Bowling green citizens who lived in the UK remember Queen Elizabeth

BOWLING GREEN, Ky.-Queen Elizabeth’s influence stretched far beyond her kingdom…even touching the hearts of residents in Bowling Green. 

“90% of the British I would guess have grown up with the queen and have never lived without having a Queen so they might not know what to do with themselves. It feels like the end of a chapter of history,” said WKU professor Merrall Price. 

Price was born in Wales. She moved to the United States in the 1980s. She recalls moments of Queen Elizabeth in her childhood. 

“At the Silver Jubilee in 1977, I stood in a long line of brownies to wave at the Queen going over a bridge. We were there for hours, and I saw her hand out of the window and that’s all so it could’ve been anybody but we were very excited,”’ said Price.

Bowling Green man Mark Staynings remembers that day of the silver jubilee too…

“She rode in a motorcade pretty close to where I lived and my dad took myself and one of my sisters out and we got a wave,” said Staynings. 

Staynings lived in the UK before he moved to the states to run cross country at WKU. 

Mark was actually in the UK for his sister’s funeral when Queen Elizabeth passed away…he said the mood completely shifted when the news broke. 

“I’m watching tv one afternoon and they did a newsflash and it was we just found out Queen Elizabeth had died and the whole conversation changed,” said Staynings. 

The Queen had been on the throne since 1952.

“I was actually a little sadder than I thought I was going to be because we knew it was coming, she was 96, she had lost her husband, she was looking old and fragile and frail so we knew it was coming but she had felt immortal in a way,” said Price. 

The Queen’s funeral is Monday.