QUEEN Elizabeth II
Steadfast and true, the Queen dedicated herself to public service for more than seven decades. Kylie Walters reports on the life of Britain’s longest reigning monarch
On her 21st birthday, Princess Elizabeth pledged that her whole life “whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service”. At the time, she couldn’t have imagined just how long her reign would last or that she would be thrust onto the throne in about five years’ time following the premature death of her father, King George VI, at age 56.
During her record-breaking run of 70 years and 214 days spent as Queen of the United Kingdom, Elizabeth was served by 15 British prime ministers, overseeing everyone from Winston Churchill to Liz Truss, who she swore in as her final public duty just two days before her death.
Throughout the decades, Her Majesty went in and out of public favour – at times she was revered while at others scorned. But through wars, crises and the pandemic, Elizabeth’s reach extended far beyond the realms of the Commonwealth, with her calming presence becoming a global symbol of unity and resilience. “She was your Queen,” French President Emmanuel Macron said following the announcement of her death. “To us, she was the Queen. She will be with all of us forever.” The story of Britain’s longest-serving sovereign is all the more remarkable because she was never expected to wear the crown.
Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, nicknamed Lilibet by her family, was born on April 21, 1926. She was the first of two daughters to Albert, the then-Duke of York, (known as Bertie), and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. Little sister Princess Margaret arrived four years later. As the heir of the spare (her dad was the second son of George V and Queen Mary) Elizabeth should have slipped further down the line of succession as her uncle ascended the throne and had children. Safe in the knowledge they would play only supporting roles as they faded from the spotlight, her close-knit family had a great degree of privacy living in the country and homeschooling the princesses. “It was a life of picnics and paddling around in burns [streams] and watching people shooting,” the Queen’s first cousin Margaret Rhodes once told People magazine.
But her idyllic childhood was shattered in December 1936 when her uncle – the newly minted King Edward VIII – abdicated the throne to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson. “Poor you,” Margaret told her big sister when a footman delivered the news that Elizabeth would one day follow in her father’s footsteps as the monarch.
A stickler for rules and tradition, Elizabeth never rocked the boat, except for ignoring counsel when choosing a husband and instead following her heart. As a 13-year-old
princess, she was left “smitten” by her handsome older third cousin, Prince Philip, when he gave her family a tour around the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, where he was a cadet.
The princess’ governess Marion Crawford later recalled that Elizabeth “couldn’t take her eyes off him”.
Elizabeth and Philip exchanged letters for the next few years, developing a firm friendship until he joined the royal family for Christmas at Windsor Castle, where their relationship blossomed into romance. As a penniless prince in exile from Greece, few thought the naval officer was a good match, but she could not be swayed. Once engaged, the couple were forced to keep their happy news a secret for a year, a condition imposed by the King, reportedly to give her time to back out.
In a nation still recovering from World War II, a royal wedding was just what was needed to lift spirits, and on November 20, 1947, the country rejoiced when Elizabeth and Philip wed at Westminster Abbey in London. With Britain still under austerity measures, Elizabeth collected rationing coupons to buy the silk for her Norman Hartnell gown.
Securing the line of succession, Elizabeth gave birth a year later to Prince Charles, who she called
“too sweet for words”. Princess Anne arrived in 1950. Princes Andrew and Edward followed a decade later.
As a young couple, Elizabeth and Philip spent two years in Malta, where he had his first and only naval command. It would be remembered as an idyllic period, where they felt almost like any other naval officer and his wife. By 1951, a turn in her father’s health meant a return to the UK and Philip was forced to give up his career.
On February 6, 1952, while on tour in Kenya, Philip delivered the news to Elizabeth that her father had died in his sleep at Sandringham. The next day, the 25-year-old Queen arrived in London, dressed in black, to be greeted by then-prime minister Winston Churchill. “She is only a child,” he lamented. Elizabeth likely agreed. “I pray that God will help me to discharge worthily this heavy task that has been laid upon me so early in my life,” she told her subjects.
Her coronation took place on June 2, 1953. Following pressure from her husband, the ceremony made history as the first to be televised. It was an initial step towards modernising the monarchy, from a man who understood that the worst could happen when a royal family fell out of favour. (Philip’s family had made their escape from Greece when he was 18 months old during a period of political instability.)
For her first tour as monarch, Elizabeth chose Australia, visiting 57 cities and towns in 58 days in 1954. It’s been estimated that 7 million people – two-thirds of the population at the time – turned out to see the new Queen. She would ultimately make 16 visits Down Under, with her last in 2011.
The popularity of the royal family hit a high point in 1981 when Charles wed Lady Diana Spencer. By 1992, the marriage had gone up in flames along with Windsor Castle, after a fire caused millions of pounds worth of damage the public didn’t want to pay for. The Queen dubbed it her “annus horribilis”, adding that “1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure”.
The worst was yet to come. As millions left floral tributes outside Kensington Palace following the 1997 death of Princess Diana in a Paris car crash, the Queen remained quietly at Balmoral with grandsons William and Harry. The stoic monarch, now seen as out of touch with the needs of her people, quickly became the target of the grief and anger of the nation. At the urging of then-prime minister Tony Blair, Elizabeth returned to London, allowed the Union Jack to fly at half-mast and broadcast a heartfelt speech. “What I say to you now as your Queen and as a grandmother, I say from my heart,” she said, redeeming
the crown. The mistake of appearing cold and indifferent was one she never repeated.
As a child, Elizabeth said that when she grew up she’d like to marry a farmer so she could live in the country with “lots of horses and dogs”. That desire for a simpler life came true in early 2020 with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Moving to Windsor Castle with Philip, who had retired from public life in 2017, they were joined by just a few servants and the corgis. It allowed the couple to spend their last year together in relative peace, until Philip’s death in April 2021, at 99.
While the couple had dealt with several allegations of infidelity on his part earlier in their marriage, their 73-year union was largely considered to be a happy one. “He has been my strength and stay all these years, and I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim, or we shall ever know,” Elizabeth said on their 50th wedding anniversary.
Struggling with mobility issues, the Queen failed to attend the opening of parliament in May this year and then much of her platinum jubilee celebrations in June. On September 8, courtiers announced she was “under medical supervision” while her family rushed to her bedside. Hours later, her death was confirmed. “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral [Castle, in
Scotland] this afternoon,” an official statement read. She was 96.
As news broke, the crowd of mourners who had gathered outside Buckingham Palace broke into a rendition of “God Save the Queen”. It was followed by “God Save the King”. A new era had begun. Elizabeth leaves behind a legacy of three future kings. Her eldest son, who has now ascended the throne as King Charles III, is followed by Prince William and
Prince George. “As the Queen herself did with such unswerving devotion, I too now solemnly pledge myself, throughout the remaining time God grants me, to uphold the constitutional principles at the heart of our nation,” Charles said in his first speech as King.
For such a prominent public figure, Elizabeth said relatively little and never gave an interview to the media. But through her actions, she spoke volumes. In the days following her death, hundreds of thousands of mourners across the UK turned out to lay flowers in her honour and pay their respects, and more than 4 billion tuned in globally to watch her televised state funeral. Those who mourn the death of Queen Elizabeth can’t help but recall the words she once expressed herself, “Grief is the price you pay for love.”