Steve Hilton on the Significance on Queen Elizabeth II

CLAY: We bring in now Steve Hilton who does a fantastic show, “Next Revolution”. Fortunate enough to be a guest on it a few times. Also been out to dinner with him, which is a pretty cool dinner, 25th anniversary of Fox News last year.

And, Steve, you are, I would say, fair to say an expert on the royal family, at least for purposes of this show, based on your British background? But also you’ve done media in England for a long time. You’re now here. First of all, thanks for coming on. We’re excited to have you.

And, second, just kind of dive in, for Americans out there that are certainly seeing the outpouring for Queen Elizabeth as she passed yesterday at 96 years old, what does she mean for England? And will we ever see another figure like her in our lives, based on your knowledge of the American and British political landscape?

HILTON: It’s great to be with you, Clay. Thank you so much. I think the way I’d put it is, I may not be an expert but I’ll do until the expert gets here. (laughing) I’ll do my best. As we mentioned, I’m originally from the U.K. I’ve been here in America 10 years.

Got my citizenship last year. I feel a proud American, and someone who is actually not a supporter of the monarchy. Even back in the day in England I argued against the monarchy. Back in school I would participate in debates and argue for the abolition of the monarchy.

BUCK: Cut out for a second. Keep going, Steve.

HILTON: My mum was upset about it. My parents were Hungarian immigrants, and you can’t go around criticizing the monarchy. You’ll get put in jail. They have the kind of fear of the communist regime kind of thing going on there.

Look. I’m not a supporter of the monarchy, but I was incredibly moved yesterday, moved to tears by this news. I think that’s why it’s really a question of not just people’s appreciation of the monarchy as an institution, but Queen Elizabeth as an individual and how she did that job.

I think to really get to the heart of why you see this outpouring of grief and love and admiration and respect in the U.K., it’s because people knew she had devoted her whole life to them, to the country. She just put everything else on the back burner. It was all about the country. The total sacrifice, self-sacrifice, selflessness.

It was all about duty. People understood that. They understood how hard that must have been for her to just keep going with the dignity and grace despite all the problems of the country, all the problems in her family, the scandals, the gossip. In her later decades, the intrusion of the media. It started out very deferential, it ended up being completely the opposite, social media.

Through it all the incredible duty. And dignity and her amazing charm. Her beautiful smile. You could see that even in that very last photo of her last public duty. Just a couple of days ago, three days ago, two days before she died, she was still working, 96, doing her constitutional duty, inviting the new prime minister, Liz Truss, to form a government, but with that smile on her face.

Boris Johnson had a great tribute, and he talked about the magic that she spread around her kingdom. I think that’s what it was about; it was her personal qualities. As we look ahead, I think it’s going to be very difficult for the new king, for King Charles to maintain that love and loyalty, because unlike her, you know, the great thing about her is that she was able to be this incredible symbol of unity for the country because she never expressed an opinion on anything controversial.

She never allowed herself to get dragged into political debates or move with the times and embrace kind of the fashion for woke stuff. No, she was her — she was just constant. He’s been the exact opposite. He’s had a long time to prepare for this job. He needed something to do. And he’s been working very hard. And some of the things he’s done have been admirable.

He started an organization I know very well when I was working back in the day in the U.K. government, worked very closely with the Prince’s Trust, a youth organization he started which is now the leading youth organization in the country. Does fantastic work helping kids in urban areas, disadvantaged kids start their own businesses. Very cool.

Really big impact. But he’s also weighed in on much more controversial topics, everything from architecture to organic farming, to climate change, where he’s been really out there on climate change. So, everyone knows what he thinks about all this stuff. He just made his first address as a king. He said that his role needs to change.

I don’t know, I think it will be hard to really keep that institution going. I think a debate will open up in the U.K. about the future of the monarchy. That debate was absolutely put on hold while the queen was there because regardless of people’s views about the monarchy people loved her and didn’t want to have the conversation.

But I think that will start, if not in the immediate days ahead where people will be still wanting to show their love and appreciation for the queen. But in the months ahead, I think you will start to see a questioning of the monarchy. And Charles has got a lot of work on his hands to try to keep that institution going.

BUCK: We’re speaking to Steve Hilton of the Next Revolution on Fox News. Steve, it’s Buck, I want to know if there was any part of you that was surprised to see in this country, on the left some of the blue checks out there, some of the leftists, who were just ferocious and nasty in the immediate aftermath.

I mean, just so many tweets. So much, “Oh, the queen,” as though she was running around the globe for decades herself doing all the genocide and all these horrible things they were saying. Why do some people hate the queen so much, given that everyone seems to at least recognize, if they know anything about her, she’s a kind and decent person?

HILTON: Of course. It just shows you, with the kind of the angry kind of woke left brigade, the activists run their sad lives on Twitter, doing all this stuff. It’s just this incredible combination we’ve seen for years of ignorance and arrogance. Total ignorance of actually how things work. As you said, she’s the head of state, not the head of government.

You can’t hold her personally responsible for anything that happened, whether you agree with it or disagree with it. That wasn’t her role. She didn’t have a policy role or any kind of governmental role. And the arrogance, too, to think that you can just take anything that happened in history and judge it by the standard of today. And not just any standards, but the extremist standards of the far left.

BUCK: Why do they hate her, Steve?

HILTON: I think it’s because it’s another opportunity for virtue signaling. I think that’s what it really is. Here we go, we can yet again get out there and show how committed we are in our activism. And it’s all about the fighting racism absolutely everywhere.

And the louder we yell and the more angry we are, the more violent, despicable we are, the better we look to the kind of tiny handful of activist friends who are hanging around with us on Twitter. I think it’s that sad personal truth of these people’s lives.

CLAY: Steve, you mentioned this, could lead to the monarchy being in question, and that when you were a kid you questioned it. Prince Charles obviously not very popular. And Prince William — King Charles now. Prince William is very popular. Is there any idea how long Charles might want to be sitting on the throne and how quickly William might ascend? Obviously, the queen waited until her death. Do we have any sense whether Charles will do the same?

HILTON: He literally just made that exact same pledge, literally within the last few minutes, in his first address as king. He’s repeated her pledge. She made this pledge when she was very young, she said, you know, my whole life, whether it be short or long, will be committed to your service. And he’s just repeated that. He’s waited a long time.

I don’t think he’s going to give it up voluntarily. So, I think we can expect him to stay on the throne until he dies. But I mean, the question is will there be a debate opened up? And so, you’re right to say that William and Kate together, much more popular. But the question is, will the institution survive that long? I think there’s two things.

If you want to see the monarchy survive — I wouldn’t want to mislead your listeners — it’s still a majority in the U.K. even before this was for the monarchy. It’s a sizable minority. I think, 30-odd percent, I would say, would have liked to have seen the end of it while she was alive. You didn’t have that conversation.

Now the conversation will happen. I think that the two things that he has going for him, in trying to persuade people that the monarchy should continue, are, one, the fact that that’s what she would have wanted. I think people will think — the best way to honor her life and legacy and the love that we have for her is to support the new king.

And I think that will be a very powerful emotion in the next, in the immediate future. But secondly, and perhaps this isn’t as familiar to an American audience, I think Camilla actually has become a real asset to the new king.

She was, of course, hugely unpopular when she was the kind of evil mistress in the Diana saga. But over the years, as she’s become a public figure, and then married Charles, and now has been by his side for a long time, she’s developed real — people have developed real affection for her.

In many ways she kind of captured some of the qualities of the queen, that kind of down-to-earth practical Britishness, get on with the job, almost that motto the queen had, never complain, never explain, just get on with your job, no drama, keep carrying on. That kind of vibe, if you like. I think Camilla does have that, and I think she could be a real asset to Charles.

BUCK: Check out the Steve Hilton show, The Next Revolution on Fox News this Sunday. Steve, appreciate you joining us. Come back soon, sir.

HILTON: It was great to be with you. All the best. See you soon.