US ambassador to UK: Queen Elizabeth’s death ‘very, very significant’

The U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom said on Sunday that Queen Elizabeth II’s death was a “very, very significant” loss. 

“How significant do you see this loss?” co-anchor Martha Raddatz asked Jane Hartley on ABC’s “This Week.” 

“I see it as very, very significant,” Hartley replied, noting that every member on her team, which is staffed with U.S. and U.K. nationals, was emotional when they learned of the monarch’s death. 

“Everybody immediately burst into tears … she truly was a part of everybody’s life,” Hartley told Raddatz. “Everybody talked about where they had met her or where they had seen her, you know, she was very much out in the community.” 

Hartley, who was nominated by President Biden to be the ambassador to the U.K. earlier this year, also shared her experience of meeting the late monarch, detailing the queen’s interest in foreign policy issues such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

“You never talked about an audience with the queen, but what I will say is, you know, she was interested in foreign policy issues,” Hartley said. 

“Obviously, the U.K. and the U.S. are working so closely together, particularly on Ukraine. She actually asked a lot of questions about our domestic politics,” she added. “And she was unbelievably informed and always gracious and warm.” 

Britain’s longest-serving monarch died on Thursday at the age of 96. There were 14 different U.S. presidents and 15 British prime ministers during Elizabeth’s 70-year reign.