Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Defender of the Faith, who has died aged 96, was the longest-serving monarch of the United Kingdom. During a period of remarkable change throughout her realms and the world at large, she proved herself one of the most effective and best-loved sovereigns the nation has known.
 |
From the moment of her accession to the throne, comparisons were made with her Tudor namesake; particularly in the assumption that the country’s fortunes were, as in 1558, at a low ebb and that its one hope lay in the character of the new Queen. But few could have dared to believe Richard Dimbleby’s declaration at the time of the Coronation – that “No more devoted or courageous person could carry on the monarchy, which is the lasting strength of Britain and the wonder and envy of a large part of the world” – would prove so accurate.
She lived well into the 21st century: alert and well informed until the end, with only minor concessions to old age, and then only when she was in her 90s. She remained a calm presence: steadfast, with a clear vision of her role as Britain’s monarch and as Head of the Commonwealth, to both of which roles she was wholly committed.
As Queen she knew how to represent Britain; as a woman she was self-effacing, asking little for herself on a personal level. Duty was her watchword, and at the end of a long life of duty fulfilled, her achievements were remarkable.
A hallmark of her reign were the many acts of conciliation and reconciliation, evidenced in her receiving President Theodor Heuss of Germany in 1958 and her important three-week visit to West Germany in 1965. There were conciliatory state visits between Britain and Japan (in 1971 and 1975, and in 1998, some not without controversy), and the Queen was able to mark political changes by visiting China in 1986, and Russia in 1994.
Fresher in the public memory was her ground-breaking visit to Ireland in 2011 and the return state visit (of the Irish president Michael Higgins) to Windsor in 2014. In all these endeavours, she and her husband the Duke of Edinburgh sought to put aside the differences of the past and took steps to ensure an easier climate for the future.
Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh at the Bedaling Pass, on the Great Wall of China, on the third day of their State Visit to China.CREDIT: RON BELL/PA WIRE
Against many predictions, the nation (and even, eventually, the Labour government) responded to the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in 1977 with enthusiasm, staging events and bunting-festooned street parties. And by the time of her Golden Jubilee year in 2002, the widespread demonstrations of affection and loyalty from her subjects were as strong as those of half a century before. The celebrations which then marked her Diamond Jubilee in 2012 – a year crowned, most memorably, by her triumphant “arrival” by parachute at the opening ceremony of the London Olympics – showed a nation united in its affection for its monarch and at ease with the centuries-old institution she embodied. That she lived to celebrate the unique milestone of a Platinum Jubilee was nothing short of remarkable.
Almost 10,000 people turn out to see the Queen, on the second day of her Golden Jubilee visit to Powys, Wales, June 2002 | CREDIT: DAVID JONES/ROTA
The very nature of those celebrations, and the warmth and good humour that underpinned them, made the point that this had been an enormously successful reign by a devoted and popular monarch.
Throughout her reign the Queen was nobly supported by Prince Philip, ever at her side until he stepped down from public duties in 2017 at the age of 96. He lived on until 2021, dying shortly before his 100th birthday.
At moments such as the Diamond Jubilee (the Queen resisted national celebrations for occasions such as her Sapphire Jubilee in 2017 and the 70th anniversary of her marriage in the same year), it was hard to remember that, from time to time during her reign, there had been debate over the role and future of the monarchy. Even during those difficult periods, however, there was no debate about the good fortune that the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth had enjoyed under the reign of the Queen herself.
The most virulent republicans conceded that it was impossible to imagine any other figure who could have carried the burdens of the Head of State so effectively and graciously, or provided such a unifying presence.
She had made clear her dedication to the task on the occasion of her 21st birthday when, as Princess Elizabeth, she made a moving declaration from Cape Town that was broadcast across the Empire:
“I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong. But I shall not have the strength to carry out this resolution alone unless you join in it with me, as I now invite you to do: I know that your support will be unfailingly given. God help me to make good my vow, and God bless all of you who are willing to share in it.”
It was the great blessing of Elizabeth II’s reign, and the great good fortune of her subjects, that she succeeded in this to a degree that could not have been expected or even hoped for.
Princess Elizabeth delivers what came to be known later as the ‘Cape Town speech’, devoting her future life to Commonwealth duties, on her 21st birthday, April 1947CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES
CHAPTER
1
THE QUEEN WHO NEVER EXPECTED TO RULE
The Duke of York and Princess Elizabeth, July 1929CREDIT: THE ROYAL COLLECTION
Princess Elizabeth watches her father, King George VI, at work at his desk in the Royal Lodge, Windsor, April 1942CREDIT: HULTON ROYALS COLLECTION
Princess Elizabeth at Glamis Castle with one of her pet dogs, October 1937CREDIT: TOPICAL PRESS
Princess Elizabeth and her younger sister Princess Margaret Rose knitting for the forces in the grounds of the Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park, April 1940CREDIT: HULTON ROYALS COLLECTION
htpps://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/her-majesty-queen-elizabeth-ii-obituary/
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/queen-elizabeth-ii-1926-2022/
