2022 was a big year for Queen Elizabeth II, who in February celebrated 70 years as Queen of the United Kingdom and the 15 Commonwealth realms. This was not only a milestone for her personally but also a historical moment for royals the world over, as she became the first British ruling monarch to reach the seven-decade mark. Remarkably, in addition to this staggering benchmark, Elizabeth II also made royal history as the second longest-serving monarch ever. She was only bested by one other ruler, Louis XIV of France.
This long, record-breaking rule began on Feb. 6, 1952, when Elizabeth, then 26, became queen after the death of her father King George VI. When she sadly died on Sept. 8, 2022, her son Charles III in turn became king. After 70 years and 214 days as monarch, Queen Elizabeth II passed away while at her home in Balmoral. Buckingham Palace had earlier announced that she was under medical attention, which somewhat alerted the public to her decline in health. That day was a devastating time for the royal family as members gathered to be by her side in her final moments.
Following the queen’s death, many personalities throughout the world paid their respects and condolences to the British royal family, including celebrities. Speaking to Extra days after the queen’s passing, British television presenter Sharon Osbourne was one with the world in mourning the monarch’s death. She also went on to recall her fondest memories with Her Royal Highness and gave her input on the ongoing issues surrounding Prince Harry and Megan Markle.
Whenever a loved one passes away, families, and those who knew them, come together to mourn and celebrate the deceased’s life. In the case of Queen Elizabeth II’s death on Sept. 8, 2022, it’s unsurprising that the whole world rallied together to honor the monarch’s incredible life and 70-year reign.
Like any other family member of the British royal family, Prince Harry was also in mourning following the passing of his late grandmother Elizabeth. Despite stepping down from his royal duties, Harry went to go be with his family during the incredibly difficult time.
According to TIME, Harry flew to Scotland to be with his grandmother, leaving his wife Meghan behind in London. The Sun reported that Harry traveled to Balmoral by car while wearing a dark suit and tie, looking incredibly somber as the news washed over him that his grandmother had passed.
Harry and Meghan stepped down from their duties as senior royals in 2020 and moved to the United States to become financially independent. However, in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021, the couple revealed some shocking revelations. They relayed how they were told by the palace that Prince Archie, their firstborn, would not be given a title and a security detail since they were no longer working royals. Furthermore, they revealed that a member of the royal family was concerned about how dark Archie’s skin would be. These issues, as well as the very public airing of their experiences within the royal family, caused a further rift between the Sussexes and the rest of the royals, including Harry’s brother Prince William and his father, King Charles III.
Nevertheless, Harry and Meghan were both present at the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth, along with William and Kate Middleton. The four of them also surprised bystanders on Sept. 10, 2022, when they personally greeted the public outside Windsor Castle and accepted some of their flowers and tributes to the late queen.
Following Elizabeth’s passing, Harry released a statement via his and Meghan’s Archewell website, as reported by The Guardian, that honored the queen’s life. In the statement, he wrote:
“In celebrating the life of my grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen — and in mourning her loss — we are all reminded of the guiding compass she was to so many in her commitment to service and duty. She was globally admired and respected. Her unwavering grace and dignity remained true throughout her life and now her everlasting legacy. Let us echo the words she spoke after the passing of her husband, Prince Philip, words which can bring comfort to all of us now: ‘Life, of course, consists of final partings as well as first meetings.’”
The Duke of Sussex also spoke about the first time the queen ever met her great-grandchildren. He said:
“Granny, while this final parting brings us great sadness, I am forever grateful for all of our first meetings — from my earliest childhood memories with you, to meeting you for the first time as my Commander-in-Chief, to the first moment you met my darling wife and hugged your beloved great-grandchildren. I cherish these times shared with you, and the many other special moments in between.”
Meanwhile, Meghan once shared her own sweet connection with the late monarch. Even though the former actress only knew the queen for a few years, she revealed that they had a special bond. Speaking with Winfrey in 2021, she shared:
“The queen has always been wonderful to me. I’ve loved being in her company.”
She went on to add, “She’s always been warm, welcoming and inviting.” Meghan shared that before meeting the queen, she was nervous, however, after spending time together, their relationship grew. “I mean, we had one of our first joint engagements together. She asked me to join her, and I was on the train,” Meghan shared.
Meghan said that there were several moments when the queen reminded her of her own grandmother. “And she has a blanket that sits across her, her knees, for warmth and it was chilly and she was like, ‘Meghan, come on.’ And put it over my knees as well. And it made me think of my grandmother, where she’s always been warm and inviting and really welcoming,” she shared with Winfrey.
Harry and Meghan were able to spend quality time with the queen while attending her Jubilee in June 2022. The queen even got to meet their daughter, Lillibet, for the first time as well. While visiting the queen, a royal source told Us Weekly that “Harry and Meghan had a wonderful time seeing the queen again. It was one of the biggest highlights of their year so far.” The source also shared that the queen also thought her great-grandchildren were nothing short of adorable. “She thinks they’re adorable and gave Lili and Archie gifts,” the source shared.
Ever since Her Majesty’s death, people all over the world have shared their favorite memories that honor the queen too. From her well-known sense of humor to her record-making seven-decade reign, Elizabeth touched the lives of many and the public has not held back in showing their support.
Alongside members of the royal family and people the world over, celebrities have also taken the opportunity to pay their respects. From notable British celebrities to those on the other side of the pond, the queen’s death has truly brought people together from all over the globe.
One celebrity who honored the queen publicly was Osbourne family matriarch Sharon. Not only did she discuss her experiences of meeting the late monarch, but she also spoke about the rift in the royal family between Harry and Meghan and everyone else.
Sharon has been a fixture both in American and British media for quite some time already. Being wed to the famous Black Sabbath vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, Sharon has also made her name in the industry as a prolific entertainment manager and television personality.
Most notably, Sharon gained prominence when she and Ozzy tied the knot in Maui, Hawaii, on July 4, 1982. Since then, the two have lived a peaceful life together in the United States along with their three children – Aimee Osbourne, who is an actress and a singer; Kelly Osbourne, who is a fashion designer and a model; and their only son, Jack Osbourne, who has traveled the world together with Ozzy on their short History channel series, “Ozzy & Jack’s World Detour.”
Aside from being a caring mom and wife to Ozzy, Sharon has also become a television personality loved by women in both the United States and her home in the United Kingdom. In the US, she was a mainstay host of the daytime talk show series “The Talk”‘ for 11 seasons and was a judge on “America’s Got Talent” from 2007 to 2012. But she appealed more to those in her home country when she became a judge on the British version of “The X-Factor” for seven years.
Known for her signature dyed red hair — despite being a natural brunette — Sharon is also a style icon for women everywhere. She decided to switch up her bright crimson locks for a more natural gray look back in 2021, but it turned out it wasn’t for her.
After Sharon debuted silvery locks on Instagram in February 2020, she shocked fans. Her colorist, Jack Martin, described the result as a “complete transformation.” Martin touched upon Sharon’s motivation in his caption, where he wrote: “Sharon has 100% white hair, and she was coloring her hair once a week dark vibrant red for the past 18 years.” The hair colorist also spoke about the pressures Sharon, as well as other women in Hollywood, face when it comes to maintaining a specific image.
Although she has worn her hair in many different shades throughout time, Osbourne is best associated with red, which she’s worn consistently since 2002. The only change in those decades was Osbourne tooling with the intensity of the red or adding other colors to the mix.
It was undoubtedly a big change for her and her fans — seemingly so significant that she had to go back to her signature red! Osbourne debuted the return to her (colored) roots on “The Talk” not long after she had switched to gray and explained her decision to revert back.
In a clip, her co-host Carrie Ann Inaba asked her about her return to red. Sharon explained: “I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, and I’m like, ‘Nah, you look like Grandma Clampett.” Osbourne was referencing the grandma character from the 1960s sitcom “The Beverly Hillbillies.” She continued: “Nah, I’m changing it back and that’s what I did.”
In September 2022, Sharon opened up about her and Ozzy’s plans to leave behind the glitz and glam of Hollywood, where they’ve been based for 20 years, and return to their native UK with plans to reside at their country estate. The former talk show host told ABC News:
“I just feel at this point in my life, I can’t speak for Ozzy, but I wanna go home … And it doesn’t mean I’ll never come — my children are here. I need to be back where I came from.”
Meanwhile, Ozzy added: “I love America … But where Mama wants to go, I’ll go.”
The couple famously documented their move to the United States with their TV show “The Osbournes,” which aired on MTV in 2002. Similarly, they plan to document their move back to the UK, which is set to take place in 2023, with a BBC show.
Perhaps all the talk of her home country has made Sharon more patriotic, as she gave her opinion on matters of the royal family in September 2022. After seeing Prince Harry reunite with the royal family, Sharon was joyful amid mourning the queen.
“I was lucky enough to meet her on several occasions and she’s just a magnificent, strong woman, and I loved her strength and dignity and she never put a foot wrong, ever,” Sharon told Extra about her previous encounters with Queen Elizabeth.
She was also asked about what she thinks of the ongoing tension between Prince Harry and other members of the British royal family.
“To see them walking side by side, it just brings back, oh my God, I look at Harry and think, ‘This is where you belong. The people really want you to come home, this is where you belong, being our prince,’” Sharon told the publication.
Sharon also went on to recall how she felt at home after witnessing the “atmosphere of togetherness” everyone was in during the funeral while admiring Queen Elizabeth’s legacy and mourning her passing.
Meanwhile, Sharon remained confident that King Charles III would be “an incredible king” and echoed to everyone that he was the future of the United Kingdom.
“I think he will be an incredible king because people, especially in America, have the total wrong impression about Charles. They think he is unrelatable this, that, the other. He is so relatable, so grounded. He is the future of this country, and he is everything that people are talking about now with the environment and all of that, he was doing that 30 years ago … He was always saying ‘We’ve got to preserve our country,’” Sharon said.
Do you agree with Sharon Osbourne’s advice to Prince Harry after seeing his reunion with his family? Let us know, and make sure to pass this on to your friends and family.
