Queen Elizabeth II

As British power waned, society altered drastically, and the monarchy's very function was questioned, she came to represent the one constant in a world that was changing quickly.

Given that no one could have predicted that she would inherit the throne at the time of her birth, her accomplishment in preserving the monarchy through such dangerous times is all the more impressive.

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, the first child of Albert, Duke of York, the second son of George V, and his duchess, the former Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, was born on April 21, 1926, at a home near Berkeley Square in London.

Elizabeth and her sister Margaret Rose, who was born in 1930, both received their education at home and were raised in a warm family environment. Elizabeth's relationship with her father and her grandpa George V was quite close.

Elizabeth expressed her desire to become a "country woman with plenty of horses and dogs" to her riding teacher at the age of six.

She was rumored to have had an extraordinary sense of accountability from a very young age. The future prime minister, Winston Churchill, was cited as remarking that she had "an air of authority that was amazing in a newborn."

Elizabeth demonstrated her fluency in languages despite not going to school and studied constitutional history in great depth.

To enable Elizabeth to interact with girls her own age, the 1st Buckingham Palace Girl Guides Company was created.

growing anxiety

When George V passed away in 1936, his eldest son, David, became Edward VIII.

On the other hand, political and religious reasons made his choice of wife, the twice-divorced American Wallis Simpson, undesirable. He resigned at the conclusion of the year.

The Duke of York, reluctantly, was crowned King George VI. Elizabeth had a preview of her future during His Coronation, and she subsequently wrote that the ceremony was "very, very magnificent."

The new King and his wife, Queen Elizabeth, set out to reestablish popular confidence in the monarchy against a backdrop of rising tension in Europe. Their older daughter was cognizant of their example.

The 13-year-old princess went to Dartmouth's Royal Naval College in 1939 with the King and Queen.

She was escorted by one of the cadets, her third cousin Prince Philip of Greece, along with her sister Margaret.

Obstacles

They had already met before, but this was the first time she showed interest in him.

When Prince Philip was on vacation from the navy, he visited the royal family, and by 1944, when Elizabeth was 18 years old, it was obvious that she loved him. They corresponded via letters and she kept his photo in her room.

Near the conclusion of the war, the young princess temporarily enlisted in the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS), where she acquired driving and maintenance skills for lorries. She joined the Royal Family at Buckingham Palace on VE Day as crowds of people gathered on The Mall to commemorate the end of the European War.

She subsequently remembered, "We begged my parents if we might go out and check for ourselves. "I recall how afraid we were of being recognized. I recall lines of unidentified individuals joining arms and moving along Whitehall as a wave of joy and relief carried us all along."

Her desire to wed Prince Philip was hampered after the war by a variety of issues.

The King did not want to lose his beloved daughter, and Philip had to fight against the prejudice of a society that could not accept his immigrant lineage.

However, the couple's desires were honored, and on November 20, 1947, they were wed at Westminster Abbey.

Philip, now the Duke of Edinburgh, continued to be a naval officer in active duty. A brief deployment to Malta allowed the young couple to live a rather typical existence.

Charles, their first child, was born in 1948, and his sister Anne followed in 1950.

But because of his history of heavy smoking and the stress he endured throughout the war, the King was terminally ill with lung cancer.

Elizabeth, who was 25 at the time, and Philip left on a trip abroad in January 1952. Despite medical advice, the King traveled to the airport to say goodbye to the newlyweds. Elizabeth would not see her father again after that.

While visiting a wildlife lodge in Kenya, Elizabeth learned of the King's passing. The new Queen then quickly flew back to London.

She subsequently said, "In a way, I didn't have an apprenticeship. My father passed away much too soon, so everything had to be taken on very quickly and you had to do the best you could.

individual assault

Despite Prime Minister Winston Churchill's objections, her coronation in June 1953 was broadcast on television, and millions of people gathered in front of TVs—many of them for the first time—to witness Queen Elizabeth II take her oath.

The Coronation was heralded by pundits as the beginning of a new Elizabethan era while Britain continued to suffer from post-war austerity.

By the time the new Queen embarked on a lengthy tour of the Commonwealth in November 1953, several former British territories, notably India, had achieved independence. World War Two had accelerated the fall of the British Empire.

For the first time, a reigning queen, Elizabeth, traveled to Australia and New Zealand. Three-quarters of Australians, according to estimates, came out to meet her in person.

More nations hoisted the union jack throughout the 1950s, and the old colonies and dominions merged into a free-standing family of states.

The newly formed European Economic Community was seen by many politicians as a threat, and to some extent, British policy was reoriented away from the Continent as a result.

However, the Suez disaster in 1956, which demonstrated that the Commonwealth lacked the resolve to unite in times of crisis, exacerbated the erosion of British power. The choice to send British soldiers to try to stop Egypt from threatening to nationalize the Suez Canal resulted in a humiliating withdrawal and prompted Prime Minister Anthony Eden to resign.

This caused a political problem for the Queen. The Queen urged Harold Macmillan to create a new administration since the Conservative Party lacked a system for electing a new leader.

The author Lord Altrincham also found himself attacking the Queen personally. He alleged in a magazine article that she couldn't deliver a straightforward speech without a prepared text and that her court was "too upper-class" and "British."

His comments sparked a media frenzy, and a League of Empire Loyalists member violently assaulted Lord Altrincham in the street.

However, the episode showed how quickly British society and views toward the monarchy were changing and how long-held beliefs were being challenged.

"The Monarchy" is followed by "The Royal Family"

The Queen started to adjust to the new order with the help of her husband, who was well known for being irritated with the stuffiness of the court.

Debutantes were no longer received at court, and "the Monarchy" was progressively supplanted by "the Royal Family."

When Harold Macmillan resigned as prime minister in 1963, the Queen was once again at the center of a political controversy. She took his suggestion and named the Earl of Home as the new head of the Conservative Party although the Conservative Party was still establishing a method for selecting a new leader.

It was a challenging period for the Queen. Constitutional accuracy and a wider separation of the monarchy from the current administration were the defining characteristics of her reign. She took her rights to be informed, advised, and warned seriously, but she did not try to go beyond them.

It was to be the last time she was in a situation like that. The Conservatives ultimately ended the practice of having new party leaders "emerge" into office and implemented a real structure.

By the late 1960s, Buckingham Palace had come to the conclusion that affirmative action was required to portray the Royal Family in a manner that was both less formal and more approachable.

The end product was the revolutionary documentary Royal Family. The Windsors' residence was open for the BBC to record them. There were images of the family enjoying a BBQ, putting the finishing touches on the Christmas tree, and taking the kids on a drive.

The video directed by Richard Cawston, which featured footage of the Duke of Edinburgh grilling sausages on the grounds of Balmoral, was criticized for destroying the mystery around the royals by depicting them as commoners.

However, the movie reflected the more laid-back atmosphere of the period and significantly increased public support for the monarchy.

By 1977, festivities and street gatherings held around the country showed genuine enthusiasm for the Silver Jubilee. A large part of the public's seeming confidence in the monarchy may be attributed to the Queen.

In Margaret Thatcher, Britain's first female prime minister, two years later. There were rumors of uncomfortable interactions between the female head of state and female head of government.

Disasters and scandals

The Queen's loyalty to the Commonwealth, of which she was head, was one area that presented challenges. The Queen had a good understanding of African leaders and cared about their plight.

Thatcher's attitude and combative demeanor were reportedly "puzzling" to her, especially given the prime minister's resistance to sanctions against apartheid South Africa.

The Queen continued to do public responsibilities year after year. She traveled to the United States in 1991 following the Gulf War to make history as the first British queen to address a joint session of Congress. She has been "freedom's buddy for as long as we can remember," according to President George H.W. Bush.

A year later, however, a slew of scandals and catastrophes started to impact the Royal Family.

Princess Anne's marriage to Mark Phillips ended in divorce, while the Duke of York and his wife Sarah divorced. The Prince and Princess of Wales ultimately proved to be quite unhappy and separated.

The year came to a close with a significant fire at Windsor Castle, the Queen's favorite home. It appeared to be an ominously fitting sign of a royal house in jeopardy. A public debate about who should pay for the repairs—the taxpayer or the Queen—did not help.

In a speech in the City of London, the Queen referred to 1992 as her "annus horribilis" and seemed to accept the need for a more democratic monarchy in exchange for a more favorable press.

"No organization, city, monarchy, or anything else should anticipate being exempt from the examination of those who show them their allegiance and support, much alone those who don't. However, because we are all woven into the same fabric of our country, a compassionate, humorous, and understanding examination may still be just as successful."

The monarchical system was firmly on the back foot. In order to generate money for the renovations at Windsor, Buckingham Palace was made public, and it was revealed that the Queen and the Prince of Wales would be required to pay taxes on their investment income.

The expectations for the Commonwealth that were abroad at the beginning of her reign had not been met. With new agreements in Europe, Britain has abandoned its former allies.

The Queen, who continued to appreciate the Commonwealth and was ecstatic when apartheid was finally abolished in South Africa, the country where she had reached adulthood, In March 1995, she paid a visit in honor.

While the public continued to discuss whether the institution had a future, the Queen tried to uphold the monarchy's honor at home.

Diana, Princess of Wales, died

Britain attempted to maintain a comforting presence while she searched for a new destiny and occasionally managed to brighten serious situations with a quick grin. She cherished becoming a national emblem more than any other function.

The loss of Diana, Princess of Wales, in a car accident in Paris in August 1997, however, caused the monarchy to be rattled and the Queen to face unexpected criticism.

The Queen was hesitant to deliver the attention that she had always attempted to do during important national events when the public flocked to the palaces in London with floral tributes.

Many of her detractors failed to see that she came from a generation that shunned the nearly frenzied public shows of grief that characterized the days after the princess's passing.

As a loving grandma, she also felt compelled to console Diana's boys in private among the family members.

She eventually went on live television to honor her daughter-in-law and to promise that the monarchy will change.

Celebrations and setbacks

The Queen's Golden Jubilee festivities in 2002 were overshadowed by the passing of the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret.

On the evening of the jubilee, a million people crammed into The Mall in front of Buckingham Palace despite this and the ongoing discussion over the monarchy's survival.

Thousands of well-wishers lined Windsor's streets in April 2006 as the Queen celebrated her 80th birthday by going on an informal walkabout.

Additionally, she and Prince Philip had a service at Westminster Abbey in November 2007 to commemorate their 60 years of marriage.

In April 2011, the Queen celebrated yet another joyous event by attending the nuptials of her grandson, William, Duke of Cambridge, to Catherine Middleton.

She made history when, in May of that year, she became the first British queen to go on official business to the Irish Republic.

She urged patience and understanding while making mention of "things we wish had been done better or not at all" in a speech that she began in Irish.

Referendum

She clasped hands with former IRA commander Martin McGuinness a year later during a trip to Northern Ireland for the Diamond Jubilee.

For a king whose adored relative Lord Louis Mountbatten had died in a 1979 IRA bombing, it was a difficult occasion.

The Diamond Jubilee culminated in a weekend of festivities in London and attracted hundreds of thousands of people to the streets.

The Scottish independence vote in September 2014 put the Queen through a difficult time. In her speech to Parliament in 1977, she made it plain that she was committed to a United Kingdom, and few people had forgotten it.

"I have kings and queens of Scotland, England, and Wales as well as Welsh princes among my ancestry, so I can easily relate to these objectives. The fact that I was crowned Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is something I will never forget."

On the eve of the Scottish referendum, she was overheard saying to well-wishers at Balmoral that she hoped they would consider very seriously about the future.

She expressed her relief that the Union was still intact in a public speech after the vote's outcome was announced, even though she acknowledged that the political climate had altered.

Now, as we go, we should keep in mind that, despite the diversity of opinions voiced, we all share a steadfast love of Scotland, which is one of the things that serves to bring us together.

On September 9, 2015, Elizabeth surpassed the rule of her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria to become the queen with the longest reign in British history. She acted normally and made no fuss, claiming that the title was "not one to which I have ever aspired."

In April 2016, less than a year later, she celebrated turning 90.

Following the retirement of the Duke of Edinburgh in 2017, she continued to perform her official obligations, frequently by herself.

The Duke of York's ill-advised connection with imprisoned American businessman Jeffrey Epstein, as well as Prince Harry's developing disenchantment with life in the royal family, were among the ongoing stresses on the family. Her husband's vehicle accident was another.

These were uncomfortable times, ruled by a monarch who showed that she was still firmly in charge. In the middle of the coronavirus epidemic, Prince Philip passed away in April 2021. A year later, she celebrated her Platinum Jubilee.

She was adamant that the monarchy should maintain a position of fondness and respect in the hearts of the British people, even though it may not have been as strong towards the conclusion of her reign as it had been at the beginning.

She recalled the promise she had made on a trip to South Africa thirty years prior in honor of her Silver Jubilee.

"I made a lifelong commitment to serve our people when I was 21 years old, and I prayed for God's guidance in carrying out that commitment. Although I made the commitment when I was in my salad days and lacked maturity, I do not repent or withdraw a single word of it."