At Age 96, Queen Elizabeth II has Died
It was Thursday, September 8, 2022 that the world received the news that Queen Elizabeth II, age 96 had died at Baltmoral Castle, her summer residence in Scotland. She has been on the throne for 70 years! Immediately following her death, her son Charles became King Charles III, the oldest person (age 73) to assume the British throne. His second wife, Camilla will now be known as Queen Consort.
Queen Elizabeth remained firmly in control of the monarchy and at the center of national life as Britain celebrated her Platinum Jubilee (70 years) in June of this year. She became the second-longest reigning monarch in history, behind 17th century French King Louis XIV, who took the throne at age 4.
It was 1947, almost five years before becoming queen, Elizabeth at age 21 promised the people of Britain and the Commonwealth that her whole life, whether it be long or short, would be devoted to your service.
The queen was born in London on April 21, 1926 and christened Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor of York, in honor of her mother, paternal grandmother and paternal great-grandfather. She was the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York. She was known as young Lilibet by her family because she couldn’t pronounce “Elizabeth” properly. However, she was NOT born to be queen as her father’s elder brother, Prince Edward, was next in line for the crown, and to be followed by any children he may have had.
When Elizabeth was 10 years old, Edward VIII abdicated to marry twice-divorced American Wallis Simpson. The world heard about this on December 10, 1936 when the headline, “Love Comes First With King Edward” hit the newspapers with the following: Announcement was made Thursday morning of the abdication of the British throne by King Edward. Previous dispatches from London a few hours before gave indication that such a move by the king was possible.
Determined to marry the winsome Mrs. Wallis Simpson without the sanction of ministers and the support of the aristocracy of England, the king was faced with two conditions: either marry the woman he loved and take the issue to the people, or abdicate the throne.
In a statement, signed in the presence of his two brothers, the Duke of York and Duke of Gloucester, King Edward stated his reasons for abdication. In his statement, he said that the arduous duties imposed upon him were such that he could not do justice to them with respect to his feelings for Mrs. Simpson.
Dispatches indicated that Edward has agreed not to set foot again upon British soil. His brother, the Duke of York, who married a Scotch commoner, succeeded Edward as king today. News commentators agree that his episode is the best news story of the century.
So, Elizabeth’s father became King George VI. However his reign didn’t last very long. When Elizabeth was just in her teens, Britain went to war with Germany in 1939. Elizabeth had a sister, Princess Margaret. The two of them lived mostly at Windsor Castle, while spending many nights in an underground bomb shelter. Elizabeth never went to a public school where she would have been exposed to other students. Elizabeth and sister, Margaret were educated at home. Elizabeth was taught by her father, along with a senior teacher at Eton College, several French and Belgian governesses who taught her French, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, who taught her religion. Her schooling also included learning to ride, swim, dance and the study of fine art and music.
Elizabeth campaigned for months for her parents’ permission to do something for the war effort. She wanted to help however she could in the war effort. She joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service in 1945 where she learned to drive as well as service heavy vehicles and ambulances. No work to help out was too much for this young heiress-to-be.
She first met Royal Navy officer, Philip Mountbatten (a prince of Greece and Denmark) in 1939 when she was just 13 years old and he was 18 years old and he was detained to entertain her for a day at that time. Many years later, Philip was invited to join the royal family at Windsor Castle at Christmas time and he soon made discreet inquiries whether he would be considered an eligible suitor. Yes, she was the one for him and they were married in Westminster Abbey in 1947.
Prince Charles, their first child was born Nov. 14, 1948. Princess Anne was born in 1950, Prince Andrew in 1960, and Prince Edward in 1964. In addition to these four children, she is now survived by eight grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.
Then in February of 1952, (sixteen years after becoming King) King George VI died after years of ill health at the age of 56. Elizabeth was visiting Kenya when she was told that now she was Queen of England. Her response was that her father had died too young and now her job was a sudden happening of which she was to make the best of what she could. She really had had no apprenticeship for what laid ahead of her. Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s reaction of her becoming queen was that she was only a child but soon learned later that she was well-informed, inquisitive and up to date with her job.
Early in Elizabeth’s reign, family romances plagued this family. Her sister, Princess Margaret, had a romance with a divorced man that provoked a national controversy. Princess Anne was divorced as well as Prince Charles and Princess Diana who separated, and so did Prince Andrew and wife, Sarah. Those were the romantic problems but another problem arose when Windsor Castle, the queen’s weekend residence, was ravaged by fire in 1992. The public rebelled against paying millions of pounds for repairs. The queen volunteered to pay tax on her personal income. She said would meet 70% of the cost of restoration work. She decided to open her home at Buckingham Palace to the public for the first time to generate extra funds from admission fees.
The public was upset by what Charles was doing (with Camilla) to Princess Diana and then her untimely death in a Paris car crash in 1997 leaving Prince William and Prince Harry with Charles in charge. Queen Elizabeth somehow did not show any grief to the public for what had happened. She appeared to be “unfeeling” to the public. This was unlike her. However, she did finally speak to the nation through television. This did soften the likes of her that the public had had of her. Now she was seen as a grandmother with a kind smile but still having a stern look about her.
She may have had many “romantic problems” in her family, but not any in her marriage to Philip. When her husband, Philip died in 2021 at the age of 99, Elizabeth described his passing as leaving a “huge void” in her life.
Bells toiled across Britain and mourners flocked to palace gates to honor Queen Elizabeth II as they prepare for the reign of King Charles III. The country began a 10-day mourning period as people around the globe paid homage to Elizabeth. Outside Buckingham Palace in London, hundreds of floral tributes were placed by those who knew Queen Elizabeth and loved her.
Prince Charles may have been preparing to become king all his entire life, and after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth, he has become the oldest person to ever assume the British throne at the age of 73.
He was the first heir not educated at home, and the first to earn a university degree, as well as the first to grow up in the glare of the media as deference to royalty faded. Many people have thought “less” of him since his divorce from Princess Diana, and by straining rules that prohibit royals from intervening in public affairs, wading into debates on issues such as environmental protection and architectural preservation. Now he has to think carefully about how he projects his image as a public figure. He just is not as popular as his mother, Elizabeth was.
While Queen Elizabeth didn’t like to express her views on certain subjects to the public, Charles has spoken out on climate change, green energy and alternative medicine. The monarch and the monarch’s family are not meant to have political voices, political opinions leaving Charles to be careful not to be seen as unconstitutional when speaking out about how he feels about some of the aforementioned issues. He knows he wouldn’t be able to speak out or interfere in politics because the role of sovereign is different from his being previously Prince of Wales.
He does intend to reduce the number of working royals, cut expenses and better represent modern Britain. Tradition will play a part in the new king’s life. That will mean a life of palaces and polo, attracting criticism that he was out of touch with everyday life and supposedly having a valet who was supposed to have squeezed toothpaste on his toothbrush.
There are those that have made many question as to his fitness for the throne all stemming from his marriage and divorce from Diana as well as his second wife, Camilla, who played a significant role in the breakup of his marriage to Diana. As he was aging, his two sons stole the limelight from their father.
Camilla, now known as Queen Consort, has softened some hearts of those who had despised her. She has a sense of humor that some like and has helped Charles smile more in public and helped him to appear more approachable.
Prince Charles Philip Arthur George was born Nov. 14, 1948 in Buckingham Palace. He was just 3 years old when his mother, Queen Elizabeth inherited the throne in 1952. At this time Charles became the Duke of Cornwall and age 20, he became the Prince of Wales.
He was bullied by classmates at his boarding school that prides itself on building character through vigorous outdoor activities and had educated his father, Philip. So, his school years were not the happiest. He studied history at Cambridge University’s Trinity College, where in 1970 he became the first British royal to earn a university degree. He spent seven years in uniform, training as a Royal Air Force pilot before joining the Royal Navy.
Before he went to sea, he did have a relationship with Camilla but she eventually married a cavalry officer. He first met Diana in 1977 when she was 16 years old and he was dating her older sister. The next time Diana saw Charles was in 1980 when she was invited to spend time with Charles and the royal family. They announced their engagement in February of 1981 and were married on July 29, 1981. Prince William, now heir to the throne, was born less than a year later and his brother, Prince Harry, in 1984.
In 1994, Charles admitted to a television interviewer that he had committed adultery. Diana retaliated later in an interview that there were three of us in this marriage, meaning Camilla’s interference.
Charles’ reputation was tarnished by what he had done and those same people celebrated Diana for her style as well as her charity work. Charles went on with his life that meant standing in for the queen in her last years as queen. How he is going to come across to the public as King will be interesting.