Queen Elizabeth II: As British Longest-Serving Monarch Exits, Prince Charles Takes Over
By Abdulsalam Mahmud
POLITICS DIGEST- After 96 years sojourn on earth, with exactly 70 as the longest-serving monarch in British history, Queen Elizabeth II, has transited to the great beyond. In the early hours of Thursday, she died at 96.
The Royal Family had announced tersely, “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon”. This came a few hours after the palace had announced she was under medical supervision at Balmoral Castle, her estate in Scotland.
Glamorous, regal and quintessential, Queen Elizabeth, was the perfect epitome of true and alluring British royalty, whose history is indeed chequered.
Before her shocking exit today, she had outlived several British Prime Ministers – about 12 of them. Lizz Truz, the newly-elected PM was the 13th occupant of House 10 Downing Street that the late Monarch’s eventful reign produced.
Over the course of her 70-year reign, Queen Elizabeth saw more than a few regime changes in American politics. In total, she spent time with 13 out of the last 14 sitting U.S. presidents.
Born at Mayfair, in London, Elizabeth was the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York.
Educated privately at home, Elizabeth began to undertake public duties during the Second World War, serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service.
Her marriage to Philip Mountbatten, a former prince of Greece and Denmark, in 1947, produced four children: Charles, Prince of Wales; Anne, Princess Royal; Prince Andrew, Duke of York; and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.
After her father’s demise in February 1952, Elizabeth – then 25 years old – became queen regnant of seven independent Commonwealth countries: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon, as well as the head of the Commonwealth.
She reigned as a constitutional monarch through major political changes such as the Troubles, devolution in the United Kingdom, the accession of the United Kingdom to the European Communities, the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union, Canadian patriation, and the decolonisation of Africa.
In 2017, she became the first British monarch to celebrate a ‘Sapphire Jubilee’. After over 73 years of marriage, her husband Prince Philip died at the age of 99, on 9 April 2021.
Six years earlier, in 2015 specifically, Queen Elizabeth surpassed the late Queen Victoria to become the longest-reigning monarch in British history.
History will remember Elizabeth as one of the strongest pillars of the British Royal Family who steered the monarchy through many turbulent times. Among many other things, she stood strong during the decades of social change and remained a symbol of national stability in a shifting world.
Her death marks the end of a new Elizabethan era that began when the 25-year-old princess became Queen Elizabeth II after the departure of her father, King George VI, in the early hours of February 6, 1952.
With the death of 88-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand in 2016, the Queen Elizabeth then took the record for the world’s longest reigning living monarch.
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She is the world’s second-longest reigning monarch ever, after French King Louis XIV, who served on the throne for more than 72 years.
As Victoria had done in the previous century, Elizabeth acted as a figure of continuity as the United Kingdom modernized. Serving through the 20th century, the Millennium and well into the 21st century, she was also head of state, the armed forces and the commonwealth.
She witnessed many new technological advances and a succession of British governments of different political persuasions.
According to Guinness World Records, the Queen also held the world record for most currencies featuring the same person.
Her Diamond Jubilee river pageant in 2012 set a new world record for the number of boats in a parade with more than 1,000 vessels taking part and 670 making the complete trip down the Thames to Tower Bridge.
The Queen was also the first British monarch to send an email, to have a message put on the moon, to conduct a royal “walkabout” and to hold a public concert in her back garden.
The monarch’s “second birthday” – that is, the official celebration – was marked on the second Saturday in June each year, commemorated with the Trooping the Colour parade. The double birthday tradition was introduced in 1748 by King George II, who was born in November – a time where the UK weather was typically dreary. Wanting a big public celebration, the king decided to hold a birthday parade in the sunnier months and to combine it with an annual military parade.
Each year, without fail, the Queen would retreat to Balmoral in Aberdeenshire during the summer months, where she is said to have been happiest. It was her private home and was handed down to her through generations of royals after being bought for Queen Victoria by Prince Albert in 1852.
In a move that was dubbed by the media as Megxit, Elizabeth’s grandson, Harry and his new wife, the actress Meghan Markle, in early 2020, sparked a major royal crisis when they made a decision to step down as senior royals for personal and financial freedom.
She had previously dubbed 1992 her “annus horribilis”, following a series of scandals involving her children.
It is interesting to note that in a reign that spanned many British governments under 15 prime ministers and dozens more in the Commonwealth, the Queen did not escape constitutional difficulties over the years.
The Queen’s dedicated attention to her constitutional functions has been commented upon by many of her prime ministers.
Though King Charles, her eldest, will automatically step in as British next monarch.
Over six decades back, and upon Elizabeth’s ascension to the British throne, her son Prince Charles (now King Charles) became the heir apparent. He was named prince of Wales on July 26, 1958.
Among the many good things the entire world will remember about Queen Elizabeth, nothing stands out more than the fact that she was known to favour simplicity in court life and was also known to take a serious and informed interest in government business, aside from the traditional and ceremonial duties.
And above all, the Queen’s vast financial and property holdings made her one of the world’s richest women. But she will fondly be remembered for all the great things she achieved, aside from the fact that hers was a beautiful life well lived for the people of the United Kingdom.
