I had strong feelings about the recent passing and burial of Great Britain’s longest ruling monarch, Queen Elizabeth 2. They are, of course, filtered through my own bias. Everybody will have their own subjective POV. An event of this magnitude, especially as the media is playing it up, has to strike a chord in most everyone. What resonates?

To me Queen Elizabeth’s death marks the end of an old era. It brings into question on at least some level why there is still the pageantry of a monarchy at all on Earth today. Yes, the Royals give Britain a unique sense of identity and history and their dramas are entertaining as some of the richest, quirkiest people living but this isn’t a soap opera after all.

King Charles 3 has some good speech writers on his staff these days too but clever words will never erase the memory of the public betrayal of his late and internationally beloved wife, Princess Diana. Charles’ mistress, Camilla (now Charles’ second wife and the newly named Queen Consort) is getting a lot of sympathetic press too and yet it’s unlikely these two will be supported long-term as the new monarchs. They represent a dying breed, in my opinion. It’s time for them to leave the stage so something new can capture the hearts of the collective.

Russell Brand offered his insights into the Queen’s passing, the highly televised and prolonged public mourning and the mythic significance of the whole spectacle in what I consider to be one of the most articulate, fair and balanced pieces on the event out there. Check it out.