Elizabeth II, the power of the throne

In 1947, on her 21st birthday, the then Princess Elizabeth gave from Cape Town, South Africa, the speech that would mark her entire life.

“I declare before all of you that my whole life, long or short, will be dedicated to your service and to the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.”

Without even knowing it, five years later, she would begin to consolidate a reign of more than seven decades in which she fulfilled her work as head of state and patron of more than 600 charitable organizations throughout the country and in the Commonwealth.

Over the years, which forced her to delegate some of her tasks to her son Carlos, she had to put an end to several rumors that she would abdicate. But she never did. It was never her plan.

He came to the throne by coincidences or perfections of destiny. Her uncle, King Edward VIII, abdicated and Elizabeth’s father became King George VI in 1937.

The queen, constitutionally, was the British head of state, a role that forced her to remain neutral about the decisions adopted by the premier on duty, although they all passed through her office.

The royal correspondents of the tabloids spent whole years filtering supposed opinions and private conversations of the Queen on different current affairs. Buckingham Palace never commented on those stories.

Without intending it, she was, without a doubt, one of the most powerful women in the world, respected and admired to the point of devotion.

And it is that Isabel, as popular as she is loved, never gave an interview, it was never known what she really thought, despite the fact that the most minute details of her life were completely public.

Hundreds of books in all possible languages, movies and television series were dedicated to portraying an indecipherable woman but who each day fulfilled her work “commended by God”.

“As a brand, she strips each and every major personality in the world by far,” Andrew Morton, the renowned royal biographer, told France 24.

A reign of records

Queen Victoria, paternal great-great-grandmother of Elizabeth II, was until then the longest-serving British monarch, with almost 64 years on the throne.

Like Victoria, Elizabeth ascended the throne at a very young age. She was just 25 years old, on September 9, 1952. During that time, 15 prime ministers formed governments in her name. World War II hero Winston Churchill was the first and the last, today’s Liz Truss.

During his reign, he met 13 US presidents. Being Joe Biden the last to meet with her.

A British Army truck operator during World War II, Elizabeth was instrumental in transforming the British Empire into the Commonwealth community of today, which numbers 2.4 billion people and stretches from the mighty United Kingdom to small territories in the Pacific.

Work for which he traveled around the world, completing 116 royal visits, says the ‘BBC’. His travels include Chile, Brazil and Guyana in Latin America.

“She reminds us of service, of duty, she reminds us that it is not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country, to refer to the words of John F. Kennedy,” Morton maintains.

the queen of the family

Isabel’s transformation from head of state to normal woman took place in horse racing, one of her most beloved passions. She was a completely different person who forgot the coldness that her role demanded of him.

She was the mother of four children: Carlos, the Prince of Wales, the new king, Ana, Andrés and Eduardo and had eight grandchildren, with whom she had a close and endearing relationship.

However, her relatives still seemed to treat her with great reverence and respect even in intimate spaces, away from the press.

Meghan, in the interview with Oprah, said that when she first met the monarch, she had to quickly learn to bow as required by royal protocol when greeting her.

Meghan, surprised, said to Harry, “but she’s your grandmother”, to which he replied, “but she’s the queen”.

Those who knew the Queen, both in monarchy events and in private meetings, agree on her great sense of humor and warmth.

Even someone who was in a private audience with her told the writer of this note that she was particularly struck by the number of times she touched her ring.

In addition to being a faithful believer who attended the morning religious service every Sunday of her life, wherever she was. She was the head of the Anglican Church.

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born at 2:40 a.m. on April 21, 1926, at 17 Bruton Street in the exclusive Mayfair area of ​​London, according to Buckingham Palace.

Born in one of the world’s great metropolises, steeped in past and recent history, Elizabeth preferred her residences at Balmoral, Scotland, for the summers, and Sandringham, in the east of England, for the winters.

While Windsor Castle, near London, has been his refuge and his favorite home. It was the literal strength of her and her family during World War II

In her simple life tailored for one of the world’s most powerful women, she is known to love her corgi dogs. When these began to die, due to their advanced age, the queen did not replace them.

His close ones spoke of the deep sadness that the loss of their pets caused him.

Dressed almost always in bright colors “to be seen”, hat and the same type of bag for decades, for her official appearances, Isabel was more simple for her private appearances with just a pearl necklace and a brooch.

In the last years of her life, for the opening of the British Parliament in which she presented the legislative priorities of the government, she preferred not to wear her impressive crown made with 2,868 diamonds, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds and hundreds of pearls and weighing 1 kilo. , tells ‘The Express’.

“You can’t look down to read the speech, you have to lift the speech, because if you did, your neck would break and you would fall off,” she told herself in a documentary.

Annus horribilis

The national mourning that caused the death of Princess Diana in 1997, in a traffic accident in Paris, shook the monarchy and its future. For the first time, the people rose up against their queen. For the first time, they felt marginalized by her.

Elizabeth initially refused to allow a state funeral for Diana, because in her opinion, not being part of the Royal Family, it was a private event for the Spencer family.

The then Labor Prime Minister Tony Blair saved the monarchy from its worst crisis.

The queen reluctantly had to return from Scotland to London and in an unprecedented television statement paid a personal tribute to Diana.

The princess’s death not only caused unimaginable sadness among Britons, it was a deep feeling, shared by millions around the world.

Monarchist experts assure that the 90s, but the year 1992, was particularly complex for Isabel also because three of her four children divorced.

And a part of his favorite home, Windsor Castle, burned down.

2021, another difficult year

Elizabeth II was married to Philip of Edinburgh for more than 70 years, who died at 99, just months shy of his 100th birthday.

One of the most shocking images of the pandemic in the United Kingdom was that of Elizabeth, dressed completely in black, including a mask, and sitting alone in the chapel during the farewell religious service for her husband.

That was one of his saddest and most vulnerable moments when he was unable to receive comfort from his relatives.

But also that year, Harry and Meghan, in the interview with Oprah, opened the doors of the royal palaces, revealing secrets and the alleged treatment within one of the most well-known families in the world.

In addition to the legal scandals that haunt his son Andrés, who was known as his favorite, and a personal friend of the pederast banker Jeffrey Epstein.

But the controversies of her family never impacted her acceptance or her leadership because Elizabeth II was always the queen, powerful, untouchable and, for most Britons, unforgettable.