Windsor House |
Queen
The Duke of Edinburgh
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Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom ( Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; London, April 21, 1926) is the current British monarch, and, therefore sovereign of sixteen independent states constituted in the kingdom, and that are part of the Commonwealth of Nations: United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.
He is the main political figure of the fifty-four member countries of the Commonwealth of Nations .
In her specific role as monarch of the United Kingdom, she is also the supreme governor of the Church of England . Their political role spans wide areas, has significant constitutional functions, and acts as the focus of British national unity and as the representative of their nation to the world.
She was born in London as the eldest daughter of the Dukes of York (later Kings George VI and Elizabeth ) and was educated at home by private tutors. His father ascended the throne in 1936 after the abdication of his brother Eduardo 8th. She began to carry out public duties during World War II , while serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service, the female branch of the British Army at the time. When her father passed away in 1952, she became head of the Commonwealth of Nations and queen of the seven independent countries belonging to it: United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon. Her coronation celebration in 1953 was the first to be televised. Between 1956 and 1992, half of its kingdoms, including South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon (later called Sri Lanka ), gained their independence and became republics.
In 1947 she married Prince Felipe of Greece and Denmark, with whom she had four children: Carlos, Ana, Andrés and Eduardo.
In 1992, the year Elizabeth called annus horribilis ("horrible year"), Carlos and Andrew separated from their wives, Ana got divorced and a serious fire destroyed part of Windsor Castle. Rumors about the marriage situation of Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales continued and they both divorced in 1996. The following year, Diana died in a car accident in Paris. and the media criticized the royal family for being held in seclusion in the days leading up to his funeral. Since 2007 she has been the longest-lived monarch in British history, surpassing her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria. She is one of the longest-reigning monarchs in history, and since September 2015, she is the British monarch with the longest reign after once again surpassing Queen Victoria.
His silver, gold, diamond and sapphire jubilees were celebrated in 1977, 2002, 2012 and 2017 respectively.
Elizabeth II: Early years
Elizabeth was the first daughter of Prince Albert, Duke of York (later King George VI) and his wife Elizabeth, Duchess of York (later Queen Elizabeth). Her father was the second son of King George V and Queen Mary , and her mother was the youngest daughter of the Scottish aristocrat Claude Bowes-Lyon, XIV Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne. Elizabeth was born by cesarean section at 2:40 GMT on April 21, 1926, at her maternal grandfather's London home at 17 Bruton Street, Mayfair. Then, he briefly resided in a home acquired by his parents shortly after his birth at 145 Piccadilly in London and at the residence White Lodge in Richmond Park. On May 29, 1926, the Archbishop of York , Cosmo Lang , baptized her under the Anglican religion in the private chapel of Buckingham Palace (destroyed during the bombings of London in World War II). It was named "Isabel" in honor of her mother, "Alexandra" by the mother of Jorge V (his paternal grandmother), who had died six months earlier and "Mary" by her paternal grandmother. In private, was named "Lilibet." 15th V greatly appreciated his granddaughter and during her serious illness in 1929, her periodic visits raised her spirits and helped her in her recovery, according to the public press and her later biographers.
Elizabeth's only sister was Princess Margaret, born in 1930. Both were educated at home under the supervision of her mother and Marion Crawford, her governess informally called "Crawfie." Classes focused mainly on history, language arts, literature and music. To the dismay of the royal family, Crawford later published a biographical book on Elizabeth and Margaret's early years titled The Little Princesses. The book describes Isabel's love for horses and dogs, her, discipline and her attitude of responsibility. Others echoed such observations: Winston Churchill he described Isabel when she was two years old as' a character. She has an air of authority and thought surprising for a child. Her cousin Margaret Rhodes described her as "a cheerful but fundamentally sensitive and well-behaved child."
Elizabeth II: Legal heir to the crown
A granddaughter being the monarch, the full title of Elizabeth to the birth was Her Royal Highness the Princess Elizabeth of York. She was third in line to the throne behind her uncle, Edward, Prince of Wales, and her father. Although her birth produced public interest, she was not expected to be queen considering that the Prince of Wales was young and therefore many believed that she would marry and have children. In 1936, when her grandfather died and Edward succeeded him as king, Elizabeth went on to rank second in the line of succession to the throne after her father. That same year, Eduardo abdicated after the constitutional crisis caused by his marriage proposal toWallis Simpson , an American divorcee. Although she could legally marry, the ministers recommended that she not do so since the people would never accept her as queen; as a constitutional monarch Eduardo was obliged to accept the council of ministers. George V had expressed his views about his eldest son: "I pray to God that my eldest son will never marry or have children, so that nothing stands between Bertie and Lilibet and the throne." With the abdication of Edward VIII, Elizabeth's father became king and she became the legal heir with the title of Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth.
Elizabeth received private lessons in constitutional history from Henry Marten , the rector of Eton College , and learned the French language with the help of various governesses. The Girl Guides Scouting movement, Buckingham Palace's first company, was formed specifically so that Elizabeth could interact with girls her age. Later, he joined the Sea Ranger youth organization .
In 1939, Isabel's parents toured Canada and the United States. As in 1927, when they toured Australia and New Zealand, Elizabeth remained in Britain as the king thought she was too young to make public visits. Isabel "looked tearful" when her parents left. They communicated by letter regularly, and on May 18, Isabel and her parents made the first real transatlantic phone call.
Second World War
From September 1939, with the outbreak of World War II , Elizabeth and her younger sister, Margaret , stayed at Balmoral Castle , Scotland, until Christmas 1939, when they moved to Sandringham House (in Norfolk ). From February to May 1940, they resided at the Royal Lodge , until they were transferred to Windsor Castle , where they stayed for most of the next five years. The suggestion of prominent politician Lord Hailsham That the princesses were taken to Canada was rejected by Isabel's mother, who declared: “The girls will not leave without me. I will not leave the king. And the king will never leave. In Windsor, princesses performed pantomimes at Christmas in aid of the Queen's Wool Fund - the Queen's Wool Fund - which purchased the yarn needed to make military garments. In 1940, Isabel, 14, made his first radio broadcast program for the BBC Children's Hour , where he declared:
In 1943, at the age of 16, Elizabeth made her first solo public appearance on a visit to the Grenadier Guards, of which she had been appointed colonel-in-chief the previous year. As his 18th birthday approached, the laws were amended so that he could act as one of the five State Councilors in the event of his father's disability or absence abroad, as happened when he visited Italy in July 1944. In February 1945, she entered the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service as an honorary second (second lieutenant) junior with service number 230873. She trained as a driver and mechanic, And was promoted to honorary junior commander (captain) five months later.
During the war, plans were developed to quell Welsh nationalism by affiliating Elizabeth more closely with Wales. Welsh politicians promoted the proposal that she become Princess of Wales on her 18th birthday. The idea was supported by the Home Secretary, Herbert Morrison , but was rejected by the king because he considered it to be a title that belonged solely to the wife of the Prince of Wales. Furthermore, the latter had always been the heir (usually the eldest son of the sovereign) and Elizabeth was only the legal heir and could be replaced in the line of succession if the king had a son.
In 1946, she was inducted into the Gorsedd Welsh community of Bardos in the National Eisteddfod of Wales.
At the end of the war, on Victory in Europe Day , Elizabeth and her sister dispersed anonymously through the crowd to celebrate on the streets of London. Later, she said in an interview;. “We asked our parents if we could go out and see [the celebration] on our own. I remember we were terrified that we would be recognized ... I remember the lines of strangers linking their arms and walking down Whitehall, we were all simply washed over by a tide of happiness and relief. Two years later, the princess made her first overseas tour when she accompanied her parents to southern Africa. During the tour, in a special broadcast to the Commonwealth of nations his twenty-first birthday, he promised: "I declare to you that my entire life, long or short, will be dedicated to our service and to the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong."
Marriage
Elizabeth met her future husband, Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, in 1934 and saw him again in 1937. After another meeting at the Britannia Royal Naval College in July 1939, Elizabeth - just 13 years old - fell in love with Felipe, son of the princes Andrés of Greece and Alicia de Battenberg, and they began to communicate by letters. They were married on November 20, 1947, at Westminster Abbey. They are second cousins to King Christian IX of Denmark and third cousins to Queen Victoria. Before marriage, Philip renounced his Greek and Danish titles, converted from Greek Orthodoxy to Anglicanism, and adopted the name of Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, taking the surname of his mother's British family. Just before the wedding, he was appointed Duke of Edinburgh and received the treatment of His Royal Highness.
The marriage was not without controversy: Felipe did not have the financial capacity, came from abroad (though a British subject), and had sisters who had married German nobles related to the Nazis. Marion Crawford wrote: “Some of the king's advisers did not think he was good enough for her. She was a prince without a home or kingdom ... ». Although Isabel's mother was initially opposed to the relationship, She later told biographer Tim Heald that Felipe was an "English gentleman."
Elizabeth and Philip received 2,500 wedding gifts from around the world, although Britain had not yet recovered from the devastation of the war. Isabel even needed ration coupons to purchase the materials for her wedding dress, designed by couturier Norman Hartnell in ivory satin and decorated with silver thread, tulle embroidery and 10,000 white pearls imported directly from America. His bouquet of white orchids and myrtle, taken from the bush that Queen Victoria had planted after her wedding, was placed at the grave of the unknown soldier an act that his mother had also performed in 1923. After the religious ceremony, a meal was offered to the guests at Buckingham Palace.
In post-war Britain, it was not acceptable for the German relations of the Duke of Edinburgh's family to be invited to the wedding, including his three sisters. One of the notable absences was Eduardo, the former king, who was not invited, while his sister, Princess Maria, was absent due to health problems. Ronald Storrs claimed that he did not attend to protest the exclusion of his brother.
The ceremony was officiated by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of York. There were eight bridesmaids in attendance, including Elizabeth's cousin Margaret Rhodes. The wedding had over 2000 guests and BBC radio broadcast the celebration live. Prime Minister Winston Churchill defined the celebration as "a touch of color on the hard road we must travel." Michael Parker, Felipe's friend and private secretary, declared that "[Felipe] was terribly bored with all the duties of royalty, all those formal engagements and handshakes. It wasn't his thing."
Elizabeth gave birth to her first child, Prince Charles , on November 14, 1948, less than a month after George VI issued a royal patent , which allowed her children to use the title and title of prince or princess. The couple had a daughter in 1950, Princess Anne .
After the wedding, the royal couple resided in Windlesham Moor near Windsor Castle, until 4 July 1949, when they were installed in Clarence House , London.
On repeated occasions between 1949 and 1951, the Duke of Edinburgh was assigned to the British protectorate of Malta as an officer in the Royal Navy. Both he and his wife lived interspersed for several months in the Maltese village of Gwardamangia , in Villa Gwardamangia and in the rented house of Felipe's uncle, Lord Mountbatten. However, her children remained in the UK .
Elizabeth II: Reign
Succession and coronation
In December 1936 King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom abdicated in order to marry the divorced commoner Wallis Simpson of the United States, making his younger brother Albert the new monarch with the name of George VI of the United Kingdom and his niece Elizabeth in crown princess. Since then, young but determined, she began to shape her image as a future queen. George VI's health deteriorated considerably during 1951 (he was diagnosed with lung cancer in September, suffered an arterial blockage and had a lung resection) And Isabel soon replaced him in practically all public events.
In October of that year, he toured Canada and visited the President of the United States Harry S. Truman in Washington; On the trip, his private secretary, Martin Charteris, carried with him the declaration of accession, in case the king died during the tour. In early 1952, Isabel and Felipe left for a tour of Australia, New Zealand, and Kenya .
On February 6, 1952, when they had just arrived at Sagana Lodge - their residence in the latter country - and after spending a night at the Treetops Hotel , they received the news of the death of Isabel's father. Felipe was in charge of transmitting the fact to the new queen. Charteris asked him to choose a name to fill the position; she chose Isabel, "of course," as she declared. She was proclaimed queen and the royal party rushed back to the United Kingdom, where the marriage was transferred to Buckingham Palace.
With Elizabeth's accession, it seemed likely that the royal house would bear her husband's name. Lord Mountbatten thought that it would become, from then on, in the Mountbatten House, since Isabel would have taken the surname of Felipe after the marriage. However, Queen Mary and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill came out in favor of retaining the name of the House of Windsor .
The duke, for his part, complained: "I am the only man in the country who is not allowed to give his surname to his own children." In 1960, after the death of Queen Mary on March 24, 1953, and Churchill's resignation in 1955, the surname Mountbatten-Windsor was adopted. for Felipe and the male descendants of Isabel who do not possess royal titles.
In the middle of the coronation preparations , Princess Margaret informed her sister that she wanted to marry Peter Townsend, a divorced commoner 16 years her senior-and with two children from her previous marriage. The queen asked them to wait a year; in the words of Martin Charteris, "the queen was naturally sympathetic to the princess, but I think she thought - rather, she hoped - that at one point the courtship would end." High-ranking politicians were against the marriage and the Church of England did not allow marriage after divorce. If Margarita contracted a civil marriage, she had to renounce her right of succession. Finally, he decided to abandon his plans with Townsend. In 1960, she married Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon. The couple divorced in 1978 and Margarita did not remarry.
Despite the death of Queen Mary, ten weeks before the coronation, it was held at Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953. Before her death, Queen Mary had clarified that in the event of her death the coronation should not postpone. The entire ceremony, with the exception of the anointing and communion, was televised for the first time in British history and the coverage was essential to boost the popularity of the medium; the number of television licenses in the UK doubled to 3 million, and more than 20 million viewers watched the event at the homes of their friends or neighbors. In North America, just under 100 million viewers watched the broadcasts. Elizabeth wore a gown commissioned from Norman Hartnell embroidery, according his instructions, with floral emblems of the countries of the Commonwealth of Nations : Rosa Tudor England, thistle Scottish, leek Welsh, shamrock Irish, wattle gold Australian leaf Canadian maple,New Zealand silver fern, South African protea, sacred lotus for India and Ceylon, and wheat , cotton, and jute for Pakistan. II is the longest-reigning monarch in British history. Only five other kings and queens have reigned the United Kingdom for more than 50 years: Victoria (63 years), George III (59 years), Henry III (56 years), Edward III (50 years) and James VI of Scotland (James I of England) (58 years old).
Continuing with the evolution of the Commonwealth of Nations
Throughout her life, Elizabeth witnessed the progressive transformation of the British Empire to the Commonwealth of Nations. By the time of her accession to the throne in 1952, her role as nominal head of several independent states was already established. Between 1953 and 1954, the queen and her husband embarked on a six-month tour around the world, becoming the first queen of Australia and New Zealand to visit these countries. During the tour, the crowds who came were immense; It was estimated that three-quarters of the Australian population saw Isabel pass by. Throughout his reign, he has performed numerous state visits to other countries, especially those belonging to the Commonwealth of Nations, which led her to be the monarch that has traveled the most in the history of the United Kingdom.
In 1956, French Prime Minister Guy Mollet and British Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden debated the possibility of including France in the Commonwealth of Nations. The proposal was never accepted, and the following year France signed the Treaties of Rome, which established the creation of the European Economic Community, the forerunner of the European Union. In November 1956, the United Kingdom and France invaded Egypt in a failed attempt to recapture the Suez Canal. Controversy broke out when Lord Mountbatten stated that the queen opposed the invasion, while Eden denied such a claim and finally resigned two months later.
The absence of a formal mechanism in the Conservative Party for the election of a leader meant that, after Eden's resignation, it was up to the queen to decide who would make up the commission to form the new government. Eden recommended that Elizabeth consult with Lord Salisbury (the Lord President of the Council ). Lord Salisbury and Lord Kilmuir (the Lord Chancellor ) consulted the Cabinet , Winston Churchill and the legislators of the Board of Directors of the 1922 Committee; As a result, Isabel named her recommended candidate: Harold Macmillan .
In 1957, the Suez crisis and the choice of Eden's successor led to the first major criticism of the queen.
In a publication edited and produced by Lord Altrincham, he accused her of "having lost touch." Altrincham was denounced by various public figures and physically assaulted by a member of the public angered by his comments. Six years later in 1963, Macmillan resigned and recommended to the Queen that Count Home be appointed Prime Minister, the advice he followed. He would also again be the target of criticism for the appointment of the prime minister on the advice of a small group of ministers, or just one of them.
In 1965, the Conservatives opted for a formal mechanism for the election of a leader, which exempted her from participating.
In 1957, Isabel made a state visit on behalf of the Commonwealth of Nations to the United States, where she addressed the United Nations, General Assembly.
In the same tour, he inaugurated the twenty-third parliamentary session of Canada, becoming the first monarch of that country to do so. Two years later, he returned to visit the United States as a representative of Canada.
In 1961, toured Cyprus, India, Pakistan, Nepal and Iran. During a visit to Ghana the same year, she dismissed fears about her safety, despite the fact that President Kwame Nkrumah, who had replaced her as head of state, was a target for assassins. Harold Macmillan wrote: "The queen has always been absolutely determined ... She is impatient with the attitude they take towards her as if she were ... a movie star ... she truly has" the heart and stomach of a man "... loves duty and what it means to be a queen». In 1959, together with President Dwight D. Eisenhower, he officially inaugurated the San Lorenzo Seaway, a system of locks, conduits and canals that allows oceangoing vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to Lake Superior.
Her pregnancies to Princes Andrew and Edward in 1959 and 1963 respectively, were the only two occasions that the Queen was absent from the opening ceremonies of UK parliamentary sessions. In addition to performing his traditional acts, he also instituted new habits. His first real ride, surrounded by members of the general public, took place during a tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1970.
The 1960s and 1970s were marked by an acceleration in the decolonization of Africa and the Caribbean. More than 20 countries became independent from the UK as part of a planned transition to self-government.
In 1965, however, the prime minister of Rhodesia , Ian Smith , proclaimed independence despite opposition movements of blacks, withdrawing from the Commonwealth. Although the queen fired Smith in a formal statement and the international community applied sanctions against Rhodesia, the Smith regime lasted for more than a decade.
In February 1974, British Prime Minister Edward Heath called a general election in the middle of the Queen's tour of the Pacific Rim, for which he had to interrupt his visit to fly back to Britain. The inconclusive result of the election meant that Heath, whose Conservative Party had the most votes but not the absolute majority, could remain in office if a coalition formed with the Liberals. Heath resigned when discussions about forming a cooperative government failed, after the queen spoke with the leader of the opposition, Labor Harold Wilson., to form a government.
A year later, with the Australian constitutional crisis of 1975 , Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam was removed from office by Governor-General Sir John Kerr , after the Senate rejected Whitlam's budget proposals. As Whitlam had the majority of votes in the House of Representatives , President Gordon Scholes contacted Isabel to reverse Kerr's decision. The queen refused, stating that she would not intervene in the decisions reserved for the Governor-General as set out in the Australian Constitution. This crisis fueled Australian republicanism.
Silver jubilee
In 1977 Elizabeth celebrated her Silver Jubilee as Queen, for which festivals and events were held throughout the UK, many of which coincided with national tours and travels by member countries of the Commonwealth. The celebrations reaffirmed the queen's popularity, despite negative reports in the press that she was more focused on the separation of Princess Margaret from her husband. In February 1977, some religious ceremonies were held throughout the month.
On May 17 he made a tour through Glasgow and in turn, made other state trips to Western Samoa, Australia, New Zealand, Tonga, Fiji , Tasmania, Papua New Guinea , Canada and India.
In the end, it was estimated that the queen and her husband had traveled more than 56 thousand miles. On June 6, 1977, the celebrations for her Silver Jubilee as Queen began, and a day later, she drove in the Gold State Coach to London's St. Paul's Cathedral for a thanksgiving service at which Heads of State from around the world and retired British Prime Ministers attended. Later, he attended a lunch with his family at Guildhall, where he gave a speech and on the way back to Buckingham Palace greeted the crowd from the balcony. An estimated 500 million people watched the procession on television.
In 1978, Isabel received the Communist dictator of Romania , Nicolae Ceaușescu, on a state visit. For the following year, Elizabeth's life was marked by two events: the unmasking of Anthony Blunt - the curator of the queen's pictorial works - as a communist spy, and the murder of her political uncle, Lord Mountbatten, by the Provisional Irish Republican Army.
According to Paul Martin, in the late 1970s Elizabeth was concerned that "the Crown made little sense" to Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Tony Benn said the Queen was "disappointed" with Trudeau; on the other hand, these statements seemed to be borne out by his attitude towards the queen, for example, when he slid down the railings of Buckingham Palace and performed some pirouettes behind Elizabeth in 1977, or when he removed some royal symbols of Canada during its mandate.
In 1980, some Canadian politicians arrived in London to discuss the repatriation of the Canadian constitution and they found Isabel "better informed about the constitutional case of Canada, more than any of the British politicians or bureaucrats." She was interested in the constitutional debate after the failure of Bill C-60, which had affected her role as head of state. The repatriation had stifled the role of the British Parliament in the Canadian constitution, but the monarchy remained. Trudeau said in her memoirs: 'The Queen favored my attempt to reform the Constitution. She always impressed me not only because of the grace she displayed in public at all times, but also because of the wisdom she displayed during a private conversation.
1980s
During the Trooping the Color ceremony in 1981 and only six weeks after the wedding of Prince Charles and Diana Spencer, six shots were fired at the Queen from a short distance as she rode her horse "Burmese" to The Mall . Subsequently, the police discovered that the bullets fired were rubber. The 17-year-old attacker, Marcus Sargeant , was sentenced to five years in prison and released after three. The queen's calm and ability to ride was widely praised. From April to September of that year, the queen was especially proud and somewhat anxious. From his son Andrés, while he was serving in the British Armed Forces during the Falklands War .
On July 9 of the following year, when Elizabeth awoke in her room at Buckingham Palace, she found an intruder, Michael Fagan , standing at the foot of the bed. She remained calm while communicating with the central police department, and spoke with Fagan until authorities arrived seven minutes later. Although he received President Ronald Reagan at Windsor Castle in 1982 and visited his ranch in California in 1983, he was upset when the US government ordered the invasion of Grenada , one of his Caribbean kingdoms, without his prior consent. Pope John Paul II's visit in 1982 was the first visit by a Catholic pope to the United Kingdom in 450 years.
During the 1980s, the great media interest in the opinions and private life of the British royal family led to a series of sensational stories in the press, although not all of them were true. Newspaper editor Donald Trelford wrote in The Observer on September 21, 1986: “The real television serial has reached such a degree of public interest that the line between fact and fiction has been lost sight of. It is not fair that some papers do not corroborate the claims or accept denials: they do not care if the stories are true or not. It was even reported, in the edition of The Sunday Times of July 20, 1986, that Elizabeth was concerned that the economic policies of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher would promote further social division, and that she was also alarmed by the high unemployment rate, the 1981 riots, the violence of the 1984 miners' strike and Thatcher's refusal to apply sanctions against apartheid in South Africa . Sources for the rumors included Royal Aide Michael Shea and Commonwealth Secretary-General Ramphal Shridath, though Shea clarified that their claims were taken out of context and modified by the press. Thatcher reportedly said that the queen would vote for the Social Democratic Party , Thatcher's political opponents. The prime minister's biographer, John Campbell, claimed that "the reports were just a piece of journalism shenanigans." To refute reports of acrimony between them, Thatcher later admitted her admiration for the queen and, after John Major's inauguration, Elizabeth bestowed two honors on Thatcher: the Order of Merit and the Order of the Garter .
In 1987, the newly elected government in Fiji was deposed by a military coup. Elizabeth, as head of state, supported the attempts of the Governor-General, Ratu sir Penaia Ganilau , to secure executive power and negotiate an agreement. The coup leader, Sitiveni Rabuka , deposed Ganilau, abolished the monarchy, and declared Fiji a republic. In early 1991, the republican spirit in Great Britain increased due to press estimates of the queen's private heritage, which were refuted by the palace, and rumors about courtships and marital tensions in her extended family. The younger royals' participation in the It's a Royal Knockout charity event was ridiculed, and the queen was the target of satire.
1990's
In 1991, following the victory in the Gulf War , Isabel became the first monarch to address a session in the United States Congress . The following year, he tried to save the marriage of his eldest son, Carlos , by advising him and his wife, Diana , and thus trying to reconcile them.
In a speech delivered on November 24, 1992, to mark the 40th anniversary of her accession, the queen called 1992 her annus horribilis , or "horrible year." In March, their second son, Prince Andrew, Duke of York , and his wife Sarah , separated.
In April, her daughter Ana divorced her husband, Captain Mark Phillips . During a state visit to Germany in October, angry protesters threw eggs at him in Dresden , And in November Windsor Castle was severely damaged by a devastating fire. The monarchy received increasing criticism and public scrutiny. In an unusually personal speech, Isabel said that every institution expects criticism, but suggested that criticism should be expressed with a "touch of humor, tenderness and understanding." Two days later, Prime Minister John Major announced reforms in the royal finances that had been planned since the previous year, including payment of income tax for the first time, beginning in 1993, and a reduction of the civil list . In December, Carlos and Diana formally separated, And the year ended with a lawsuit by the queen against The Sun newspaper for copyright infringement when the text of her annual Christmas message was published two days before its broadcast. The newspaper was forced to pay legal fees and donated £ 200,000 to charity.
In the following years, rumors about the marital status between Charles and Diana continued. In consultation with Prime Minister Major, the Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, her private secretary, Robert Fellowes, and her husband, Elizabeth wrote to Charles and Diana in December 1995 saying that divorce was a desirable option. A year after the divorce in 1996, Diana died in a car accident in Paris on August 31, 1997, when the queen was on vacation in Balmoral with her son and grandchildren.
Diana's two children wanted to go to church, so their grandparents took them in the morning. a single public appearance, for five days the queen and the duke protected their grandchildren from the intense interest of the press, keeping them at Balmoral, where they could mourn their mother in private; however, the isolation of the royal family caused public consternation. Under pressure from backlash from the hostile public, the queen returned to London and arranged a live broadcast to everyone on September 5, the day before Diana's funeral.
On the broadcast, he expressed his admiration for her and his feelings "as a grandmother" of princes William and Henry. As a result, much of the public hostility disappeared.
Golden jubilee
In 2002, Elizabeth celebrated her Golden Jubilee as Queen. His sister and mother died in February and March respectively and the media speculated whether the Jubilee would be a success or a failure. He again undertook an extensive tour of his kingdoms, beginning in Jamaica in February, where he described the farewell banquet as "memorable" after a power outage at the Casa del Rey, the official residence of the Governor-General , plunged into darkness. As in 1977, there were street parties, commemorative events and the inauguration of monuments in honor of the occasion.
One million people turned out for the main celebrations over three days in London, and the public's enthusiasm for Isabel was far greater than the journalists predicted.
Although Isabel was in good health throughout her life, in 2003 she had to undergo arthroscopy of her knees and in June 2005 she suspended some commitments after contracting a cold.
In October 2006, he missed the opening of the Emirates Stadium due to pain from a contracture in his back. Two months later, she was seen with a bandage on her right hand because she had been bitten by her dogs while trying to separate them when they were fighting.
In 2011, he had to suspend a religious service of the Royal Victorian Order at Windsor Castle because of a hemorrhage nasal and consecutively, a reception due to a back injury.
In March 2013, had to be admitted to the Eduardo VII hospital because of a stomach infection with symptoms of gastroenteritis.
In May 2007, The Daily Telegraph reported from unauthorized sources that the queen was "desperate and frustrated" by the policies of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who had repeatedly confessed to her his concern that the British Armed Forces would be overburdened in Iraq and Afghanistan and their fear of rural and countryside issues repeatedly. However, Isabel said she admired Blair's efforts to achieve peace in Northern Ireland. On March 20, 2008, at St. Patrick's Cathedral , Armagh, the queen attended the first royal mass celebrated outside of England and Wales. In 2010, he had a meeting in Scotland with Pope Benedict 16th , who recalled the deep Christian roots and values that sustain Great Britain and encouraged them to preserve and promote them in the face of some "more aggressive forms of secularism" than "no longer" appreciate or even tolerate. ' At the invitation of the Irish President, Mary McAleese, in May 2011, the Queen made the first state visit to the Republic of Ireland.
Elizabeth addressed the United Nations for the second time in 2010, as queen and head of the Commonwealth of Nations. The Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon presented it as an "anchor for our age". During a tour of New York, followed by a visit to Canada, he officially opened a garden in memory of the British victims of the September 11 attacks . The Queen's visit to Australia in October 2011, the 16th since 1954, was called her "farewell tour" by the press because of her advanced age.
Diamond jubilee
The Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth celebrated her 60 years as queen, with celebrations around all their kingdoms, the vast Commonwealth.
In a message released by Buckingham Palace, he declared: “In this special year, as I once again dedicate myself to your service, I hope we all remember the power of unity and the strength of family, friendship and good neighborliness… Also, I hope that this jubilee year will become a time to give thanks for the great strides that have been made since 1952 and look to the future with a clear head and warm heart. Elizabeth and her husband went on an extensive tour of the UK, while their children and grandchildren embarked on royal tours throughout the Commonwealth on behalf of the queen.
The only 20th and 21st century monarchs to celebrate their own diamond jubilees were King Rama IX of Thailand in 2006; the former Sultan of Johor (now part of Malaysia ) in 1955; and Emperor Hirohito of Japan in 1986. Queen Victoria had so far been the only British queen to celebrate a Diamond Jubilee in 1897. Today, Elizabeth is the longest-serving British monarch, the oldest head of state in the world, holds the record for the longest British royal marriage and longest reign in British history (beating her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria , on 9 September 2015). He has no intention of abdicating, although the proportion of public functions performed by Prince Charles has increased as Elizabeth has reduced her commitments.
After leading a nautical parade down the River Thames aboard the Spirit of Chartwell ship in the company of the royal family and appearing in a concert with the presence of Paul McCartney , Elton John and Kylie Minogue - it was the most-watched of the year with an average audience of 14.7 million viewers— Elizabeth ended her Diamond Jubilee celebrations on June 5, 2012 with a church service at Westminster Abbey hosted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, followed by a reception at Mansion House, a procession of floats and the exit to the balcony at Buckingham Palace without the presence of her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, because he had been interned.
Isabel kicked off the 2012 Summer Olympics on July 27 and the Paralympics on August 29 in London. During the opening ceremony , he made a short film alongside Daniel Craig as James Bond . His father, George VI, opened the London Olympics in 1948 and his great-grandfather, Edward VII, the 1908 . Isabel also opened the 1976 Games in Canada , while Prince Philip did with the Melbourne Games in 1956 . Isabel is the first head of state to open two Olympic Games in two different countries.
On December 18, 2012, the queen became the first British sovereign to attend a cabinet meeting in peacetime since George III did so in 1781. Foreign Minister William Hague announced shortly after that the part located in the southern vertex of the British Antarctic Territory had been named Queen Elizabeth Land in his honor.
Sapphire jubilee
The monarch celebrated her 65th anniversary on the throne at Sandringham on February 6, 2017, she is since then the first British monarch to commemorate her sapphire jubilee, yet not the first in Europe. At noon, gunners in period uniforms fired a 41-gun salute in Green Park, and other salvos were fired at the Tower of London , Cardiff and Edinburgh . A special stamp has been issued to mark this date.
Elizabeth II: Public and Critical perceptions
Isabel rarely gives interviews and little is known about her personal views. As a parliamentary monarch , he has not expressed his political views in a public forum. She has a deep sense of religious and civil duty, and takes her coronation oath very seriously. Aside from his religious role as head of the Church of England , he has an excellent relationship with his church and that of Scotland .
He met with leaders of other religions, in addition to granting his personal patronage to the Council of Christians and Jews .
In his annual Christmas message to the Commonwealth of Nations , he often offers characteristics about his faith, as in the year 2000, when he spoke about the theological significance of the new millennium marking the 2000th anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ :
Isabel is the patron of more than 600 charities and other organizations. His main hobbies are horse riding and dogs, especially his Corgis . Her wardrobe generally consists of solid-colored coats and decorative hats, allowing her to be easily seen in the crowd.
In the 1950s, as a young woman at the beginning of her reign, Elizabeth was depicted as a glamorous "fairy tale queen." After the trauma of the war, there was a time of hope, heralding a period of progress and achievement known as "the new Elizabethan era." Lord Altrincham's 1957 accusation that his speeches sounded like those of a "pedantic schoolgirl" was considered extremely rare. In the late 1960s, the documentary Royal Family and the television broadcast of Charles's inauguration as Prince of Wales were the result of his attempts to present a more modern image of the monarchy.
At their 1977 Silver Jubilee, the crowds and celebrations were truly enthusiastic, but public criticism of the royal family in the 1980s increased as the personal and work lives of Elizabeth's children came under scrutiny.
In the media, Elizabeth's popularity declined considerably in the 1990s. Under pressure from public opinion, she began paying income tax for the first time, and Buckingham Palace opened its doors to the public. The discontent of the British monarchy peaked with the death of Diana , although the popularity of Isabel recovered after the message broadcast live on 5 September 1997.
In November 1999, in a referendum in Australia on the future of the monarchy, he was preferred for his tenure over an indirectly elected head of state. Surveys in Britain in 2006 and 2007 revealed vast support for Elizabeth, and the 2008 Tuvalu and St. Vincent and the Grenadines referendums rejected proposals to abolish the monarchy.
Finance
According to an agreement dating from the first half of the 18th century, the assets of the Crown were transferred to the State, in exchange for a fixed income. Elizabeth II's personal fortune has been the subject of speculation for many years.
In 2010, the magazine Forbes estimated his net worth was about 450 million dollars , although official statements of Buckingham Palace in 1993 expressed that estimates of 100 million pounds were "grossly exaggerated." Jock Colville estimated his fortune at 2 million pounds in 1971 (the approximate equivalent of 21 million pounds today). The Royal Collection, which includes works of art and Crown jewels, is not the personal property of the Queen and is held in trusts, as are the residences of Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and the Duchy of Lancaster, an investment portfolio valued at 383 million pounds in 2011. Sandringham House and Balmoral Castle, however, if they are the private property of the queen. The British Crown Estate - with holdings of £ 7.3 million in 2011 - is held in trust by the nation and cannot be sold or owned by the queen.
Elizabeth II: Valuation and influence
His reign has been characterized by important management of national unification, through which Elizabeth II has been in charge of maintaining and avoiding the separation of the United Kingdom with its constituent countries. Furthermore, the monarch, as head of the Commonwealth of Nations, managed a true transition from an imperial system to a free association of nations, in which mutual cooperation, democracy, and cultural exchange are her main goals. The sovereign has led considerable roles during the various administrations of her prime ministers, through her elections of heads of government and the preservation of the stability and political continuity of the United Kingdom.
Despite the brief political role to which the British monarchy was reduced after the Second World War , essentially limited to symbolic acts, and the changes that occurred in the relationship with the former colonies, Queen Elizabeth II tried to preserve the unifying character of the Crown in the political space of the old empire, converted after decolonization in the Commonwealth.
His visions of the monarchy and the way in which he has gradually transformed this institution into one more compatible with the 21st century, have made it the paradigm of European monarchs whose functions as a statesman are often imitated by numerous heads of state. Elizabeth II was named " person of the year " by Time magazine in 1952 and, according to Forbes, is the eighth richest leader in the world with an estimated fortune of $ 450 million.
In popular culture
Isabel was parodied during the 1980s in the television series Spitting Image and in 2006 she was played by actress Helen Mirren in The Queen, a film directed by Stephen Frears, which recounts the queen's reaction to the death of Lady Di in 1997 . in 2010 he was played by young Freya Wilson in the King's Speech (winner of four Oscars, with Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush ). On the popular television series The Simpsons, he guest-starred, in some episodes such asThe Regina Monologues, To Surveil With Love and The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular. It has also appeared on numerous banknotes and coins from different countries: United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Barbados, Bahamas, Belize, as well as in Bermuda, Falkland Islands, Cayman Islands, Eastern Caribbean, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Island of Man, Jersey and Santa Elena. The stamps or postage stamps of the United Kingdom do not bear the name of the, country but rather the effigy of the queen.
Elizabeth II: Treatments, Titles, and Weapons
Treatments
| Since | Until | Treatment | Full Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 21, 1926 | December 11, 1936 | HE | Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth of York. |
| December 11, 1936 | November 20, 1947 | HE | Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth. |
| November 20, 1947 | February 6, 1952 | HE | Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh. |
| February 6, 1952 | In charge | YE | Her Majesty the Queen. |
Titles
Elizabeth II has been obtaining titles throughout her life: first as granddaughter and daughter of kings, then by marriage (such as Duchess of Edinburgh or Countess of Merioneth) and finally as sovereign. Officially, it has a different title in each of its kingdoms: Queen of Canada in Canada, Queen of Australia in Australia, etc.
In the Channel Islands and Isle of Man, which are Crown dependencies and not belonging to the United Kingdom, she is recognized as Duke of Normandy and Lord (Lord) of Man respectively, and in Fiji as Supreme Chief by the Great Council of Chiefs, without constitutional powers, since Fiji is a republic until the dissolution of this institution in 2012. Other traditional titles are Defender of the Faith and Duke of Lancaster.
Officially her title in the United Kingdom is Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and of its other Kingdoms and Territories, head of the Commonwealth of Nations, defender of the Faith.
Coat of arms and banners
In 1944, the coat of arms of Isabel consisted of a lozenge (diamond) containing the shield of the United Kingdom, differentiated with lambel three outstanding colored argent : on the first, and third pending was cross of St. George and in the center a Tudor rose. As Duchess of Edinburgh the ribbon of the Order of the Garter was added. After his accession to the throne in 1952, he adopted another shield: the full arms of the sovereign.
His banner as monarch consists of a flag divided into four quarters: in the first, and fourth quarters are the elements of the coat of arms of England: three golden lions passing over a field of gules (red).
In the second, which represents Scotland, a rampant lion can be seen inside a double trechor with heraldic flowers, on a field of gold.
In the third, quadrant for Northern Ireland, a golden harp appears on an azure field. In the constituent nation of Scotland, the standard varies in its barracks: the Scottish rampant lion happens to appear in the first and fourth, barracks and that of England in the second. The queen also has personal flags in other countries: Australia, Canada, New Zealand,, Jamaica and Barbados.
Elizabeth II: Family
Together with her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh , the queen had four children : Carlos, Ana, Andrés and Eduardo.
In addition, the marriage has eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
- Charles , Prince of Wales (born November 14 , 1948 ), is the heir to the British Crown . He married the 29 of July of 1981 with Diana , Princess of Wales (1961-1997), with whom he had his two sons, Prince William and Henry of Sussex . He divorced Diana on August 28 , 1996 . The 9 of April of 2005 married in second nuptials, in a civil ceremony with Camilla , Duchess of Cornwall .
- William , Duke of Cambridge (born 21 from June of 1982 ), married the 29 of April of 2011 with Catherine Middleton, now known as Catherine , Duchess of Cambridge (born 9 from January of 1982 ). He is second in line to the British throne .
- Prince George of Cambridge (born July 22 , 2013 ). Since his birth, he has held third place in the line of succession to the British throne .
- Princess Charlotte of Cambridge (born May 2 , 2015 ).
- Prince Louis of Cambridge (born April 23 , 2018 ).
- Prince Henry , Duke of Sussex (born 15 from September of 1984 ), married the 19 of maypole of 2018 with Meghan Markle, now known as Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (born 4 from August of 1981 ).
- Archie Mountbatten-Windsor (born May 6 , 2019 ).
- Anne , Princess Royal (born 15 August as as 1950 ), he married the 14 as November as 1973 with Captain Mark Phillips (born 22 September as as 1948 ) and had two children Peter Phillips and Zara Phillips . They divorced on April 28 , 1992 . His second marriage was held on December as December as 1992 with Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence (born 1 March as as 1955 ).
- Peter Phillips (born 15 as November as 1977 ), he married the 17 as maypole as 2008 with Autumn Patricia Kelly (born 3 as maypole as 1978 ).
- Savannah Phillips (born December 29 , 2010 ).
- Isla Phillips (born March 29 , 2012 ).
- Zara Tindall (born 15 as maypole as 1981 ), married the 30 as July as 2011 with Michael James Tindall (born 18 as October as 1978 ).
- Mia Tindall (born January 17 , 2014 ).
- Lena Tindall (born June 18 , 2018 ).
- Andrew , Duke of York (born 19 from February of 1960 ), married the 23 of July of 1986 with Sarah , Duchess of York (born 15 from October of 1959 ), mother of his two daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie. He was divorced on May 30 , 1996 .
- Princess Beatrice of York (born August 8 , 1988 ). She married Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi on July 17 , 2020 (born November 19 , 1983 ).
- Princess Eugenie of York (born March 23 , 1990 ). She married Jack Brooksbank the December as October as 2018 (born 3 as maypole as 1986 ).
- Edward , Earl of Wessex (born October to March of 1964 ), married the 19 of June of 1999 with Sophie , Countess of Wessex (born 20 from January of 1965 ).
- Lady Luisa Mountbatten-Windsor (born November 8 , 2003 ).
- Jacobo Mountbatten-Windsor, Viscount Severn (born December 17 , 2007 ).
Elizabeth II: Performed in film and television
Movie theater
| Year | Movie | Actress | director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Minions | Jennifer Saunders | Scarlet Overkill, the movie's villain, wants to steal her crown, but Bob, the Minion, keeps her. | |
| 2015 | Royal night | Sarah Gadon | Julian Jarrold | Exit of the Queen with her sister Margaret on the Victory Night at the end of the Second War, |
| 2011 | William and Kate: a royal romance | Jane Alexander | Linda Yellen | |
| 2009 | 2012 | Elizabeth richard | Roland emmerich | She appears with her husband Prince Philip of Edinburgh at the Cho Ming Dam. |
| 2006 | The Queen | Helen mirren | Stephen Frears | |
| 1993 | Diana: Her true story | Anne Stallybrass | TV series based on the biography of Andrew Morton . | |
| 1988 | The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! | Jeannette charles | David zucker | |
| 1982 | The royal romance of Charles and Diana | Dana Wynter |
T.V. series
| Year | Title | Actress | director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-present | The Crown | Claire Foy (T1-T2) Olivia Colman (T3-T4) | Peter morgan | Biographical series that allows a close look at his life and the context of his reign |
| 2010 | The Simpson | - | voice actress | It appears in an episode when Homer, in his visit to England, accidentally throws the queen's carriage and is tried by the English justice. |
Relationship with the other European kings
| Monarch | Family relationship | Closest ancestors |
|---|---|---|
| Margaret II of Denmark | Cousin in third grade (four times) | Victoria of the United Kingdom and Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha , Cristián IX of Denmark and Louise of Hesse-Kassel |
| Harald V from Norway | Cousin in the second degree | Edward VII of the United Kingdom and Alejandra of Denmark |
| Philip VI of Spain | Nephew in the fourth degree
(Twice)
| Victoria of the United Kingdom and Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha , Cristián IX of Denmark and Louise of Hesse-Kassel |
| Carlos XVI Gustavo of Sweden | Cousin in third grade (twice) | Victoria of the United Kingdom and Albert of Saxony-Coburg-Gotha |
| Felipe from Belgium | Cousin in fourth grade (twice) | Christian IX of Denmark and Louise of Hesse-Kassel |
| Henry of Luxembourg | Cousin in fourth grade (twice) | Christian IX of Denmark and Louise of Hesse-Kassel |
| William Alexander of the Netherlands | ||
| John Adam II of Liechtenstein | ||
| Albert II of Monaco |
