As a person from the UK is it such a terrible thing for me to be completely apathetic about the fact that the Queen is almost certainly about to pass away?

I think that Charles inheriting the throne is incrementally positive change. Many in Queen Elizabeth's family were Nazi sympathizers before and perhaps during WW II. This is not to say that Elizabeth herself was aligned with Nazis in any way. She was largely successful in her role as a politically-neutral figurehead, which is one reason why she was more popular.

King Charles will also have to be politically neutral, at least publicly. But, if I could force the prime minister of Britain to meet with me and talk about stuff every week, I would certainly do it, and I'm an American. What I like about Charles is that he has (controversially) spoken out about protecting the environment and stopping global warming. I think it's good that at least one slightly-grounded person will have repeatedly have the ear of the Conservative Party PM in the brief time before they are ousted in a new controversy requires a different Conservative Party PM. If a figurehead gets regular one-on-one time with the PM, they can become one of the most powerful lobbyists in the country. So good luck and Godspeed to Britain, and be thankful that Charles didn't choose to be another King George, when the third thankfully went mad and lost the colonies, and the fourth was embroiled in scandal and forced to abdicate for wanting to marry who he loved, a non-virgin American divorce.

There is some unverified innuendo about Charles making racist statements in private conversations, but who knows if it was him? Also, the historical royal family was worse than racist and they were some of the most successful colonizers in history, and history doesn't look fondly about colonialism. It was a controversy for them to marry anyone who wasn't a royal-blood inbred, let alone someone who wasn't 100% white.

So, time marches on in itty-bitty baby steps, and as people die, society changes. I would be much more disturbed and alarmed if the Queen didn't pass away.

/r/NoStupidQuestions Thread Parent