The timing of a new prime minister and the death of Queen Elizabeth II is "eerie," as if she died after her work was finished, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told Newsmax on Thursday.
"It seems a little eerie that she sort of completed her task of choosing the new prime minister at this transition point for the British people and then now has passed — like she finished her job, and now she was done," Cornyn told "The Record With Greta Van Susteren."
The transition to new Prime Minister Liz Truss and King Charles III comes as the United Kingdom faces a number of challenges, including energy, inflation, raising interest rates, and a slowing economy.
"This is going to be a challenging time for Europe generally, and including the United Kingdom," Cornyn told Van Susteren. "As you know, Brexit, where England left the European Union, they're going through some challenging times economically. And they're expecting high energy costs — maybe seven times as high as they currently are — because of the fact that Russia has cut off gas to Europe and lack of adequate supply, especially going into going into the winter.
"This is going to be a challenging time for the new prime minister and her party and the new king. Obviously, they are having the same challenges we are having with regard to inflation, generally. And so we'll see the bank of England, like the Federal Reserve here in the United States, increasing interest rates, which will cool the economy down and slow down inflation, but also slow down job creation and cause some hardship.
"So these are going to be a challenging time; and, unfortunately, the queen's death means that the new king is going to have a lot on his hands as he comes into office."
What will not change is the tight relationship between the U.K. and the U.S., according to Cornyn.
"Our relationship with the United Kingdom with her as the head of that great commonwealth is was second to none," he said. "We have this special relationship with the British — considering we were a former colony — but we are we are very tightknit across the board, whether it's in Ukraine, whether it's the Five Eyes, which are the five countries that share intelligence together, including the U.K. and the United States.
"We are in lockstep, really, because we are the leaders in the world in promoting our philosophy of freedom and self-government. You really can't overstate the importance of that relationship and, of course, of her as the monarch."
Cornyn also marveled at the queen remaining cool "under fire" when palace intrigue kicked up noise during the longest reign in the monarchy's history.
"We all know what a microscope that she and the royal family have been under," Cornyn said. "I know a lot of people follow what's happened in the royal family. I know it's not been exactly a lot of fun. Families being families don't always go as planned, but she always seems to show grace under fire. And really, I think we all understand why the British people loved her so much, and certainly she'll be missed."
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Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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