Family joy and despair
Jubilee celebration and walkabouts are silver lining to turbulent decade
Our monarch has long been recognised as The People’s Queen, a reputation that has followed her for nearly half a century.
The outpouring of love from Queen Elizabeth’s loyal subjects who enjoyed a day off from work and school to celebrate her 25 years on the throne showed how popular she was.
But before that wonderful day, the sovereign had much to contend with in her public and private life during one of the most dramatic decades of her reign.
The ’70s began well enough for The Queen when she became the first reigning monarch to tour Australia and New Zealand. During that time she originated the royal walkabout in which she met and chatted to the local population as well as dignitaries.
In 1970, the Queen’s eldest son, Charles, met Camilla Shan at a polo match and was smitten. But their relationship wasn’t without problems.
Camilla’s past romantic attachments and the fact that she was a commoner meant that she was considered an unsuitable match for the heir to the throne.
Prince Charles’ godfather Lord Mountbatten is believed to have orchestrated his godson’s move to join the Navy as he wanted Lady Diana to eventually be Charles’ wife.
While the prince was on Naval duties, Camilla was proposed to by Andrew Parker Bowles and the pair married in 1973.
Emperor Hirohito of Japan made a state visit to the United Kingdom in 1971. He described his first experience of England as the happiest time of his life as he felt free of the rigours of court life back home.
In 1972, the National Union of Mineworkers called their first strike over pay for 46 years during a bitterly cold winter. Queen Elizabeth and her sister, Princess Margaret, declared a state of emergency in their roles as Counsellors of State. Many homes were without electricity and schools were forced to close during the union’s six-week action.
The Queen and Prince Philip travelled to Kenya in 1972 where they met the president Jomo Kenyatta.
Princess Anne was the first of the Queen’s children to get married. Her wedding to Army officer Mark Phillips at Westminster Abbey in 1973 was watched on telly by a global audience of 500 million, including those enjoying an extra bank holiday in England.
The biggest public celebration of the decade in England was the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in 1977 with big street parties with more than 4,000 in London alone. The Queen lit a beacon at Windsor Castle to set off a chain of beacons across the country. The monarch made a Royal Progress trip via boat along the Thames, mirroring the famous journeys made by Queen Elizabeth I.
In 1978, the Queen’s sister Princess Margaret and her husband Lord Snowdon made their divorce public. This was the first divorce for an immediate member of the Royal Family since 1950.