LONDON (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the UK’s longest reigning monarch, who was crowned in 1952 and recently celebrated her Platinum Jubilee, passed away peacefully yesterday at her Scottish estate of Balmoral.
She was surrounded by her family, including her eldest son, the former Prince of Wales now King Charles III and her daughter Princess Anne.
In a statement, Buckingham Palace announced: “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon”.
Immediately afterwards tributes from around the world began to pour in, including from Presidents to Prime Ministers and the leaders of the Commonwealth.
Born Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor on 21 April 1926, in a house just off Berkeley Square in London, the first child of Albert, Duke of York, later George VI, second son of George V, and his duchess, the former Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon.
She was educated at home and until the abdication crisis of her uncle Edward VIII in 1936, was not expected to become Queen. Indeed when she was just six, she reportedly told her riding instructor that she wanted to become a “country lady with lots of horses and dogs” – a passion for animals that would remain with her throughout her life.
Even from an early age, she is reported to have shown a great sense of responsibility. Winston Churchill, the future prime minister, was quoted as saying that she possessed “an air of authority that was astonishing in an infant”.
Along with her sense of duty, the Queen had a strong Christian faith. At the age of 13, she gave her father a poem that he would later quote in the Christmas Day Broadcast made by the King in 1939. The poem read: “I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year, Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown. And he replied; Go out into the darkness, put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be, to you, better than light and safer than a known way.”
In the same year the young princess accompanied the King and Queen to the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth, where she was escorted by one of the cadets, Prince Philip of Greece. It was a meeting that would end in marriage.
Princess Elizabteth joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) towards the end of the war, learning to drive and service a lorry. On VE Day, she joined the Royal Family at Buckingham Palace to celebrate the end of the war in Europe.
Two years later Princess Elizabeth married Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh on 20 November 1947 the couple married in Westminster Abbey. The couple’s cake had four tiers, 9ft (2.74 metres) tall and was baked by McVitie’s who also make the most excellent Hobnob biscuits.
The Queen and Prince Philip, who continued to serve in the Royal Navy was to posted Malta where the young royal couple enjoyed a relatively normal life. Their first child, Charles, was born in 1948, followed by a sister, Anne, who arrived in 1950.
In January 1952, Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh set off from London on an overseas tour. It was to be the last time Elizabeth would see her father.
During her stay in Kenya, the young Princess was informed of her father’s death from lung cancer, making her Queen Elizabeth II.
Queen Elizabeth was formally crowned in Westminster Abbey on 2nd June 1953, with almost the whole ceremony being broadcast by the BBC, the first time this had happened.
The Queen oversaw an incredible period of change, the move from Empire to Commonwealth, political turmoil, wars, strife and reform of the Monarchy, ably supported by her steadfast consort, Prince Philip.
It was during this time, the BBC were allowed to film a behind the scenes documentary, which was recreated in the hit TV Netflix series The Crown.
By 1977 the Queen celebrated her Silver Jubilee. The celebration included street parties across the UK and a pouring of public support for the Royal Family.
However the 1980s and early 1990s, proved more challenging with a series of family scandals, including the Duke of York separating from his wife Sarah Fergusson, Princess Anne’s marriage to Mark Phillips ending in divorce and most damaging the Prince and Princess of Wales separating and divorcing. Unusually the splits were played out in the full glare of public with stories about the royal family and their private lives featuring prominently in the tabloid media.
Coupled to these personal scandals, 1992, saw a massive fire at the Queen’s favourite residence, Windsor Castle. Later that year, Her Majesty described 1992 as her “annus horribilis”.
In 1997 following the death of Princess Diana, her attempts to protect her grandad children from the glare of the media and public by staying in seclusion at Balmoral, was seen as a huge misstep and unusually the Queen was subjected to personal criticism.
Her supporters, which included the then Prime Minister Tony Blair, understood she was from a different generation and encouraged her to do a televised broadcast, which did much to repair the damage.
By the time of the Golden Jubilee, overwhelming public affection had returned and again the nation celebrated Her Majesty’s long reign, dedication and service.
However the events of 2002 were overshadowed by her beloved mother and sister – the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret.
In April 2006, she celebrated her 80th birthday and a year later she and Prince Philip celebrated 60 years of marriage with a service attended by 2,000 people at Westminster Abbey.
In May 2011 she became the first British monarch to make an official visit to the Irish Republic, an event that was unthinkable just a decade or so earlier given the troubles and activities of the IRA and other republican terrorist groups.
The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 again brought crowds out in support of Her Majesty.
In 2015, she became the longest serving Monarch in British history, overtaking Queen Victoria. According to the BBC, she refused to make any fuss saying the title was “not one to which I have ever aspired”.
A year later she celebrated her 90th birthday making clear she planned to continue carrying out her duties, despite the failing health of her husband, Prince Philip.
In 2017, Prince Philip announced his retirement from official duties – he was 96 and had carried out more than 22,000 engagements during his time as an active royal. He died in 2021.
Still Her Majesty carried on, although with growing concerns around her health right until the end, appointing her 15th Prime Minister on Tuesday.
A testament to her deep devotion to her Country and to serving it, Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth was the patron of more than 600 organisations and charities and it is estimated she helped raise more than £1.4 billion for those good causes. She also carried out more than 21,000 engagements during her reign and sent an incredible 300,000 messages to centenarians.