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The United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth realms were on Thursday, September 8, 2022, thrown into mourning after the news of the death of Britain’s longest reigning monarch, Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, officially known as Queen Elizabeth II, was announced. The grandmother and great-grandmother was born on April 21, 1926 at Bruton Street, London, UK to the former Duke of York, Prince Albert, and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. According to a statement by Buckingham Palace, the Queen, who became the longest-reigning monarch in 2015 when she surpassed Queen Victoria, died peacefully at the age of 96.
Queen Elizabeth II is survived by her children, Prince of Wales, Prince Charles; Duke of York, Prince Andrew; Princess Royal, Anne; Earl of Wessex, Prince Edward; many grandchildren who include Prince William and Prince Harry and many great-grandchildren.
Her prospect of ascending the throne started after Edward VIII abdicated in her father’s favour on December 11, 1936. Her father became King George VI, placing Elizabeth as heir presumptive. She got married on November 20, 1947 to Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten of the Royal Navy, who was on their wedding day conferred with the titles of Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth, and Baron Greenwich. This was after he renounced his Greek title and took up British citizenship. The couple, who met in 1939 when the Royal Family visited Dartmouth Naval College, welcomed their first child, Prince Charles, on November 14, 1948. Prince Philip died on April 9, 2021. He was her husband for 73 years.
Before ascending the throne, Elizabeth represented her father on several occasions when his health began to fail. During the period, she was made an honorary colonel in the Royal Army regiment. She also became a second lieutenant of the women’s branch of the British Army, Auxiliary Territorial Service. Accompanied by her husband, she took a tour to Australia and New Zealand in 1952 and while on her way to Kenya, she got the news of her father’s death which happened on February 6, 1952. He died of lung cancer at the age of 56. Elizabeth immediately became Queen and was coronated at Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953, an event viewed by over 20 million people. Without much delay, the new monarch began official visits to the Commonwealth and was the first reigning monarch to visit Australia and New Zealand. Her Silver Jubilee was graced by leaders of the 36 members of the Commonwealth in 1977.
The Royal Family under the reign of Queen Elizabeth II didn’t go without controversies. In 1968, Queen Elizabeth II allowed a film crew to follow her about for two months, thereby documenting her activities which were showcased in the documentary, ‘The Royal Family,’ watched by over 30 million people. This was believed to have opened up the Royal Family to a series of tabloid stories which apparently stripped them of the awe around them and made people view them as regular people. In 1992, the monarch lamented that the Royal Family suffered its annus horribilis when the marriages of her children crashed. Prince Charles and his wife, the Princess of Wales, Diana, separated. Prince Andrew and his wife, the Duchess of York, Sarah, also separated. Anne was not left out as she divorced her husband Mark Phillips. The Royal Family also suffered another period of sadness when Diana died on August 31, 1997, in a car crash in Paris. Just recently, the Queen’s grandson, Prince Harry, and his wife Meghan Markle gave up their duty with the Royal Family and moved to the US.
A national period of mourning is expected to commence following which her funeral will be held 10 days after her death. The monarch is expected to be laid to rest at St. George’s Chapel, on the grounds of Windsor Castle, where her father King George VI, sister Princess Margaret and husband Prince Philip were buried.
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