FYI logo

A Historical Look Through the Amazing Reign of Queen Elizabeth

In celebration of a fantastic woman on her platinum jubilee

By Sam H ArnoldPublished 2 years ago 10 min read
Like

On June 2, the United Kingdom will host a platinum jubilee where the Queen will celebrate seventy years of ruling. It is a time for the community to come together, for financial struggles to be put on hold for a day whilst we celebrate this genuinely remarkable ninety-six year old. In true British tradition, there will be music and ceremony like never before.

It comes at a time when this marvellous woman could do with some positive times. Her family have let her down hugely over the last couple of years; whether it is her son and his relationship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein or her spoilt grandson and his media-hungry wife, the headlines have not been positive. This, however, is an opportunity for us to forget about the extended family and concentrate on the direct family and, most importantly, the head of that family, The Queen.

The Start of Seventy Years

The Queen took her place as the head of the royal family in February 1952, after her father, King George VI, passed away. What is remarkable is that the Queen was never born as a successor to the throne. At her birth, she was the niece of the man destined for the throne, Edward. However, it was not until she was ten that her Uncle abdicated to marry divorcee Wallis Simpson. This move thrust her father into the limelight and made her the next in line to the throne.

For a position she was not initially destined for, you can only marvel at the amazing job she has done for seventy years. It is hard to believe anyone else could have done such a fantastic job. However, it has not always been easy and I believe that these seven events, in each of the decades she ruled, show this perfectly.

1950s — Suez Canal Crisis (1956)

The Suez Crisis was an international crisis that started on July 26 1956, when the Egyptian president nationalised the Suez Canal. Before, the canal had been owned by the Suez Canal Company, which was primarily controlled by the French and British.

Egypt took this action when both America and Britain decided not to finance the construction of the Aswan High Dam, even though they had previously agreed. Egypt’s response was to declare martial law on the Canal Zone and seize control of the Suez Canal Company. The thinking was the tolls that the ships would pay to travel the canal would pay for the construction of the dam.

Both Britain and France feared that the authorities would close the canal completely, effectively cutting off the flow of petroleum to Europe. However, diplomatic efforts to settle the crisis failed, so Britain and France prepared for military action to secure control of the canal and, dispose the Egyptian prime minister. To achieve this, they allied themselves with Israel, which also had issues with Egypt.

On October 29, 1956, Israel invaded Egypt and advanced toward the canal. Britain and France followed their plan and demanded that Israeli and Egyptian forces withdraw. They announced that they would intervene to enforce a UN ordered a cease-fire. In November, forces landed and started to occupy the Canal Zone.

The move encountered opposition from home and American UN advocates who stopped the Anglo-French action. Finally, on December 22, the UN evacuated all British and French Troops, Israel started to withdraw three months later. Egypt emerged as the victor of this action, and Britain and France lost considerable power in the Middle East.

1960s — Aberfan (1966)

The disaster started almost a century before the horrific accident in the Welsh town of Aberfan. Merthyr Vale Colliery opened a coal mine in the area. Wales would become famous for coal mining during the Industrial revolution and would continue for many years. By the 1960s, coal mining had started to decline, but it was still a significant concern in Aberfan, employing some eight thousand miners.

However, coal mining creates a lot of waste, called slurry, that waste rock must be tipped in a specific area. Merthyr Vale was no different; by 1966, the seventh tip was as high as 111 feet high and contained 300 000 cubic yards of waste. In addition, the tip had been placed on sandstone and below a natural spring, which lay on the steep hill above the village.

Locals and residents had raised concerns that the tip was located above the Junior School, which had 240 students. However, that year’s heavy rainfall made the slurry unstable; on October 21 1966, it raced as an avalanche of waste, flattening everything in its path, including the primary school. The disaster killed 144 people, most of those children from the school

Despite the magnitude of the disaster, initially, the Queen refused to visit the village. It is thought that she did not want the attention to be on her rather than on the victims. It, however, sparked massive criticism from the press and questions were raised as to why she was not there. Finally, eight days after Aberfan, she visited the site and surveyed the damage to survivors and families. Nearly four decades later, in 2002, the Queen said that not visiting Aberfan immediately after the disaster was “her biggest regret.”

1970s — Civil Unrest

This was a relatively quiet decade in history for both the monarchy and Britain. It was a year when the Queen celebrated her silver jubilee, which would have been quite an achievement at the time. Hard to believe that this was one of many jubilees she would be celebrating.

It was also a decade that saw the start of unrest between workers and their employers. It the start of strike action, which would continue well into the next decade.

1980s — Falkland’s War (1982)

Essentially the Falklands war was fought between Great Britain and Argentina over the occupation of the Falklands Islands.

Argentina would claim that the Falkland Islands belonged to them as they lay 300 miles east of their coast. Since the 19th century, however, the islands had been seized by Great Britain and claimed as British soil. After many diplomatic attempts, Argentina planned to invade the Falklands using an elite invasion force trained in secrecy. Argentinian salvage workers raised an Argentine flag 800 miles east of the Falklands, resulting in naval force being quickly mobilised, which moved the invasion plans forward.

Argentine troops invaded on April 2 and soon overcame the small group of Marines stationed there. The next day they went on to seize other islands; by the end of April, they had 10 000 troops stationed in the Falklands; however, most of these were poorly trained conscripts without proper equipment and clothing.

Margaret Thatcher declared a war zone 200 miles around the Falklands using many naval vehicles and cruise ships, including the Queen Elizabeth 2 yacht. Argentina gained little support for their actions; they were also stretched across two wars, with Chile threatening to attack the mainland.

The fighting continued on land and sea, resulting in Britain gaining back control of the Falklands in June.

1990s — Princess Diana (1997)

The death of Princess Diana overshadows this decade for royalty. Diana was at the Ritz in Paris; she wanted to leave and go and stay at her boyfriend Dodi Fayed’s flat. However, the paparazzi relentlessly pursued her, having parked outside the front of the hotel. So princess Diana devised a clever plan, she would have decoy vehicles at the hotel’s front whilst she left from the back. However, as she left, the paparazzi monitoring the back alerted those at the front, and a pursuit began.

The car entered the Pont de Alma tunnel at a dangerous speed. Henri Paul; the driver lost control at 0023. He swerved from the left and collided head-on with the 13th pillar that supported the roof. Both Fayed and Paul were pronounced dead at the scene.

An ambulance rushed to the scene where they treated Diana at the crash site; at 0100, she suffered cardiac arrest and was resuscitated at the scene; she was then moved to the ambulance at 0120 and departed the scene at 0141. She arrived at the hospital at 0206 and was pronounced dead a couple of hours later.

Later an investigation found Henri Paul guilty of causing the accident. He reportedly had a blood-alcohol level of 1.75g per litre, more than three times the legal limit. This, along with the press, would be blamed for her death.

The Queen was initially criticised for not appearing in public at the time. However, as a grandmother comforting two little boys who had lost their mum, this was completely understandable. In a break from tradition, though, she televised a Queen’s speech speaking openly about Diana and held a state funeral for her.

2000s — Queen Mother and Princess Margaret (2002)

Personally, the Queen faced two losses this decade. The first was her sister, who passed away in February 2002 after a lengthy battle with ill health. Margaret, known for her glamorous lifestyle and troubled love life, was seventy-one at the time.

The Queen, with great sadness, has asked for the following announcement to be made immediately. Her beloved sister, Princess Margaret, died peacefully in her sleep this morning at 6.30 am, in The King Edward VII Hospital. — Buckingham Palace

Margaret, who had suffered several strokes, was partially paralysed down her left side and had sight problems; on her final day, she had one last fatal stroke. She had been the constant companion of the Queen.

One month later, the Queen said goodbye to her mother, who died peacefully in her sleep at the age of one hundred and one. The Queen was said to be sat at her bedside when she passed. In keeping with her life, the Queen Mother had planned her funeral to every last detail.

2010s — Brexit (2016)

The beginnings of Brexit occur in 2016 with the vote to the public. The propaganda has been examined on both sides of the argument. Whether the British people made the right decision to leave the European Union (EU) remains to be seen, although times at the moment would indicate it was a mistake.

What has become clear since the vote is that both sides lied about the implications of both staying and leaving. If the current climate is to be observed, it is clear that whatever was stated was more about the personal gain of the politicians than the country.

It is unclear what the Queen thought of this course of action. From a woman who has held the commonwealth’s power close to her heart, we can imagine she was in favour of remaining in the EU. Despite this, the monarchy is not allowed to pass comment on political matters; it will never be known what she and high ranking royals thought of the vote.

Later Life

These events mark the very changing landscape that the Queen has ruled through. She has seen fourteen prime ministers, starting with Winston Churchill and now Boris Johnson. It is clear for everyone to see the difference between these two men. She has also worked with two female prime ministers and was said to have an interesting relationship with Margaret Thatcher, but one based on great respect.

She has ruled with a combination of strength, duty and a British stiff upper lip. One event that stands in my mind is the speech she made during Covid. Only the second time she has made a speech outside her Christmas address. This woman, in her nineties, addressed her people and lifted the mood of a nation; everyone I spoke to, whether a supporter of royalty or not, marvelled at what she said.

No matter the headlines connected to some of the extended royal family, I will forever be grateful that I lived during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, the greatest living ruler of all time.

Originally published on Medium

If you enjoyed this article, please subscribe to my writing, share it and give it a heart. As a writer tips and pledges mean a great deal to me, so a massive thank you if you send one.

Historical
Like

About the Creator

Sam H Arnold

Writing stories to help, inspire and shock. For all my current writing projects click here - https://linktr.ee/samharnold

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.