END OF AN ERA
Moment of sadness as Britain’s ‘rock’ is mourned
KING Charles III, Britain’s new monarch, yesterday described his mother’s death as a “moment of greatest sadness”.
Buckingham Palace said the queen, 96, “died peacefully” at Balmoral Castle in Scotland yesterday afternoon after seven decades on the throne.
In his statement, the king said: “The death of my beloved Mother, Her Majesty The Queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family.
“We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished sovereign and a muchloved mother. I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world.
“During this period of mourning and change, my family and I will be comforted and sustained by our knowledge of the respect and deep affection in which the queen was so widely held.”
British Prime Minister Liz Truss hailed the queen as the “very spirit of Great Britain”.
Speaking outside her Downing Street office and residence, Truss said the queen had been “a personal inspiration to me and to many Britons”.
“Queen Elizabeth II was the rock on which modern Britain was built. Our country has grown and flourished under her reign. Britain is the great country it is today because of her,” she said.
A dignified, dependable figure who reigned longer than any other British monarch, Elizabeth helped steer the institution into the modern world, stripping away court ritual and making it somewhat more open and accessible.
Yet she remained something of an enigma as an individual, never giving an interview and rarely expressing emotion or offering a personal opinion in public – a woman recognised by millions but known by hardly anyone.
“I think she’s brought life, energy and passion to the job, she’s managed to modernise and evolve the monarchy like no other,” her grandson Prince William, who is now the heir to the throne, said in a television documentary in 2012.
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born on April 21, 1926 at 17 Bruton Street in central London.
The young princess never expected to ascend to the throne, it was only after her uncle King Edward VIII abdicated in 1936 because of his love for American divorcee Wallis Simpson that the crown passed to her father, George VI, when she was 10.
She was just 25 when her father died and she became Queen Elizabeth II on February 6, 1952, while on tour in Kenya with her husband Prince Philip.
Winston Churchill was the first of 15 prime ministers who served during her reign.
“In a way I didn’t have an apprenticeship, my father died much too young and so it was all a very sudden kind of taking on, and making the best job you can,” she said in a 1992 documentary.
During her 70 years on the throne Britain underwent dramatic change.
She spent much of the early part of her reign saying farewell to the British Empire amassed under her forebears, from Kenya to Hong Kong.
However, she remained the monarch of 15 countries and head of the Commonwealth.
Her marriage to Philip, a Greek prince she wed aged 21, stayed solid for 73 years until his death in April 2021.
The death in 1997 of Princess Diana, the divorced wife of Elizabeth’s eldest son Charles, inflicted damage on the family’s public prestige.
It was the only occasion during her reign when there was any serious suggestion that the monarchy’s days might be numbered.
While her children and other royals at times blundered in and out of tabloid headlines with marital woes and public indiscretions, Elizabeth’s own behaviour remained above reproach.
“It’s not that she’s never put a foot wrong, it’s more positive than that – she understands the British people,” said Professor Vernon Bogdanor, an expert in British constitutional history.
The main criticism levelled against her was that she was too solemn, distant and aloof.
“What we actually know about the queen is remarkably little,” said Matthew Dennison, a biographer of Elizabeth.
“We know that she enjoys racing. We know that she likes corgis. We know that she prefers blankets and sheets to duvets. But beyond that, we know almost nothing about her.”
With her death, the monarchy’s future is set to face scrutiny like never before. Some commentators say the British public will not feel as strongly towards King Charles, and polls suggest he is far less popular.
The decision of Prince Harry, William’s younger brother, and his American wife Meghan, a former actress, to give up their royal roles has also robbed the institution of two of its most popular global figures, while their accusations of racism against the institution linger.
The US sex abuse civil lawsuit against second son Prince Andrew, which he paid to settle, has also hurt the family’s reputation.
Andrew did not admit any wrongdoing in the case and was not accused of criminal wrongdoing.
The future success of the monarchy could depend on how much Britons admire the new person on the throne.