LONDON – Queen Elizabeth II's death has sparked widespread grief in the U.K., along with concerns that civil rights were undermined during brief crackdowns on protesters. 

But amid an economic crisis and waning support for a monarchical system, when the queen's mourning period ends, some Britons think it's time to talk about the monarchy. 

"A significant amount of appreciation in the U.K. for the monarchy wasn't necessarily for the institution. It was for the queen," said Paul Powlesland, 36, a lawyer who stood outside the Houses of Parliament on Monday with a blank piece of paper in his hand and said he was told he would be arrested if he wrote "Not my king" on it, a reference to his disapproval of King Charles III, who inherited the throne from his mother.  

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"Now that she's gone, I think there's going to be a lot of people reassessing their relationship with the monarchy, especially as I think Charles is inherently less likable," he said. 

In fact, polls show that a majority of Britons are in favor of continuing with the monarchy, although support for it has steadily declined over the past decade. About 6 in 10 Britons – 62% – think Britain should continue to have a monarchy in the future, with only 22% saying the country should move to having an elected head of state instead, according to a survey published by YouGov, an online research firm, in June, before the queen died. 

"You only have to look at the queues waiting patiently to see the queen lying-in-state to pay their respects to her to know how well she is loved," said Patrick Vernon, a British racial equality campaigner whose parents grew up in Jamaica. "But if the government doesn't come up with a credible plan to deal with a cost-of-living crisis then people may start to think differently about the royal family." 

Britain has been hit by a cost-of-living crisis, triggered by the war in Ukraine. Last week, Prime Minister Liz Truss announced a cap on soaring energy bills to $2,800 annually per household for the next two years, providing some relief to economically struggling citizens. 

This week brought some further respite – official figures showed that inflation in the U.K. slowed slightly – the consumer price index rose 9.9% in the 12 months through August, down from the 40-year high of 10.1% reported last month. 

But the British pound fell to under $1.14 –  a 37-year low – on Friday after data from the Office for National Statistics revealed weak retail sales in August, showing Britons are tightening their wallets amid fears of a recession.