People leave flowers for Queen Elizabeth at a makeshift memorial outside the British Embassy in Washington, DC, on Sept. 9.BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images
Veronica Windell remembers first being fascinated by the Queen as a child watching the news with her grandmother, intrigued at seeing a woman as a country’s central unifying figure. Ms. Windell’s admiration for the Queen was solidified when she attended Trooping the Colour in 2006, during one of her first major trips abroad.
What stood out for Ms. Windell, a research scientist from Seattle, was the Queen’s sense of duty in performing a job she never asked for. She also represented a link to Ms. Windell’s own British family background.
“As a woman, it was always impressive to me that they had a Queen,” Ms. Windell, 37, said at a makeshift memorial outside the British embassy in Washington, DC, where she was on holiday when the sovereign died Thursday. “I’ve always felt the connection to the United Kingdom. Children of the same mother.”
In the hours after the Queen’s death, the U.S. capital joined Britain and the Commonwealth in mourning.
President Joe Biden ordered flags at the White House, federal government buildings, military bases and naval ships lowered to half-mast until sunset on the day of the Queen’s funeral. In a statement, he recalled meeting the Queen for the first time in 1982, during a Senate delegation visit to Britain and, most recently, last year during his first overseas trip as president.
“Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was more than a monarch. She defined an era. In a world of constant change, she was a steadying presence and a source of comfort and pride for generations of Britons,” Mr. Biden said. “The seven decades of her history-making reign bore witness to an age of unprecedented human advancement and the forward march of human dignity.”
Mr. Biden and First Lady Jill Biden signed a book of condolences at the British Embassy, where Mr. Biden described the Queen as “a great lady.” The President told reporters on Friday that he plans to attend the Queen’s funeral, the details of which have not yet been announced.
In a condolence message to King Charles and his subjects, Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrote that the Queen “personified a sense of stability” and that Americans would be “inspired by the memory of her service.”
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“She was the embodiment of the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom, and a symbol of the enduring alliance that has seen our nations through the greatest tests of the 20th and 21st centuries,” he wrote.
At the Canadian Embassy, well-wishers were invited to drop off flowers and other tributes in the building’s rotunda, spokeswoman Diana Tan said.
“Deeply saddened by the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. She devoted her extraordinary life to service and touched the lives of millions around the world. My heartfelt condolences to members of the Royal Family and our Commonwealth friends,” Canadian Ambassador Kirsten Hillman wrote on Twitter. “Rest in peace, Your Majesty.”
On Capitol Hill, Speaker Nancy Pelosi described the Queen as “a devoted friend of freedom” and planned for the House of Representatives to pass a bereavement resolution next week. Along Pennsylvania Avenue, the wide boulevard that runs from the Capitol to the White House, city workers hung Union Jacks on Friday.
The Queen visited Washington several times, starting with a 1951 visit a few months before ascending to the throne, during which she met with then-president Harry Truman at the Canadian Embassy. She would ultimately meet all but one of the 14 presidents who held office during her reign; the exception was Lyndon Johnson.
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A steady stream of mourners left flowers, notes and photographs of the Queen around a Union Jack made of wood and rocks set in the ground at the bottom of the British Embassy’s driveway.
The U.S. may have fought a war to free itself from the tyranny of her great-great-great-great-grandfather, but Americans viewed the Queen as a symbol of the close relationship between the countries that developed in the subsequent centuries.
“They’re the most important ally,” said Jeff Vernor, 54, an investment company executive from Austin, Tex. “I don’t think there’s been a monarch that was more consistent.”
She was also a touchstone for the many British immigrants and expats in the U.S. capital.
Tria Thalman, who moved to the United States from Britain 27 years ago, said she appreciated the Queen’s “lack of drama,” and ability to stay steadfast despite the often tumultuous world around her.
“She was such a steady, guiding light, whatever the politics, whatever the wars,” said Ms. Thalman, a 51-year-old television producer. “It’s times like this that you really want to be back home.”
Clark Walburger wore a black armband and carried a Union Jack over his shoulder. A native of Dundee, Scotland, the 22-year-old moved to the United States a decade ago with his family. The Queen’s longevity – a 96-year-old who was the only sovereign most people had ever known – made it almost impossible to fathom that she would eventually die, he said.
“She was such a dignified figure. When you think of the idea of a queen, it’s Elizabeth,” said Mr. Walburger, a student at American University. “It still doesn’t feel real to me that she’s no longer there.”