As condolences and tributes to Queen Elizabeth II continue to pour in from around the world, it’s clear the British monarch’s death has affected people in different ways.
From outpourings of grief on social media to quiet self-reflection as mourners lay flowers outside palaces in the UK and embassies worldwide, the death, not only of the queen, but of any well-known public figures, can lead to what is known as collective grief, whereby people come together to mourn in an act of public solidarity.
Speaking in the House of Commons, former prime minister Boris Johnson appeared to sum up the shared experience, saying: "Millions of us are trying to understand why we are feeling this deep and personal and almost familial sense of loss.
"Perhaps it’s partly because she’s always been there. A changeless human reference point in British life, so unvarying in her Pole Star radiance that we have perhaps been lulled into thinking she might be somehow eternal."
While those closest to Queen Elizabeth go through the stages of grief, people who never met the monarch are also experiencing a profound sense of loss. But why do people feel grief over the passing of someone they’ve never met?
“Collective grief happens when a group of people such as a nation or a community experience the fallout from a death,” says Dr Bahjat Balbous, psychiatrist at Euromed Clinic, Dubai.
“The passing of Queen Elizabeth and the response to her death is a stark example of collective grief. Like individual grief, there is a feeling of lack of control that comes with collective grief. We were unable to prevent the loss, and we feel powerless in its wake.”
Why do we feel sad about Queen Elizabeth’s death?
“To those who had a photograph of her on top of the television, she was part of the family,” says Johanna Richmond, psychiatric therapist at Cognitive Behaviour Therapy Dubai. “And globally, the whole world knows her because when you hear ‘UK’ you think of Queen Elizabeth. People had a great admiration for her, and a lot of people identified with her because they saw her as a hard worker.”
Stability and continuity are natural human desires, creating a need to seek out things we find familiar as cultural or emotional touchstones.
For those who feel they have “grown up” with the queen, whether as their head of state, as an image on the banknotes in their wallet, or simply someone they read about in the news every so often, she was a constant, something familiar and largely unchanging in a world that moves fast.
“When a public death occurs and is in the news, it can trigger feelings about our own experiences and deaths that we have personally experienced,” says Balbous. “Hearing about death can also be deeply upsetting even if we haven’t lost anyone close to us, as it reminds us about our own mortality and the mortality of those we love.”
Psychologist Aisling Prendergast says: “It is very common and understandable to feel grief and sorrow for somebody we have never met. When a public figure has been part of the collective narrative, the containment and holding of a system and they have been present during every significant event and celebration for a whole country and commonwealth, it makes sense to feel the loss of her presence."
Is it strange to mourn the loss of someone you don’t know?
Being in the public eye means a lot of people not only know your name and recognise you, but they also feel as if they know you personally.
“When we talk about collective grief, we often mistakenly think we need to know the person, but when it comes to someone like the queen, she was a part of many people’s lives without ever having met them,” says Balbous. “Having reigned for 70 years, the queen was central to life not only in the UK, but she was also globally known and all her public appearances triggered endless coverage in the media all over the world.
"She was a fixture of stability in a world often best described as chaotic, and her death in what for many are turbulent times will incur sadness all over the world."
Grief can also occur because of what famous people represented to individuals.
When a public figure’s life has spanned decades, mourners think about their parents, grandparents and even great-grandparents who lived through those times, in this case, Queen Elizabeth's reign.
“The fact that her life has been cross-generational is a link to our pasts and the historical events of the past almost 100 years,” says Balbous. “Given her advanced age and the length of her reign, for most of us, she has been a constant backdrop to our lives. Her dying is not only the end of her life, but it reflects our own passages through our lives.”
How collective grief can help the healing process
Although Queen Elizabeth’s death has occurred in the era of social media and the 24-hour news cycle, Princess Diana’s death in August 1997 set the modern precedent for public displays of grief in the UK.
Laying flowers, leaving messages and lighting candles outside of royal palaces gives mourners a chance to channel and focus their grief, to say goodbye and share their emotions with others who feel the same.
“Knowing others around you are feeling sad can give you ‘permission’ to grieve and think about your personal experiences,” says Balbous. “Seek out people who are like you. Connect with others who are feeling like you and give yourself permission to know this event means something to you.
"There will be many rituals that will follow in the days to come that can provide comfort too, such as memorial services.”
Prendergast says: "Grieving the loss of somebody we have never met can be described as 'disenfranchised grief'. The first key step that people can take is to acknowledge their feeling.
"It is important to remember that this emotion will take the time it needs to acknowledge the significance she held in people’s lives. In Queen Elizabeth’s own words: 'Grief is the price we pay for love'."
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
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AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
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Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
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This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Should late investors consider cryptocurrencies?
Wealth managers recommend late investors to have a balanced portfolio that typically includes traditional assets such as cash, government and corporate bonds, equities, commodities and commercial property.
They do not usually recommend investing in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies due to the risk and volatility associated with them.
“It has produced eye-watering returns for some, whereas others have lost substantially as this has all depended purely on timing and when the buy-in was. If someone still has about 20 to 25 years until retirement, there isn’t any need to take such risks,” Rupert Connor of Abacus Financial Consultant says.
He adds that if a person is interested in owning a business or growing a property portfolio to increase their retirement income, this can be encouraged provided they keep in mind the overall risk profile of these assets.
Juvenile arthritis
Along with doctors, families and teachers can help pick up cases of arthritis in children.
Most types of childhood arthritis are known as juvenile idiopathic arthritis. JIA causes pain and inflammation in one or more joints for at least six weeks.
Dr Betina Rogalski said "The younger the child the more difficult it into pick up the symptoms. If the child is small, it may just be a bit grumpy or pull its leg a way or not feel like walking,” she said.
According to The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases in US, the most common symptoms of juvenile arthritis are joint swelling, pain, and stiffness that doesn’t go away. Usually it affects the knees, hands, and feet, and it’s worse in the morning or after a nap.
Limping in the morning because of a stiff knee, excessive clumsiness, having a high fever and skin rash are other symptoms. Children may also have swelling in lymph nodes in the neck and other parts of the body.
Arthritis in children can cause eye inflammation and growth problems and can cause bones and joints to grow unevenly.
In the UK, about 15,000 children and young people are affected by arthritis.
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
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7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
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Six large-scale objects on show
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Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
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Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
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Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
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- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
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