From row from left, King Charles III, the Queen Consort, Princess Anne, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward, Sophie, the Countess of Wessex. Photo / AP
From row from left, King Charles III, the Queen Consort, Princess Anne, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward, Sophie, the Countess of Wessex. Photo / AP
The period of Royal mourning has deflected attention from many of the social and economic issues have that long been simmering across the United Kingdom.
But this doesn't mean these issues have disappeared.
Speaking to the Front Page podcast from London, Newshub correspondent Paddy Gower says that youcan still feel the tension despite the collective sense of mourning across the nation.
"I've felt that every day since I've been here," said Gower.
"It's like a lid being kept on things in this country. This period of mourning has just covered up a lot of those feelings."
Even during the period of mourning, there were moments when you could still see evidence of concerns rising to the surface.
Gower says a few hecklers have shouted their discontent to the King already and he expects expressions of frustration to escalate further in the coming weeks.
"The cost of living crisis, which is out of control here by the way," says Gower.
"Inflation is already at 11 per cent and it's expected to go to 18 per cent."
The Queen's death came less than 12 hours after the new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, announced a major package to tackle the energy crisis that is set to devastate the UK this winter.
These economic issues will again become the centre of attention as the UK shifts its attention from the Royal family.
"We'll see those issues come to the fore from tomorrow morning," says Gower.
"This mourning period has gone on for a while, and from tomorrow it will again be life as normal in the United Kingdom with inflation in double figures and heading even higher. This is an absolute disaster for anyone of the working class or below."
Gower has also seen evidence of other issues that have been set aside amid the national focus on the Royal family.
"Another example of things that have been held back I saw at Scotland Yard this week. There was a big protest about the killing of an unarmed black man by the metropolitan police. There have been [many] of these sorts of killings of the last few years. It's a real problem.
"All these issues have been put on hold for ten days. The whole country has basically just been put on hold."
Gower doesn't dismiss this period of grief, saying that it's an important reminder of how a country can come together to reflect on moments that matter to them.
"I've got a newfound respect for the Royal family," says Gower.
"That's not to say I agree with it continuing to have a role in Aotearoa New Zealand, but I have got newfound respect through seeing this and their traditions because of that magic."
Gower says that there's value in a country being able to unify in moments like this.
"New Zealand has its own traditions. And if you're looking for a takeaway from this, it's about a country finding things that it's proud of and building its own traditions... and then when something happens, we lean on these and re-energise ourselves. That's something magical and miraculous to watch. I think any country should be able to learn from that, including us."
• The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am.
