Queen Elizabeth II Death Live Updates: One day State Mourning to be held in India
Queen Elizabeth II Death Live Updates: One day State Mourning to be held in India
15:15 (IST)
Queen Elizabeth II Death: Live Updates
Will the Kohinoor go to Camilla? Examining the murky history and fate of world’s most famous diamond
The death of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday has led to much grief and outpouring on Twitter, but has also spurred some calls for the return of the famed Kohinoor diamond to India.
The 105-carat Kohinoor is one of 2,800 precious jewels set in the priceless platinum and diamond crown that originally belonged to the Queen Mother, wife of George VI and mother of Elizabeth II.
15:13 (IST)
Queen Elizabeth II Death: Live Updates
A towering figure among European monarchs and a great inspiration
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, whose 50-year reign is now Europe's longest, called Britain's late Queen Elizabeth II a towering figure among European monarchs and a great inspiration to us all.
“We shall miss her terribly,” Margrethe said in a statement released by the Danish royal household. Elizabeth died Thursday at 96 after 70 years on the British throne.
In neighbouring Sweden, King Carl XVI Gustaf said the British monarch had an outstanding devotion and sense of duty and Norway's King Harald said Elizabeth devotedly accompanied the British people through joys and sorrows, in good times and bad times.
Finland's President Sauli Niinisto said Elizabeth witnessed and shaped history like few others. Her sense of duty and devotion to service are an example to us all.
AP
15:12 (IST)
Queen Elizabeth II Death: Live Updates
Moment of enormous change for Britain and the world
The head of the Anglican church says the death of Queen Elizabeth II is a moment of enormous change for Britain and the world.
The queen who was monarch and supreme governor of the Church of England -- died Thursday at 96 after 70 years on the throne.
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby says that for many people, a part of our lives we've taken for granted as being permanent is no longer there.
He says that with her death there is an enormous shift in the world around us, in how we see it and how we understand ourselves.
AP
15:10 (IST)
Queen Elizabeth II Death: Live Updates
Queen Elizabeth will be remembered for her dignity, commitment: TN CM
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin condoled the demise of Queen Elizabeth II and said on Friday that she will be long remembered for her dignity, decency in public life and her unwavering commitment.
He said he was deeply pained over the demise of Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch of the United Kingdom.
"After a reign spanning seven decades, 15 Prime Ministers and several major turning points in modern history, the second Elizabethan era has come to an end," the Chief Minister said in his tweet.
Posting her photograph, he said "Queen Elizabeth II will be long remembered for her dignity, decency in public life and her unwavering commitment."
He conveyed his condolences to the Royal Family, the people of the UK and everyone around the world mourning the demise of one of the greatest monarchs of all time.
PTI
14:30 (IST)
Queen Elizabeth II Death: Live Updates
Crowning of King Charles: How Britain will welcome its new monarch
While Charles automatically became king the moment his mother Queen Elizabeth II died; the coronation will not come until later as this deeply symbolic ceremony takes time to organise.
The coronation of a British sovereign is steeped in rituals dating back centuries.
Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953 came more than a year after she became queen upon the death of her father George VI.
13:55 (IST)
Queen Elizabeth II Death: Live Updates
As a mark of respect to Queen Elizabeth II, one day State Mourning to be held in India
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland passed away on 8 September 2022. As a mark of respect to the departed dignitary, the Government of India has decided that there will be one day State Mourning on 11 September throughout India.
13:20 (IST)
Queen Elizabeth II Death: Live Updates
Balmoral Castle: The ‘happy place’ where Queen Elizabeth breathed her last
Queen Elizabeth II had many houses to her name, but the fact that she “passed away peacefully” at the age of 96 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland is fitting.
Balmoral is one of the six residences the Queen called home during her seven-decade reign and this structure is replete with royal history, architectural significance and political heft.
The castle in the Highlands has often been called as the place where the Queen was “most happy” as the structure spread across 50,000 acres offered her and the royal family a life outside the public eye.
12:41 (IST)
Queen Elizabeth II Death: Live Updates
Britain’s national anthem to use ‘King’ instead of ‘Queen’ as Charles takes the throne
Numerous small changes to British daily life are expected in the coming weeks to welcome the new monarch — King Charles III, who ascended to the throne after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
12:35 (IST)
Queen Elizabeth II Death: Live Updates
No passport, two birthdays: The unusual perks of being king
The UK’s new king will travel without a passport and drive without a licence, own all the mute swans in England and may continue a tradition of celebrating his birthday twice a year.
12:24 (IST)
Queen Elizabeth II Death: Live Updates
Queen Elizabeth II passes away: Calls grow for return of Crown Jewels to India, Africa
While condolences have kept pouring in for the monarch’s family, the news has also led to growing calls for return of the Queen’s Crown Jewels. The royal jewels, which include India’s famed Kohinoor diamond and the Great Star of Africa, have long been seen as examples of Britain’s colonial domination.
12:14 (IST)
Queen Elizabeth II Death: Live Updates
Charles is now king after Queen Elizabeth II’s death: The British royal family’s line of succession explained
It’s the end of an era. Queen Elizabeth II died on 8 September in Balmoral, her retreat in the Scottish Highland. She was 96. The Queen served as the United Kingdom’s monarch for 70 years, making her the second-longest serving sovereign in history.
Announcing the death on Thursday, Buckingham Palace said, “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow.”
11:55 (IST)
Queen Elizabeth II Death: Live Updates
Queen Elizabeth II death: Kohinoor crown will go to Camilla, states report
The diamond and platinum crown that will be worn by Queen Consort Camilla is set with 2,800 diamonds, several of them from Queen Victoria’s Regal Circlet.
11:50 (IST)
Queen Elizabeth II Death: Live Updates
Queen of Hearts: The life and times of Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II carried the duties of a queen with grace and honour. Serving as the longest monarch of the British Empire, she was one of a kind.
11:39 (IST)
Queen Elizabeth II Death: Live Updates
Mumbai's dabbawalas mourn Queen Elizabeth's demise, recall breakfast with her
Mumbai’s famed dabbawalas on Friday said they were grieving with the royal family and people all over the world after the demise of Queen Elizabeth.
The dabbawalas operate a globally renowned lunchbox delivery and return system that supplies hot lunches from homes and restaurants to people at work.
“On behalf of all the dabbawalas of Mumbai, I pay my heartfelt condolences to the royal family, said Raghunath Medge, an office bearer of the Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Association.
Dabbawalas were unknown to the world but became famous due to Queen Elizabeth and the royal family, he said.
11:26 (IST)
Queen Elizabeth II Death: Live Updates
Kenya's Kenyatta says queen was 'a towering icon of selfless service'
Queen Elizabeth was "a towering icon of selfless service", Kenya's outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta said Friday, in a statement expressing his "deep sense of loss" at her passing.
"Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was a towering icon of selfless service to humanity and a key figurehead of not only the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations where Kenya is a distinguished member but the entire world," he said.
AFP
11:12 (IST)
Queen Elizabeth II Death: Live Updates
Foreign affairs minister for Myanmar’s National Unity Government posted her condolences on Twitter
The foreign affairs minister for Myanmar’s National Unity Government, an underground parallel government spearheading the fight for democracy in Myanmar against its military-led government, posted her condolences on Twitter.
“I’m deeply saddened by the news of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. On behalf of @NUGMyanmar and the people of Myanmar, I extend our deepest sympathies to the Royal Family and the people of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth,” wrote Zin Mar Aung.
Myanmar, then called Burma, gained independence from British colonial rule in 1948.
AP
I’m deeply saddened by the news of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. On behalf of @NUGMyanmar and the people of Myanmar, I extend our deepest sympathies to the Royal Family and the people of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.— Zin Mar Aung (@ZinMarAungNUG) September 8, 2022
11:06 (IST)
Queen Elizabeth II Death: Live Updates
Three times Queen Elizabeth II survived assassination and escaped unharmed
Queen Elizabeth II, the UK’s longest-serving monarch, died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland after reigning for 70 years. She was 96.
Her death brings to an end the longest reign in the history of the United Kingdom, and one of the longest reigns by any head of state.
But being such a popular public figure has its downsides too – she escaped three assassination bids on her from people with sinister motives.
10:57 (IST)
Queen Elizabeth II Death: Live Updates
South Korea’s Yoon Suk Yeol tweeted his condolences on the death of Queen Elizabeth II
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol tweeted his condolences on the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
“She had a strong belief in the cause of human freedom and left great legacies of dignity,” he said. He wrote that her kind heart and good deeds will remain in people's memories.
AP
Deepest condolences to the people of the United Kingdom for the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. She had a strong belief in the cause of human freedom and left great legacies of dignity. Her kind heart and good deed will remain in our memories.— 윤석열 Yoon Suk Yeol (@President_KR) September 9, 2022
10:50 (IST)
Queen Elizabeth II Death: Live Updates
King Charles and Camilla to meet Liz Truss and Earl Marshal
King Charles and Camilla, now the queen consort, stayed at Balmoral on Thursday night but will travel to London on Friday where the new king will have an audience with the new prime minister, Liz Truss.
The King is likely to meet the Earl Marshal (the Duke of Norfolk) who is in charge of the accession and the Queen’s funeral, to approve the carefully choreographed schedule for the coming days.
10:45 (IST)
Queen Elizabeth II Death: Live Updates
Queen Elizabeth's death 'great loss' for the world: Japan PM
The death of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II is a "great loss" for the entire world, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday, expressing his "deep sorrow".
"The death of the queen, who led Britain through turbulent times in the world, is a great loss not only for the British people but also the international community," he told reporters.
Kishida praised the queen's "extremely important role in world peace and stability", saying she "contributed greatly to the strengthening of Japan-UK relations".
He offered the government's condolences, and said news of her death had left him "feeling deep sorrow".
Flags in Japan will be flown at half-mast in respect for the late monarch, chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said.
AFP
10:33 (IST)
Queen Elizabeth II Death: Live Updates
Queen Elizabeth's death marks the beginning of Charles's reign
The official website of the royal family has been updated following the death of the Queen, with Charles now listed as His Majesty The King.
Charles automatically succeeded his mother as the nation’s monarch upon her passing, but he will not be formally proclaimed King until an accession council is held at St James’s Palace in London on Saturday.
However royal.uk already lists Charles as King, with his wife Camilla officially listed as queen consort.
The website’s home page has also been updated with a list of feature articles dedicated to the Queen’s life and reign.
10:31 (IST)
Queen Elizabeth II Death: Live Updates
Union Jack flown at half-mast
The Union Jack flag at the British High Commission in Delhi flown at half-mast following the demise of Queen Elizabeth II.
The Union Jack flag at the British High Commission in Delhi flown at half-mast following the demise of Queen Elizabeth II pic.twitter.com/fiT7ZKwx8D— ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2022
10:21 (IST)
Queen Elizabeth II Death: Live Updates
Royal drama: The biggest scandals during Queen Elizabeth II's reign
Queen Elizabeth II passed away at the age of 96 at Balmoral in Scotland on 8 September, plunging Britain into deep mourning.
Before her death, the United Kingdom’s longest-serving monarch was cherished for a stoic calm that exemplified her nation’s wartime slogan, “Keep calm and carry on.”
However, it’s not not been all rainbows and sunshine for Queen Elizabeth II. Controversies involving Prince Charles, Meghan Markle and more brought extra attention during the Queen’s record-long monarchy, which lasted from 1952 until her death on Thursday at age 96.
10:15 (IST)
Queen Elizabeth II Death: Live Updates
William: popular prince becomes heir to the throne
Heir to the throne now that his father has become king, Prince William has stepped up to royal duties after the exit of his brother, Harry, and uncle, Andrew.
William has grown up with a strong sense of his future responsibilities, with Charles's reign inevitably set to be shorter than that of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
And as the new king ages William will have a much more visible public profile, preparing for his later role as king, said Robert Hazell, professor of government and the constitution at University College London.
"William will have to undertake more of the load, so I have no doubt that there will be an increasing share of royal duty that William will assume," he told AFP.
William, 40, has so far managed to carve a life largely out of the spotlight, taking on military and civilian jobs and as a hands-on father of three with his wife, Catherine, proving popular with the public.
They are known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and now after the queen's death, also as the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall.
AFP
10:13 (IST)
Queen Elizabeth II Death: Live Updates
China's Xi offers 'sincere sympathies' to Britain after queen's death
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday offered "sincere sympathies to the British government and people" following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
"Xi Jinping, representing the Chinese government and the Chinese people, as well as in his own name, expresses deep condolences," a statement said, adding: "Her passing is a great loss to the British people."
AFP
10:05 (IST)
Queen Elizabeth II Death: Live Updates
Home-schooled and a great sense of humour: 10 things to know about Queen Elizabeth II's life
Elizabeth, who marked 70 years on the throne this year, is the oldest and longest-reigning monarch in British history. In September 2015, she surpassed her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria, who reigned for 63 years and seven months.
10:00 (IST)
Queen Elizabeth II Death: Live Updates
Queen Elizabeth II had a special phone for only 2 people? Find out more
According to Express UK, the Queen had a phone with a “highly encrypted anti-hacking mechanism”. The special mechanism in the phone, a Samsung model, was set up by the MI6 to prevent hackers from accessing any details of her personal conversations.
09:58 (IST)
Queen Elizabeth II Death: Live Updates
Indian personalities who met Britain's longest reigning monarch Queen Elizabeth II
Taking Britain from the age of steam to the era of smartphones, the world’s longest-serving monarch, Queen Elizabeth II died peacefully on the afternoon of 8 September at her estate in Balmoral, Scotland. After ascending the throne in 1952, the Queen witnessed the largely peaceful breakup of an empire that once spanned the globe. In 2015, Elizabeth became the longest-serving monarch, after she surpassed the record of Queen Victoria, who reigned from 1837 to 1901.
09:55 (IST)
Queen Elizabeth II Death: Live Updates
Queen Elizabeth is dead: Here’s what happens for the next 10 days until her funeral
After being on the throne for 70 years, the longest for a British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II passed away peacefully at the age of 96 at Balmoral in Scotland.
Sources were quoted as telling the Daily Mail that her eldest children, Prince Charles and Princess Anne, who were already in Scotland at the time of the Queen’s sudden turn for the worse, were able to make it in time to see her before her passing.
Her death sparked an immediate and huge outpouring of emotion, with thousands of heartbroken mourners gathering outside the gates of Buckingham Palace and other royal buildings.
With the demise of Queen Elizabeth, a number of detailed protocols have been put in place, including Operation Unicorn — the plan’s name if she died in Scotland.
09:49 (IST)
Queen Elizabeth II Death: Live Updates
Former US presidents issue statements soon after Elizabeth's death
Donald Trump said on his social media platform that Elizabeth “will always be remembered for her faithfulness to her country and her unwavering devotion to her fellow countrymen and women.”
Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, said she made “the role of Queen her own — with a reign defined by grace, elegance, and a tireless work ethic, defying the odds and expectations placed on women of her generation.”
He said she welcomed him and his wife — the first Black American president and first lady — to the world stage “with open arms and extraordinary generosity" and said they were struck by her ability to put people at ease.
George W. Bush called her “a woman of great intellect, charm, and wit.”
“Spending time at Buckingham Palace, and having tea with Her Majesty – and her Corgis – is among our fondest memories of the presidency,” he said in a statement.
Bill Clinton said he and his wife, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, joined people around the world “in giving thanks for her extraordinary life.”
“Throughout her remarkable 70-year reign, she led Britain through great transformations with unfailing grace, dignity, and genuine care for the welfare of all its people. In sunshine or storm, she was a source of stability, serenity, and strength,” he said in a statement on Twitter.
Jimmy Carter said in a statement that Elizabeth's “dignity, graciousness and sense of duty have been an inspiration and we join the millions around the world in mourning a remarkable leader."
AP
09:43 (IST)
Queen Elizabeth II Death: Live Updates
King Charles III to address the nation today
Britain's new leader King Charles III is scheduled to address Britain on Friday evening.
Charles and his wife, the Queen Consort Camilla, stayed at the Balmoral Castle, where the Queen breathed her last, on Thursday, but will travel to London on Friday. He will meet with Prime Minister Liz Truss there, before making a televised address to Britain.
09:36 (IST)
Queen Elizabeth II Death: Live Updates
France mourns the death of Queen Elizabeth
France, Britain’s historic rival and contemporary ally, honored Elizabeth with flags at the presidential palace and public buildings ordered lowered to half-staff Friday.
President Emmanuel Macron hailed her “immutable moral authority” and her intimate knowledge of French.
He said no other foreign sovereign had visited the presidential palace more often than Elizabeth, who knew all eight presidents of contemporary France.
“The woman who stood alongside the giants of the 20th century on the path of history has left to join them,” Macron said in a statement.
AP
09:35 (IST)
Queen Elizabeth II Death: Live Updates
‘Solid and valuable legacy for future generations’
Royalty across Europe mourned Elizabeth's death.
Her life “set an example for all of us and will remain as a solid and valuable legacy for future generations,” Spanish King Felipe VI said in a telegram sent to her eldest son, now known as King Charles III.
“We will miss Her dearly,” he wrote, speaking for himself and his wife.
King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden called her “a constant presence, not only in British society but internationally."
In Norway, King Harald said that for “nearly a century, Her Majesty devoted her life to the service of the Commonwealth, following the British people through good days and bad, in times of happiness and sorrow."
AP
09:32 (IST)
Queen Elizabeth II Death: Live Updates
British newspapers covered the Queen's death
British newspapers rushed to print special editions, carrying regal photographs of the Queen as front covers marking the death of the country's longest-serving monarch.
The Guardian's front cover was a portrait of the Queen from her coronation in 1953.
The Guardian front page, Friday 9 September 2022; Queen Elizabeth II 1926-2022 pic.twitter.com/5ROqSmVqE1— The Guardian (@guardian) September 8, 2022
09:21 (IST)
Queen Elizabeth II Death: Live Updates
Queen Elizabeth II cherished 'warmth and hospitality' of India visits
Queen Elizabeth II, who died aged 96 on Thursday, was the first British monarch to accede to the throne after India’s Independence from colonial rule in 1952 and cherished the “warmth and hospitality” she received during her three State Visits to the country over the course of her reign in 1961, 1983 and 1997.
“The warmth and hospitality of the Indian people, and the richness and diversity of India itself have been an inspiration to all of us,” she said in one of her addresses.
09:18 (IST)
Queen Elizabeth II Death: Live Updates
King Charles III makes first statement as monarch after death of his mother
King Charles has made a statement about the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth.
He 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 much-loved mother.”
A statement from His Majesty The King: pic.twitter.com/AnBiyZCher— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) September 8, 2022
Queen Elizabeth II Death Live Updates: On her 21st birthday in 1947, Princess Elizabeth went on the radio and made a promise to Britain and its Commonwealth nations: She pledged that “my whole life, whether it be short or long, will be devoted to your service.”
Over her very long life, Queen Elizabeth II fulfilled that vow.
Through 15 prime ministers, from Winston Churchill to Liz Truss. Through Britain’s postwar deprivations, crippling labor unrest and Brexit. Through the messy divorces, embarrassments and scandals of her family. She endured through it all — a reassuring anchor in a fast-changing world.
The longest-reigning monarch that Britain has ever known, Elizabeth died Thursday at 96 at Balmoral Castle, her beloved summer home in Scotland, after having steadied and modernized the royal institution through seven decades of huge social change.
Truss pronounced the country “devastated” and called Elizabeth “the rock on which modern Britain was built.”
Her passing ends an era, the modern Elizabethan age. Her 73-year-old son, Charles, automatically became king upon her death. He will be known as King Charles III, although his coronation might not take place for months.
Through countless public events in her 70 years as monarch, Elizabeth likely met more people than anyone in history. Her image — on stamps, coins and bank notes — was among the most reproduced in the world.
But her inner life and opinions remained mostly an enigma. The public saw only glimpses of her personality: her joy watching horse racing at Royal Ascot or being with her beloved Welsh corgi dogs.
Yet Elizabeth had an intuitive bond with many of her subjects that seemed to strengthen over time, keeping a sense of perspective that served her well in most instances, said royal historian Robert Lacey.
“A lot of it comes from her modesty, the fact that she’s very conscious that she’s not important, that she’s there to do a job, that it’s the institution that matters,” he said.
The impact of her loss will be huge and unpredictable, both for the nation and for the monarchy, an institution whose relevance in the 21st century has often been called into question.
World leaders paid tribute to her long reign. US President Joe Biden called her a “stateswoman of unmatched dignity and constancy.”
She strongly felt the burden of her role as queen, though she was not destined for the crown from birth.
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born in London on 21 April, 1926, the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York. Her father’s elder brother, Prince Edward, was first in line for the throne, to be followed by any children he had.
But in 1936, when she was 10, King Edward VIII abdicated to marry twice-divorced American Wallis Simpson, and Elizabeth’s father became King George VI.
Her younger sister, Princess Margaret, recalled asking Elizabeth whether this meant that she would one day be queen. “Yes, I suppose it does,” Margaret quoted Elizabeth as saying. “She didn’t mention it again.”
Like many of her generation, Elizabeth was shaped by World War II.
She was barely in her teens when Britain went to war with Germany in 1939. While the king and queen stayed at Buckingham Palace during the Blitz and toured the bombed-out neighborhoods of London, Elizabeth and Margaret stayed for most of the war at Windsor Castle, west of the capital. Even there, 300 bombs fell in an adjacent park, and the princesses spent many nights in an underground shelter.
Her first public broadcast, made in 1940 when she was 14, was a wartime message to children evacuated to the countryside or overseas.
“We children at home are full of cheerfulness and courage,” she said with a blend of stoicism and hope that would echo throughout her reign. “We are trying to do all we can to help out gallant soldiers, sailors and airmen. And we are trying, too, to bear our own share of the danger and sadness of war. We know, every one of us, that in the end all will be well.”
In 1945, after months of urging her parents to let her do something for the war effort, the heir to the throne became Second Subaltern Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. She enthusiastically learned how to drive and service heavy vehicles.
On the night the war ended in Europe, 8 May, 1945, she and Margaret managed to mingle, unrecognized, with celebrating crowds in London — “swept along on a tide of happiness and relief,” as she told the BBC decades later. She described it as “one of the most memorable nights of my life.”
Two years later, at Westminster Abbey in November 1947, she married Royal Navy officer Philip Mountbatten, a prince of Greece and Denmark whom she had first met in 1939 when she was 13 and he 18. Postwar Britain was experiencing austerity and rationing, and so street decorations were limited, and no public holiday was declared. But the bride was allowed 100 extra ration coupons for her trousseau.
The marriage lasted more than 73 years, until Philip’s death last year at age 99.
The first of their four children, Prince Charles, was born on 14 November, 1948. He was followed by Princess Anne on 15 August, 1950, Prince Andrew on 19 February, 1960, and Prince Edward on 10 March, 1964. Besides them, the queen is survived by eight grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.
Elizabeth and Philip lived for a time in Malta, where he was stationed and Elizabeth enjoyed an almost-normal life as a navy wife.
Then in February 1952, George VI died in his sleep at age 56 after years of ill health. Elizabeth, on a visit to Kenya, was told she was now queen.
“In a way, I didn’t have an apprenticeship,” Elizabeth told a BBC documentary in 1992 that gave a rare view into her emotions. “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.”
Her coronation took place more than a year later at Westminster Abbey, a grand spectacle viewed by millions through the new medium of television.
Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s first reaction to the king’s death was to complain that the new queen was “only a child,” but he was won over within days and became an ardent admirer.
“All the film people in the world, if they had scoured the globe, could not have found anyone so suited to the part,” Churchill’s biographer, Lord Moran, reported the prime minister gushing about the young monarch.
In Britain’s constitutional monarchy, the queen is head of state but has little direct power; in her official actions, she does what the government orders. However, she was not without influence.
Officially the head of the Church of England, she once reportedly commented that there was nothing she could do legally to block the appointment of a bishop, “but I can always say that I should like more information. That is an indication that the prime minister will not miss.”
The extent of the monarch’s political influence sparked occasional speculation, but not much criticism. The views of Charles, who has expressed strong opinions on everything from architecture to the environment, might prove more contentious.
The queen was obliged to meet weekly with the prime minister, and they generally found her well-informed, inquisitive and up to date. The one possible exception was Margaret Thatcher, with whom her relations were said to be cool, if not frosty, though neither ever commented.
The queen’s views in those private meetings became a subject of intense speculation and fertile grounds for dramatists like Peter Morgan, author of the play “The Audience” and hit TV series “The Crown.” Those semi-fictionalized accounts were the product of an era of declining deference and rising celebrity, when the royal troubles became public property.
And there were plenty of troubles in the royal family, an institution known within the palace as “The Firm.” In Elizabeth’s first years on the throne, Princess Margaret provoked a national controversy through her romance with a divorced man.
In what the queen called the “annus horribilis” of 1992, her daughter, Princess Anne, got divorced, Prince Charles and Princess Diana separated, and so did Prince Andrew and his wife, Sarah. That was also the year Windsor Castle, a residence she far preferred to Buckingham Palace, was seriously damaged by fire.
The public split of Charles and Diana — “There were three of us in that marriage,” Diana said of her husband’s relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles — was followed by the shock of Diana’s death in a Paris car crash in 1997. For once, the queen appeared out of step with her people. Amid unprecedented national mourning, Elizabeth’s failure to make a public show of grief appeared to many to be unfeeling. After several days, she made a televised address to the nation.
The dent in her popularity was brief. She was by now a sort of national grandmother, with a stern gaze, a kind smile and an inexhaustible repertoire of brightly colored outfits with matching hats.
She took the monarchy from the black-and-white era to the digital age and was a cautious modernizer: She ended the presentation of debutantes at court and instituted garden parties with a cross section of her subjects; her children were sent to school, rather than being privately tutored as she was; she was the first monarch to give the annual royal Christmas speech on television, and the first to send an email and post a tweet.
Financial pressures led to staff reductions, cutbacks in repairs and maintenance at some of her palaces, and the removal of the royal yacht from active service. In the 1990s, she voluntarily but prudently agreed to pay taxes, and her dignity survived the necessity of topping up her income by opening a souvenir shop at Buckingham Palace.
Despite being one of the world’s wealthiest people, Elizabeth had a reputation for frugality and common sense. She was known as a monarch who took care to turn off lights in empty rooms, a country woman who didn’t flinch from strangling pheasants.
A newspaper reporter who went undercover to work as a palace footman reinforced that down-to-earth image, taking photos of the royal Tupperware on the breakfast table and a rubber duck in the bath.
“Dogs and horses, courtesy, kindliness and community service, count with her,” biographer Giles Brandreth wrote.
Her sangfroid was not dented when a young man aimed a pistol at her and fired six blanks as she rode by on a horse in 1981, nor when she discovered an intruder sitting on her bed in Buckingham Palace in 1982.
The image of the queen as an exemplar of ordinary British decency was satirized by the magazine Private Eye, which called her Brenda. Anti-monarchists dubbed her “Mrs. Windsor.” But the republican cause gained limited traction.
On her Golden Jubilee in 2002, she said the country could “look back with measured pride on the history of the last 50 years.”
“It has been a pretty remarkable 50 years by any standards,” she said in a speech. “There have been ups and downs, but anyone who can remember what things were like after those six long years of war appreciates what immense changes have been achieved since then.”
A reassuring presence at home, she was also an emblem of Britain abroad — a form of soft power, consistently respected whatever the vagaries of the country’s political leaders on the world stage. It felt only fitting that she attended the opening of the 2012 London Olympics alongside another icon, James Bond, as portrayed by Daniel Craig. Through some movie magic, she appeared to parachute into the Olympic Stadium.
Despite Britain’s complex and often fraught ties with its former colonies, Elizabeth was widely respected and remained head of state of more than a dozen countries, from Canada to Tuvalu. She headed the 54-nation Commonwealth, built around the UK and its former British colonies.
In 2015, she overtook Queen Victoria, her great-great-grandmother, as the longest-serving monarch in British history, and this year she became the second longest-reigning monarch in world history, behind 17th century French King Louis XIV, who took the throne at age 4.
She kept working well into her 10th decade, though Prince Charles and his elder son, Prince William, took over most of the visits, ribbon-cuttings and investitures that form the bulk of royal duties. The loss of Philip was a heavy blow, as she poignantly sat alone at his funeral in the chapel at Windsor Castle.
The family troubles kept coming. Her son, Prince Andrew, was entangled in the sordid tale of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, an American businessman who had been a friend. Andrew denies accusations that he had sex with one of the women who said she was trafficked by Epstein.
The queen’s grandson, Prince Harry, walked away from Britain and his royal duties after marrying American actress Meghan Markle in 2018. He alleged in an interview that some in the family -– but pointedly not the queen -– had been less than welcoming to his wife.
She enjoyed robust health well into her 90s, though frailty eventually caught up with her. In October, she spent a night in a London hospital for tests, and was later said by the palace to be experiencing “episodic mobility issues.”
She kept up virtual meetings with diplomats and politicians from Windsor Castle, but public duties grew rarer, though she made several appearances as the UK celebrated her Platinum Jubilee in June.
Pragmatic to the end, she began to prepare the country for the transition to come. She let it be known that she wanted Charles’ wife Camilla to be known as “Queen Consort” when her son became king. It removed a question mark over the future role of the woman some blamed for the breakup of Charles’ marriage to Princess Diana in the 1990s.
In May, she asked Charles to stand in for her and read the Queen’s Speech at the State Opening of Parliament, one of the monarch’s most central constitutional duties.
But she remained firmly in control of the monarchy and at the center of national life as Britain marked her Platinum Jubilee with parties and pageants. Just 48 hours before her death, she presided at a ceremony at Balmoral Castle to appoint Truss as the 15th prime minister of her reign.
Seven decades after World War II, Elizabeth was again at the center of the national mood amid the uncertainty and loss of COVID-19 — a disease she came through herself in February.
In April 2020 — with the country in lockdown and Prime Minister Boris Johnson hospitalized with the virus — she made a rare video address, urging people to stick together.
She summoned the spirit of World War II, that vital time in her life, and the nation’s, by echoing Vera Lynn’s wartime anthem “We’ll Meet Again.”
“We should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return. We will be with our friends again. We will be with our families again. We will meet again,” she said.
At Queen Square in London’s Bloomsbury neighborhood stands an urn erected to commemorate Elizabeth’s Silver Jubilee. Etched on the ground around it are the words of poet Philip Larkin, written for that event in 1977, but which remained true decades later:
“In times when nothing stood
But worsened or grew strange,
There was one constant good
She did not change.”
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