A Look Back on the Life of Longest-Reigning UK Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II
17:35 GMT 08.09.2022 (Updated: 15:24 GMT 28.05.2023)
© AP Photo / Ben Stansall
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Queen Elizabeth II had been residing at Balmoral Castle, in Scotland for the past few months, with doctors increasingly concerned about the health of the 96-year old British monarch, who was said to be experiencing “mobility issues.”
Queen Elizabeth II, a monarch to 15 prime ministers, died "peacefully" on Thursday at the age of 96.
The Queen leaves behind four children, eight grandchildren and four great grandchildren after over 70 years on the throne. Prince Charles will now become King.
Her demise follows the death of her husband, Prince Philip, on April 9, 2021 two months before his 100th birthday. He was Britain's longest-serving royal consort.
Statistics show that around 85% of Brits were born during Queen Elizabeth's reign and have never known a different monarch.
‘Devoted Service to Great Imperial Family’
Born in 1926, Elizabeth Alexandra Mary became Queen at the age of 25 and reigned over seven decades witnessing huge levels of social change and development in the UK and across the world.
Elizabeth grew up at 145 Piccadilly, London, and was educated at home. Her life was to change forever when King George V died and was succeeded to the throne by her uncle Edward, who shortly thereafter abdicated. Her father subsequently became King George VI, leaving Princess Elizabeth first in line to the throne.
During World War II, Princess Elizabeth served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service, keen to make a contribution to the war effort. It was during these years that she began corresponding with a young naval officer, Philip of Denmark and Greece.
When the war ended in Europe in 1945, Elizabeth and her sister, Margaret joined the crowds outside Buckingham Palace and mingled anonymously with them; an opportunity that would eventually become impossible.
In this 1 September 1972 file photo, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip pose at Balmoral, Scotland, to celebrate their Silver Wedding anniversary. Prince Philip, the irascible and tough-minded husband of Queen Elizabeth II who spent more than seven decades supporting his wife in a role that both defined and constricted his life, has died, Buckingham Palace said Friday, 9 April 2021.
© AP Photo
On November 20, 1947, Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten were married at Westminster Abbey. She had paid for the wedding dress with ration tokens. Philip gave up his Greek and Danish titles and changed his religion to marry Elizabeth. The pair had the longest-lasting marriage of any UK monarch.
As a result of her father suffering from poor health, Elizabeth eventually took on more royal duties, with access to Foreign Office telegrams and parliamentary reports. On her 21st birthday, Elizabeth embarked on an official tour of South Africa.
During her visit to South Africa in 1947, Princess Elizabeth gave a speech, saying:
“I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to the service of our great imperial family.”
The Queen and Prince Philip’s first child, Charles, was born in 1948, their daughter Anne in 1950. It was on February 6, 1952, during a Royal visit to Kenya, that word arrived of the death of her father and Elizabeth’s immediate accession to the throne. She was proclaimed Queen and returned to the UK and moved into Buckingham Palace with her husband, Prince Phillip the Duke of Edinburgh.
In 1960, Prince Andrew was born and their fourth child, Edward in 1964. By 1965, the Queen had been on the throne for over a decade. As head of the Commonwealth, a title created by her late father, the Queen had visited all 53 Commonwealth nations – except Cameroon and Rwanda, maintaining strong links with countries that had left the Empire – but wanted to remain close to the British monarchy. In 1977, Elizabeth celebrated the Silver Jubilee of her accession.
During the 1981 Trooping of the Colour, six shots were fired at the Queen as she rode down the Mall on horseback. The shots were blank but the 17 year old assailant was arrested. Six weeks later, Prince Charles married Diana Spencer.
Принцесса Диана и королева Елизавета II, 1987 год
© AP Photo / Martin Cleaver
In 1982, the Queen hosted US President Ronald Reagan at Windsor Castle, but was angered when he ordered the invasion of Grenada without informing her. In the 1990s, anti-republican sentiments began to rise due to revelations about her private wealth and continuous reports in the British press about extramarital affairs amongst her children.
In 1992, a year that the Queen coined her “annus horribilis”, her second son Prince Andrew separated from his wife Sarah, the Duchess of York, and her daughter Anne divorced her husband, Captain Mark Phillips. In November, her home, Windsor Castle, suffered severe fire damage.
In October 1994, the Queen made her first Royal trip to Russia where she sat side by side with President Boris Yeltsin in the Kremlin’s Catherine Hall. Before leaving for St. Petersburg, the British monarch was treated to a ballet at the Bolshoi Theatre and an Orthodox choir, which sang for her under the golden domes of the Assumption Cathedral.
By now, her first son, the Prince of Wales and his wife, Diana, Princess of Wales had separated. Diana died in a road accident in Paris in 1997 that shocked the nation and effectively shifted public perception of the British royal family.
The Queen paid tribute to Diana, describing her as an “exceptional and gifted human being” and admitted that there were “lessons to be drawn from her life and the extraordinary public reaction to her death.”
‘An Anchor for Our Age’
Elizabeth’s 50-year reign was marked with her Golden Jubilee celebration in 2002, the same year her mother and sister died.
A generally healthy monarch, the Queen had keyhole surgery on both her knees in 2006. In her address to the United Nations for a second time in 2010, the Queen was introduced as “an anchor for our age.”
At the time of her Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012, the Queen released a statement saying:
“In this special year, as I dedicate myself anew to your service, I hope we will all be reminded of the power of togetherness and the convening strength of family, friendship and good neighbourliness.”
The Queen’s approval rating hit 90 percent – the highest it had ever been during her reign.
On December 18, 2012, Queen Elizabeth became the first British sovereign to attend a peacetime Cabinet meeting since King George III in 1781. Accession laws were changed in 2013 so that the monarch’s eldest born child, girl or boy had the right to the throne, rather than it being just the eldest boy. On September 9, 2015, Elizabeth II became Britain’s longest serving monarch; befitting the change in accession law.
Serious Health Concerns
In recent months, there had been serious health concerns regarding Queen Elizabeth II among British officials and the media.
After avoiding the SARS-CoV-2 virus for nearly two years, Queen Elizabeth II, who overtook Queen Victoria to become the UK's longest-reigning monarch on September 9, 2015, was confirmed to have contracted the COVID-19 virus after testing positive on February 20. Buckingham Palace had stated at the time that the royal was experiencing “mild cold-like symptoms.” It was also later announced that she would not be participating in previously-scheduled virtual engagement but that she would be seeing to “light duties.”
The Queen’s COVID-19 diagnosis came days after Prince Charles had been diagnosed with the respiratory illness for a second time on February 10. Charles’ wife Camilla would later test positive.
The royal pulling out of the opening of the UK parliament earlier this year, and later skipping the Commonwealth Games.
26 August 2022, 02:14 GMT
In her 70 years on the throne, Queen Elizabeth II had formally appointed more than a dozen prime ministers at Buckingham Palace, yet on September 6, for the first time, she held the ceremony at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, where she had been spending the summer.
This break from tradition to appoint Liz Truss as PM came amid efforts to modify the 96-year old monarch’s schedule because of health issues.
