The Silent Sovereign

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Queen Elizabeth II, who died today at age 96, was a “north star” for her subjects through seven decades of transformation. Our London-based staff writer Helen Lewis corresponded with me this afternoon about the late monarch’s singular legacy.

But first, here are three new stories from The Atlantic.

• The Queen of the world
• The right to free speech is not the right to monologue.
• The man who chased history

The Silent Sovereign

Seventy years, seven months, and two days into her reign as Queen of the United Kingdom and its 14 Commonwealth states, Queen Elizabeth II died—a cornerstone of the wartime foundation of modern British identity, and a rare point of continuity through an era of nearly unimaginable change. Helen told me over email about what today’s loss means for Britons, and what comes next.