‘Prince Philip’s death is the end of an era. What is the future for the royals?’

Beneath the cranes of the forever developing Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London, people responded to Prince Philip’s death with a mixture of emotions.

Some apologised for their ambivalence, others eventually admitted that they did, in fact, feel a little sad.

For Karina Grace, 51, the day was already sufficiently emotional after meeting two long-lost brothers for the first time after tracking them down during lockdown.

Despite her obvious elation, she admitted that the duke’s death had also led to an odd sense of losing someone she knew.

“At first I was indifferent but then I felt quite sad after hearing the news. Philip’s been in my life throughout and suddenly he’s gone. It’s like someone that I know has gone even though I never actually knew him,” she said.

Moroccan senior biochemistry lecturer Abdessamad Ababou saw Philip’s death in human terms rather than its royal significance. “Ultimately it’s a human dying and so there is always sadness. He also represented stability, like your parents. You don’t want them to die but obviously one day they will and then you will feel really sad.”

Philip Langer, 28, admitted he was uncertain how to react emotionally, but felt the prince’s age of 99 had made him contemplate how swiftly the world was changing. “In his life so much has happened, so much has changed. There can’t be many people who have experienced so much. His death makes you wonder what the next 100 years will bring,” he said.

Anish Soma, 29, was another who conceded that he had struggled to calculate what Prince Philip’s death meant to him. “I’m quite indifferent to be honest, but it’s sad when anyone dies – even if he had problematic opinions.”

Soma predicted a tricky near future for the royal family, believing the loss of Philip left the Queen the lone royal that the public identified with.

“It feels like the last royal that people care about now is the Queen. People, though, do seem much closer to Prince William than Prince Charles, who they don’t seem to care about. We’ll have to see what happens.”

Kara Buffrey, who works in PR, said Philip’s death made her feel sorry for his wife of 73 years. “I feel very sad for the Queen, I’m a big fan.”

However, the 26-year-old felt that last month’s allegations of racism against the royal family by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had tainted her view of the broader monarchy.

“Recent events mean I don’t have a lot of sympathy for the others, though. It really is sad for the Queen, the end of a 73-year marriage – so admirable, particularly under the circumstances,” said Buffrey.

Although royalists seemed in short supply in the Queen Elizabeth park, keen cyclist Andy Creak, 52, appeared genuinely upset by Philip’s death.

“I was very sad to hear the news. It’s the end of an era,” he said. “What does the future look like now for the royal family? I know he was famous for making a headline, but I suspect we probably never knew the full story.”

Eight miles across the capital the gates at Buckingham Palace were steadily lined with flowers as people congregated to pay their respects, ignoring warnings to stay away because of coronavirus restrictions.

Above them, the union jack above the palace flew at half-mast as the UK observes a period of eight days of mourning after the passing of the longest-serving consort in British history. Well-wishers, many with young children, filed into a cordoned-off area to lay flowers. Audrey O’Shea, from east London, came to “pay her respects to the whole family” with her daughter and two young grandchildren. “He was a colourful character and he’ll be sadly, sadly missed,” the 68-year-old said. “He was a true man. My thoughts are with the family.”

Several police officers were on patrol as well as crowd safety staff in hi-vis jackets, overseeing an event that would undoubtedly have been larger in pre-pandemic times.

Bianca and Dmitry Richie, who recently moved to London from the US, were among those at the palace.

The couple said they had both been “very saddened” to hear the news of the death. Dmitry, 34, who works in stock trading, said he rang his wife as soon as he heard the announcement. “It’s very unfortunate. He almost lived to 100 years – we are heartbroken,” he said, adding that they were “very proud to be here”.