” because the Queen was someone in power who took advantage of her vast wealth and ability to influence tradition and the status quo.

“In a lot of ways, it’s going to be (the end of the monarchy) in some of the ways it matters, which is another reason I was happy. But I also do think that unfortunately, the UK is (attached to) old traditions, and because the UK is still so powerful as a country, it’s hard to say whether the monarchy will completely go away,” Manning said. “I don’t think that’s really in the question, but I do think it’s going to hurt them. She was a big figurehead.”

Julia Lies, senior in Engineering, found out about the Queen’s death through a text from her friend.

“She’s been alive for our whole lives, so I’m like what do I do now?” Lies said.

She added that she thinks the political atmosphere in Great Britain might change, although it will take years for the monarchy to dismantle.

“I feel like there’s been probably so many centuries and traditions,” Lies said. “I think things might change, but I don’t think it would get to that point where it would dismantle so quickly.”

Dahlia Davis, senior in LAS, shared a similar sentiment.

“I think it would be really hard to dismantle that kind of system and I don’t think we should expect it to change,” Davis said.

She added that the event had no emotional impact on her.

Funck said she honestly thinks this might be the end of the long-standing monarchy. 

“I talked to someone from Great Britain not long ago, and they said the whole royal family is probably going to be overthrown a bit by the county now that she’s dead,” Funck said. “Everybody had a lot of respect for her, but now that she’s gone, that will probably change, but we’ll see.”

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]