Queen Elizabeth’s doctors are concerned about her health, Buckingham Palace reports. It might seem like these are her last hours or days, says a royal house expert.
Updated less than 40 minutes ago
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Doctors treating Queen Elizabeth (96) recommend that she remain under medical treatment. Now the family reunites at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.
Royal house expert and royal biographer Tor Bomann-Larsen believes that Queen Elizabeth’s importance cannot be overstated.
– Today it is almost impossible to imagine Britain without Queen Elizabeth, since she has been in office for so long and has been such a stabilizing factor in British society, she tells VG.
– If he leaves, we’ll notice.
The queen is 96, and Bomann-Larsen points out that the British are likely to take it slow, as they know she will die one day.
– It’s something you know will come sooner or later, so they’ll probably catch it up. But perhaps with a certain disbelief and confusion anyway, because she has been there for so many generations, she says and continues:
– It’s like bread and water, something that’s always there. You will likely have strong pain reactions, because it has something to do with time.
The queen reigned for 70 years, while 15 prime ministers ruled Britain and the world changed dramatically.
– A monarch is also the image of a time, a time that has ended not only for her, but for her subjects, in their own life. You read a lot about it in the monarchy. It will probably be an emotional wave.
– Severely weakened
Historian and royal house expert Trond Noren Isaksen tells VG that there is gloomy news coming from England.
– Unfortunately, it looks like these are Queen Elizabeth’s last hours or days. When the British royal house releases information that her health is severely compromised and we see the family rushing to Balmoral, it is obviously a sign of that.
– What happens when he dies?
– Then the change of the British throne is initiated and the change of the throne in all other countries that still have the British monarch at the head of the throne. The second Queen Elizabeth dies, Prince Charles becomes king. Then there is a huge machinery, 10-14 days of ceremonies to perform before she is buried next to Prince Philip at Windsor Castle, about 12 days after her death.
– The queen recently cut back on official missions. What do we know about her medical history?
– Buckingham Palace was very private. He spent a night in the hospital in October, and then Buckingham Palace first tried to keep it secret, Trond Noren Isaksen points out.
– Something a little superhuman
– It is a monument that falls when Queen Elizabeth dies, says Inger Merete Hobbelstad, royal expert, NRK cultural commentator and author of the book “The Years with Elizabeth”.
She points out that the queen has been a part of the lives of the British and others around the world for as long as we can remember – and through all major world events for nearly a century.
– One of the most interesting things is that we still wonder who he is, says Hobbelstad.
During the queen’s reign, society became increasingly interested in openness and closeness and acquaintance with famous people, she says.
– She chose a different path, to cling to something as old-fashioned as dignity, to be respectful and trustworthy. Never shirk or complain, or put your needs before considering your vocation, which is to be the monarch of Great Britain.
This lifestyle is foreign to us today, says Hobbelstad.
– To have such an important task that I put myself completely aside, and any need that conflicts with it I must repress it, says and continues:
– He did it. There is something a little superhuman about being able to do that task with such discipline, such a sense of duty and selflessness.
– I think this is part of the reason why, even though she received criticism along the way and many thought she should have handled Diana’s death differently, they have respect for exactly that: that she clung to these ideals and has asked decades after decades. Until the end, simply.
VGTV: VG reporter Nina Ragnøy is outside Buckingham Palace where she talks about how the British people received the news of Queen Elizabeth’s health.
Close relationship with Norway
The relationship with Norway was very close at the beginning of Queen Elizabeth’s life – and at the time of Queen Maud from 1905 to 1936.
– It was almost a family then, and our entire monarchy in 1905 was very close to the British royal house. The relationship was very strong even after the war. Norway was the first country Queen Elizabeth visited outside the Commonwealth after she became queen, Bomann-Larsen says.
– The visit went to Haakon VII, who had lived in England during the war and was the oldest surviving monarch in Europe. The relationship was very close. Years have passed, of course, but she has passed, continue.
– Planned for a long time
– It’s creepy when they go out like this. In the next few hours or days we will find out if this is a serious warning, says VG commentator Yngve Kvistad.
He points out that the family is reuniting and that on Wednesday he canceled an important meeting with his advisers.
British expert and senior lecturer Jan Erik Mustad at Agder University says plans have long been made for what will happen on the day of the queen’s death.
– The British civil service has been planning this end for some time. Extensive structural planning has been done over the past ten to fifteen years ahead of what will happen on Elizabeth’s due day, she tells VG and adds:
– When he dies, Charles takes the throne as heir to the throne. There are clear guidelines on how to notify the government and how to notify parliament, Mustad says.
He says the royal family has modernized with great success since Princess Diana’s death and the criticism that followed.
Mustad states that the queen has managed to convey a closeness to the British people and that she manages to appear both as a grandmother figure and as a head of state with great success.
– The way they have managed to move, modernize and get closer to people, both Prince Charles and the Queen should be proud of it, he says.
– Especially the day he dies
Kristin Storrusten is the author of the book “Konge!”, About King Harald and the royal house.
– Queen Elizabeth is an institution, with her extremely long reign. She greeted 15 prime ministers, the last one yesterday, she tells VG.
Storrusten also points out the importance Queen Elizabeth has had for so many generations of Britons.
– Usually one generation has its king, but she is the queen for several generations. It represents a continuity that makes the day of her death truly special.
– Serious young woman
– She was a very serious young woman when she came to power, and she claimed that the man is subordinate to the institution he belongs to.
Storrusten points out that this was especially difficult when Princess Diana died in 1997.
– It’s difficult because the royal family should never be the most revolutionary and innovative, but it shouldn’t be at the bottom either. It requires a political style on the part of the royal family and those around them. The queen has fallen behind a few times, for example when Diana died.
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