Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving monarch in British history, has died at the age of xx. Few people alive today can even remember a time when she wasn’t on the throne. From Harry S.Truman to Barack Obama, she saw 12 U.S. presidents come and go during her reign.
Always dignified and stoic, the Queen epitomized her country’s World War II slogan: “Keep calm and carry on.”
She was driven by a sense of duty and continued to perform dozens of official engagements each year, well past her 90th birthday.
A stickler for detail, the Queen was permanently aware that she was the figurehead of Britain and the Commonwealth countries over which she presided, and could never afford to have an “off” day.
“I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong,” she pledged in a speech made on her 21st birthday.
Yet, Elizabeth wasn’t even destined to be Queen when she was born Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary on April 21, 1926, in London, to Prince Albert, Duke of York (later to become King George VI), and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon.
Her father was the second son of King George V and Queen Mary Elizabeth and, as such, was not expected to become sovereign. So, Lilibet, as she was known, got to enjoy her first decade with younger sister Margaret, and without the pressures of being the heir apparent.
But that all changed with the abdication crisis of 1936 when her uncle, King Edward VIII gave up the throne to spend his life with American divorcée Wallis Simpson.
With the outbreak of World War II, Elizabeth and Margaret were sent to live in Windsor Castle, 20 miles west of London, to keep them away from German bombing raids of the capital.
But still, she played a part in the war effort, even as a teenage princess. As a 14-year-old, she made radio broadcasts aimed at reassuring Britain’s children against the Nazi threat.
“In the end,” she declared. “All will be well; for God will care for us and give us victory and peace.”
During the final few months of the war, once she turned 18, Elizabeth even trained to be a mechanic, alongside some of her subjects, as part of the Auxiliary Territorial Service.
Famously, as conflict ended in Europe on May 8, 1945, Elizabeth and Margaret were allowed out of Buckingham Palace to party anonymously with the hundreds of thousands of citizens celebrating in the streets of London.
“I remember lines of unknown people linking arms and walking down Whitehall, all of us just swept along on a tide of happiness and relief,” she said in an interview with the BBC in 1985.
Two years later, the young princess was married to Philip Mountbatten, the son of Prince Andrew of Greece. She had been smitten with him for years, but her father wasn’t keen on their union. He regarded the boisterous and outspoken Philip as too rough around the edges for his genteel daughter.
Within months, they began a family had their first child, Charles, followed by Anne, Andrew and Edward over the next 16 years.
Elizabeth and Philip were in Kenya when her father, George VI died on February 6, 1952. Aged just 56, he had a fatal blood clot to the heart, but was also suffering from lung cancer. Heartbroken Elizabeth returned to England become Queen.
During her first year as Queen, the young monarch traveled more than 40,000 miles and visited 12 countries between November 1953 and May 1954. In all, she journeyed to 128 countries in 265 overseas visits during her lifetme.
Tragedy struck in 1979 when Lord Mountbatten, her husband’s uncle, died when Irish Republican Army terrorists bombed the fishing boat he was on off the cost of Ireland. Mountbatten and three others, including one of his grandsons, were killed.
Three years later, the Queen came face-to-face with an intruder inside her bedroom at Buckingham Palace. Jobless father-of-four Michael Fagan, 31, scaled the walls surrounding the Palace then clambered up a drainpipe into the Queen’s private apartment. Once inside, he spent several moments talking to the monarch before she raised an alarm. Fagan was never charged and, seemingly, meant no harm to the Queen.
The love lives of her children caused Elizabeth much heartache. Her three eldest all went through divorces.
When Charles, then 32, married 19-year-old Lady Diana Spencer in 1981, rumors surfaced that he’d been pressured by his family into tying the knot. But soon they had sons William and Harry. And in 1985, Andrew married Sarah Ferguson, who was awarded the title the Duchess of York.
Soon they were making scandalous headlines, which proved to be a nightmare for the fiercely private Queen.
The Queen described 1992 as her “annus horribilis” (horrible year), and perhaps with some justification. During that 12 month period, Charles and Diana separated as stories swirled about her alleged cheating and his affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles. Princess Anne got divorced from her husband Capt. Mark Phillips, while Andrew and Sarah Ferguson also called time on their marriage. As if to further rub salt into her wounds, the Queen’s favorite residence, Windsor Castle, was extensively damaged by fire.
In 1997, Elizabeth faced intense media scrutiny herself following the death of Princess Diana in a Paris car crash. Despite mounting pressure from the public for her to make a statement, the Queen stayed behind closed doors for days before paying tribute to her former daughter-in-law.
Stories circulated that she did not want to give Diana a royal funeral, which only fueled public resentment against the monarch.
After the start of the 21st century, Elizabeth experienced two great losses within a matter of weeks.
Her beloved sister Margaret, who had something of a party-animal reputation, died in February 2002 after suffering a stroke. Then the Queen’s mother, known affectionately as the Queen Mum, died on March 30 at the age of 101.
Throughout it all, her husband Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, was by her side, for the large part quietly playing the role of consort. But occasionally he would cause unwanted headlines by putting his foot in it with an inappropriate comment, once famously referring to Chinese people as “slitty-eyed.”
Despite the grandeur of her palaces and castles (she lived in four properties belonging to the Crown Estate, and owned four others privately), Her Majesty had a somewhat austere existence behind closed doors, a throwback to the post-war era in which she’d grown up.
The family silver and fine China were kept largely for state dinners and entertaining guests. In day-to-day life, the Queen’s meals were often served in plastic containers.
And despite having masterpieces by the likes of Canaletto and Gainsborough hanging from her walls, the Audience Room at Buckingham Palace where she would have cozy meetings with world leaders, was heated by a $40 portable heater.
Indeed, her estimated personal fortune was only around $500 million, despite the priceless jewels and antiquities that went with the job.
On September 9, 2015, she surpassed her great-great grandmother Queen Victoria as Britain’s longest ruling monarch, who reigned for 63 years.
In her later years, the Queen became increasingly aware of her legacy, determined to ensure that she left the House of Windsor in as strong a position as possible for generations to come. She paid particular close attention to the Duchess of Cambridge, anxious to make sure that she got all the support and preparation she needed, especially after what happened with Princess Diana.
Not one for the spotlight, when she wasn’t on duty, Elizabeth liked reading mysteries, working on crossword puzzles and watching soaps on television. A horse enthusiastic, she would often go for a ride around the grounds of one of her country homes, and enjoyed attending race meetings. And, of course, she was a dog lover, owning some 30 corgis during her life, as many as five at a time.
Her cousin Margaret Rhodes, who knew Elizabeth since childhood, said that the Queen was a smple country girl at heart. She said that her presence gave people “a sense of safety,” despite conflict, political upheaval and everything else going on in the world.
Speaking as Elizabeth celebrated her 90th birthday, Margaret said: “I think that she herself… does all the things that she’s proud to do like putting on a crown and opening Parliament,” said Rhodes. “But at the same time she likes to take her dogs for a walk, talks to the ponies, and pull out weeds she sees. She’s a mixture.”
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