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Personal Life: Interests

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Anti-Semitism

Since coming of age, Alexandra has been an active and outspoken proponent against anti-Semitism, an issue which she considered "personal" and "close to myself as someone of Jewish background". Incidentally, her Jewish background, coupled with her overtly liberal character, has consequently made her the subject of various conspiracy theories, many of which are anti-Semitic in nature, including the Royalgate conspiracy which claimed that the Queen had used her vast personal wealth to supposedly influence the results of the 2020 United States presidential election which was won by Democrat Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris while Republican Donald Trump and running mate Mike Pence otherwise suffered defeat.

Beginning in 2017, Alexandra has come to be a strong critic of the United States's then-president and real estate mogul Donald Trump who she once attributed to "the rise of anti-Semitism in a country known for both its diversity, as well as for its liberty". For instance, in an August 2017 op-ed article published by The New York Times just a few days following the infamous white supremacist Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, which took place from 11 to 12 August 2017, Alexandra herself personally denounced the rally, which she called a "blatant and unmistakable evidence of the increasingly problematic rise of both white supremacism and anti-Semitism in the United States". In addition, Alexandra has also personally criticised Trump for his perceived links to either white supremacist or far-right politicians and organisations, including his then-senior advisor Stephen Miller, who was later revealed to have promoted articles from white nationalist publications, as well as the far-right political movement QAnon who would later become infamously involved in the attack on the United States Capitol on 6 January 2021.

Back in the United Kingdom, the Queen's spirited condemnation of anti-Semitism has also prompted calls from a large number of local Jewish leaders and a considerable number of members of the public urging for her to also criticise then-Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, a controversial figure in British politics who has been the subject of various accusations and allegations concerning anti-Semitism. However, given her requirement to remain largely neutral in British politics, Alexandra has otherwise mostly avoided openly criticising either Corbyn or other politicians. However? in a somewhat rare exception, in response to Corbyn's dismissal of a report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission concerning anti-Semitism within the Labour Party, which he framed as having been "dramatically overstated for political reasons", the Queen remarked, "As an ever-changing country with a strong tradition of liberal democracy, the United Kingdom, through its politicians, who command and attract followers and supporters, must always remain consistently committed in safeguarding that sacred tradition against any unsavoury elements that seek to infringe upon it, which includes, among others, unwarranted prejudice or discrimination against any particular group, be it based on sexuality, religion, race, and gender. Otherwise, to abandon such a duty could and will amount to unfortunate consequences that may change the country as we know it".

Latin America

The Salvadoran politician Nayib Bukele being sworn in as President of El Salvador, a post which he has held since 2019

Despite her predominantly British heritage, her partial Hispanic roots via her maternal grandmother has also led to Alexandra becoming a rather vocal figure, particularly on issues concerning Hispanics and countries in Latin America as a whole. To that end, as the granddaughter of a Salvadoran immigrant, Alexandra has at times criticised the "corrupt" and "self-serving" regimes in the region whom she claimed are "fostering and cultivating a constant state of lawlessness and instability" thereby contributing to the region's reputation for crime and poverty. In addition, Alexandra has also expressed her sense of despair at the outflow of professional talent from Central America due to its often violent and turbulent nature, stating, "Obviously, I'm not necessarily saying that my maternal grandmother emigrating abroad is wrong per se but in the grand scheme of things, the fact that these seemingly promising countries are losing valuable talents each day, be it to violence or migration, is just absolutely disheartening and definitely plays a great deal in preventing or stunting a nation's overall development".

Since ascending to the throne, Alexandra has made several visits to Latin America with the most notable instances being her state visits to Cuba and El Salvador, the former a communist country run by the Castro brothers and the latter a country recently emerging from its previous state of lawlessness under the current presidency of Nayib Bukele who the Queen herself personally met. Aside from this, she has also visited the countries of West Indies, Barbados, and Belize, all of which are members of the Commonwealth of Nations. However, lingering tensions and longstanding disputes since the Falklands War meant that the Queen is yet to visit Argentina in an official capacity although she has met several famous Argentinean figures, namely those in the sporting industry such as the late Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi, and Diego Simeone. In addition, Pope Francis, the current head of the Catholic Church, is also Argentinean and has previously met the Queen himself.

Media Polarisation

In recent years, Alexandra has also come to be a notable voice in the issue of media polarisation, an issue which she described in an interview with The Guardian as "close to my heart, given especially my status as a public figure who's bound to receive more media coverage than arguably any other individual". In this, the Queen also cited the months she spent living in the United States, primarily in order to further her studies, as another reason behind writing the thesis, stating, "When I lived in an American city, it was quite obvious that I'm going to be immediately exposed to the American media, especially the news outlets. From the looks of it, the media environment there looked so toxic and felt very negative, especially with one side just relentlessly bashing and scrutinising the current president who they just happen to dislike".

Moreover, her strong passion for the cause against media polarisation has also seen her engage in intermittent but well-publicised feuds with the likes of Australian billionaire Rupert Murdoch whose ownership of a large number of media outlets in both the United States, the United Kingdom, and in Australia itself, a situation that was described by Alexandra herself as "perhaps the single most undemocratic thing to ever exist in the 21st century aside from the obvious few dictatorships still existing in the world". To that end, during the course of achieving her Doctor of Philosophy degree, Alexandra notably wrote a thesis titled The British & American media compared: A case for a truly fair and nonpartisan media in which she compared and contrasted the different media environments in the United States and the United Kingdom respectively while also criticising the perceived "dangerous levels of media polarisation" in the United States, a situation that she once likened to a "warzone between the liberal-leaning CNN and the conservative-leaning Fox News that is owned by a man who is not even an American citizen". Conversely, she has otherwise expressed praise for what she perceived as the comparably less polarised media environment of the United Kingdom which is mostly dominated by the likes of the BBC and its close rival ITV, both of which traditionally commit themselves to impartiality.

Religious Pluralism

Having been born to a Protestant father and a Roman Catholic mother, as well as being the descendant of a Jewish grandmother, Alexandra is also a noted advocate for religious pluralism, be it within religious sects themselves or between religions in general. During a 2018 interview with the BBC, the Queen remarked, "The matter of the fact is, with the increasing tide of religious extremism and fanaticism we're seeing in recent years, especially from certain groups, co-operation, or at the very least, a spirit of peaceful co-existence between all the major religions of the world must be established because at the end of the day, religions are here to stay, perhaps until the end of mankind and it is best for everyone that they are not necessarily abused just to stoke conflicts and cause wars wherever they may be".

For instance, in July 2018, in response to a BBC article in which a Roman Catholic priest was reportedly attacked by unidentified assailants while a march by the Orange Order was happening nearby, the Queen publicly voiced her criticism of the incident, and, in an apparent subtle endorsement of calls to have such marches, dubbed "orange walks", be rerouted, called for "vigilant measures to be taken immediately in order to ensure that no such ugly incidents ever happen again", stating, "Be it in England, Scotland, or anywhere else in the United Kingdom, incidents like this must fully remain unacceptable and shunned by every layer of society". Similarly, in recent years, the Queen was also known to have been somewhat critical of the Dutch-born politician Geert Wilders who she once indirectly accused of "stoking unnecessary division and hate amongst a pluralistic and tolerant society" during a speech on religious tolerance and multiculturalism.

LGBT Rights

The American actress Jodie Foster, best known for her roles in films including Taxi Driver, The Silence of the Lambs, Anna and the King, and Panic Room. Through her marriage to Catherine, Princess Royal, she is Alexandra's aunt-in-law

While initially somewhat muted and more reserved in her advocacy for the LGBT community, amidst her aunt's marriage to American actress Jodie Foster in 2011, Alexandra, especially since her ascension to the throne, has been a notable and well-known campaigner and advocate for the community, with the earliest instance being even actually prior to her ascension to the throne, when sometime in 2012, a then-sixteen-year-old Alexandra publicly spouted points defending the LGBT community in a friendly debate with American politician Mitt Romney who at one moment during the debate was famously told by the princess, "Isn't it baffling Mr. Romney that at any given time these days, the simple matter of consensual albeit unconventional love between two individuals could ever be more important and headline-grabbing than complex geopolitical issues? I personally hope not". Later, in 2017, when asked about her personal opinion towards her aunt's lesbian marriage to actress Jodie Foster, Alexandra famously replied, "Frankly speaking, I don't really mind it. For me, I see it as nothing else other than giving me one extra aunt who happens to be both very beautiful and smart!".

Especially so, ever since her romantic relationship with English footballer Beth Mead became publicly known, Alexandra herself gradually became a more outspoken advocate for LGBT rights and the community as a whole, a cause she described in a 2019 interview with CNN as "personally close to my heart, and it's not just because of who I happen to be, as well as the fact that at least one of my own aunt is a lesbian herself". She then added, "Personally, I feel that with all this wealth and influence I carry simply by being who I am right now, it would be absolutely worse for me to just sit it out and let all this injustice happen as opposed to being called some derogatory term by some angry men on television". Moreover, her most recent decision to personally abstain from attending the controversial 2022 FIFA World Cup tournament in Qatar, albeit supposedly due to "work constraints", was also seen by some as the Queen subtly rebuking the Qatari government for its hardline stance against the LGBT community, as well as its controversial record relating to human rights, particularly those affecting migrant workers in the tiny Middle Eastern country.