Briton Rob Wilder shares his thoughts on the Queen's passing. (Photo Courtesy Bob Schneider)

By Gates Guarin

Hatter pays his respects to Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning Monarch

Sep 8, 2022 | 4:25 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Britons living here in the city have been reacting to the news of Queen Elizabeth II’s passing.

Rob Wilder of the British Banger Company was initially unaware of the news as it happened.

“I was told by a customer who came in to purchase some goods asking me if I had heard the news and I hadn’t,” Wilder says.

Wilder says the news was shocking to hear, even with the Queen’s age. He acknowledges how polarizing the Royal Family has been, but stresses the importance of them and what the Queen did for the United Kingdom.

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“Growing up as a kid, she was always sort of, the face of the country basically,” Wilder says. “So to see everything she’s left behind, all that she’s done for the country- I mean, I know different people have different viewpoints as to the Royal Family generally, as to whether they serve a purpose and et cetera. But I think it’s important to have a Royal Family and she was the head of that, and she did an amazing job as that figurehead to show us as a country and a picture to other countries.”

Wilder, who has only been in Canada for four and a half years, says it is unfortunate he cannot be in the U.K. to pay his respects, but hopes British-Canadians will find ways to honour the legacy and memory of the Queen.