Late-night hosts took moments out of their Thursday night shows to remember Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away at the age of 96.
The royal family announced that Queen Elizabeth II died peacefully at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on Thursday. After 70 years of rule, she will be succeeded by her firstborn son, Charles.
The Late Late Show‘s British host James Corden expressed that despite feeling sad over the news of her death, he was “also so thankful and grateful to the queen for the most incredible service and leadership that she has shown during all of our lifetimes. ”
“She is the only queen most of us have ever known,” Corden said. “We viewed her as immortal and essential part of the fabric of our world.”
The late-night host went on to reflect on how Queen Elizabeth II was “universally adored.” He said, “She represented good in this world, living a life of honor, a life dedicated to service, dedicated to bettering the life of others. And it’s always felt as if she was there for all of us, for 70 years she never wavered. She was never political. She didn’t need us to hear her opinions. She never gave an interview, she never posted on social media. It was never for her about her own PR, and maybe that’s why she was as beloved and respected by a president as she was by the guy who lives down the street, and she would treat both of them equally too. It didn’t matter who you were, she was there for you.”
Amid living in “a world of uncertainty” and “instability,” Corden expressed that Queen Elizabeth II was “always the queen” and “a guiding light.” “She was always gracious, always dignified, always a shining example of leadership. She represented stability in a world where so often it feels like the floor is shaking. Queen Elizabeth is unique. A life’s work never to be repeated.”
Corden described the news of the queen’s death as something that will “change our country forever” and ended his thoughts by thanking the queen for her “sacrifice.” “We will always celebrate her life, remember what she stood for and we will always be thankful for her sacrifice,” he said.
“It’s been interesting to see how varied the reactions to this news have been,” Noah said. “You know the full spectrum of emotions — everything from ‘How will the kingdom carry on?’ all the way to ‘You shouldn’t have colonized India, bye bitch.’”
Regardless of what people may think of Queen Elizabeth II, the late-night host pointed out that it’s impressive how long she sat on the throne. Her Majesty came to power in 1952, making her one of the longest-reigning monarchs in history.
“That means she’s seen Adam West as Batman, Michael Keaton as Batman, Christian Bale as Batman, Ben Affleck as Batman, survived that, and then saw Robert Pattinson as Batman,” Noah joked. “And look, I’m sure there’s a better way to measure time than in Batman, but you get it. She’s been in the game for a minute.”
The host went on to say that she was a real queen, teasing that the word gets thrown around way too much nowadays. “You just post a photo of your smoothie online, and everyone’s like ‘Yeah, self-care queen,’” he said. “No, that doesn’t make you a queen. You’re a duchess of self-care at best.”
Noah ended his segment on the queen by touching on Charles and how he’s going to take the throne now, joking that it’s “weird” he’s 73 and had the same title as his grandchildren until now.
“The world wasn’t made for an old prince,” he continued. “I can tell you now there’s no one in a Disney movie who’s like ‘Someday my prince will come, and he’ll wear orthopedic shoes and eat cottage cheese for every meal.’ Charles is so old, he’s gonna be the first royal to ascend the throne in one of those motorized stairlifts.”
(Excerpt) Read more in: The Hollywood Reporter