LONDON (WSVN) — A South Florida native who lives in England with her family provided her unique perspective, as a dual American and British citizen, on the passing of Queen Elizabeth II and the role of the monarchy.
It was a cool and quiet Sunday in the North London neighborhood that Amy Taylor, her husband Chris and their two daughters call home.
Tea time on this day was of the toy variety.
The Taylors have two girls, but these parents come from very different backgrounds. Chris is from Northern England, and Amy was born in South Florida.
Kendall, to be exact.
“I moved here in 2014, finally got the visa and started working here, and then, on my way home, I met my husband,” said Amy.
The rest, as the expression goes, is history.
When asked whether she got hooked by a Brit, Amy replied, “Yep, certainly did. Quick as anything.”
Although it was not of the royal kind, the Taylors’ wedding was no less special.
A picture of Amy standing next to a picture of Queen Elizabeth II marks the occasion when she made her dual citizenship official.
Days ago, Amy and the rest of the world lost the long-serving monarch of her adopted country. Queen Elizabeth II passed away at her Scottish estate on Thursday.
“When I read about them all starting to gather at Balmoral, I thought, ‘Oh, no, she’s gonna go,'” she said. “When you just look at her historically and how she handled herself over the years with so many important people, you can’t not respect her.”
Another picture showed Amy’s daughter Sadie pressed up against the flat-screen during the queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June.
When asked what she thinks the biggest misconception when it comes to how Americans view the monarchy, Amy replied, “I think it’s hard to figure out what they do. When I think about the queen, when I see what she does, when I see her welcoming presidents all over the world, she simply does it with so much class.”
But as someone who has lived on both sides of the pond, history is literally everywhere in England.
“When you just walk around the streets, you can feel the history. Every building you’re looking at, every monument, it’s hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years old,” she said.
As for the Taylors, they travel back and forth to Florida quite a bit.
When asked what Chris finds shocking when visiting the Sunshine State., Amy replied, “I think, well, the weather, for sure. He loves the heat, that you have to drive everywhere. They’re starstruck by his accent. You get over it.”
Amy said she and her family will be watching Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral on Sept. 19.
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