A new monarch and new prime minister will give the UK and the Commonwealth a fresh start

A new monarch and new prime minister will give the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth a new fresh start. Nothing and no one can go on forever, and change is inevitable and necessary.

Queen Elizabeth II was known the world over, but not without justifiable criticism regarding her enormous wealth and privilege and that of the monarchy in general. Britons who are not blinded by the awe of royalty have often complained about her net worth of at least £550m, who spent her non-constitutional time trading horses, while many in the UK struggle to make ends meet.

Many people in Britain believe that charity, as pious as it is, is not the answer to social problems and the inequality that lies at the heart of it. More believe the rich and powerful are the very cause of the world’s injustices and exercise a hypocritical context in highlighting injustices, while having extremely privileged and pampered lives of the elite.

However, when Queen Elizabeth came to Ireland on the official state visit in 2011 she made a very valuable statement which said “we should not be bound by the past”, implying the Anglo-Irish relationship, which echoes to the present day. It will also be interesting to see if the massive change which is now taking place in the monarchy and government can change the fortunes of Northern Ireland and its continued deadlock and political strife.

Undoubtedly, her legacy will be perpetuated by her son, King Charles III, so nothing will be lost in what is a very sad and difficult time for the United Kingdom. But it’s also a very exciting time and new chapter which hopefully will bring a lot of good for everybody.

Maurice Fitzgerald

County Cork

We are saddened by the loss of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. She was one of the towering figures of the 21st century, whose integrity, kindness, etiquette, elegance, eloquence, humbleness, confidence, gallantry, grace and grit captivated millions worldwide.

She witnessed history: from the Cold War to fall of the Iron Curtain, the end of Communism, the Falkland and Iraq wars, the discovery of the internet, Brexit and the recent confrontation between the west and Russia – the whole while she stood tall.

In summary, her legacy is one that will never be forgotten.

Munjed Farid Al Qutob

London

I’m neither a royalist nor a republican. I also feel the queen is worthy of respect.

But, why is it necessary or desirable for the BBC to force all their license payers to watch “identical royal programmes” all evening? Don’t those who are not ardent royal followers have the right to tune into something other than coverage of the Queen’s death?

Amanda Scott

Address not provided

While I have no personal experience of autism and I am hardly an expert on its authentic representation, I have just watched Extraordinary Attorney Woo on Netflix, which follows a young lawyer with Asperger’s. It deserves, I think, to be seen more widely.

Joanna Pallister

Address not provided

To keep up to speed with all the latest opinions and comment sign up to our free weekly Voices Dispatches newsletter by clicking here

Yesterday evening, my youngest son took me to see Tim Peake at Leicester’s De Montfort Hall. Sadly, this birthday treat will be remembered not for Tim’s riveting recollection of his journey to space, but because it was the day we lost our beloved Queen.

It was – and still is – difficult to believe that the modern Elizabethan era has come to an end. On the day Queen Elizabeth was born in 1926, biplanes were taken to the skies, and on the last day of her life, the Nasa Artemis project is preparing to put astronauts back on the moon and ultimately onwards to Mars.

I hope there is a “rocket man” taking the Queen to be reunited with her beloved Prince Phillip.

Gary Freestone

Leicester