Elizabeth II, a life for the crown

Queen Elizabeth II has put her life at the service of the kingdom. Born on April 21, 1926, the so-called child “Lilibet” was not however destined for the throne, being only third in the order of succession. The digital editorial staff of France 24 offers you a long format retracing the longest reign of the British monarchy. Monarch of fifteen nations and head of the Commonwealth, Elizabeth II has died, ending the longest – but not the least dynamic – reign in British history. The Queen of England knew how to modernize the crown and ensure the succession, leaving to her heirs a monarchy more alive than ever. Elizabeth II, a life for the crown © Studio Graphique France Médias Monde When King George VI succumbed to a thrombosis on February 6, 1952, his eldest daughter, Princess Elizabeth, was perched on top of a fig tree, in the heart of the national park from Aberdare, Kenya. While she observes the animals of the savannah through binoculars, her husband Prince Philip announces the death of her father, making her the new Queen of England. She is only 25 years old. She is surely shaken but does not shed a tear: her feelings are now private and she, better than anyone, knows the implications of the crown she will wear until her last breath. Elizabeth II put her life at the service of the kingdom. Born on April 21, 1926, the so-called child “Lilibeth” was not however destined for the throne, being only third in the order of succession. Daughter of Albert, Duke of York and second son of George V, and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, Elizabeth grew up in a house in Picadilly, London, outside the walls of Buckingham Palace. It was not until December 1936 that she became, at the age of 10, the official heir to the kingdom. Her father, Albert, has just been crowned as George VI after the latter’s brother, Edward VIII, renounced the throne to marry his mistress, the twice-divorced American Wallis Simpson. Princess Elizabeth with her parents, Prince Albert of York, future George VI, and Lady Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon, in 1926, shortly after her birth. © AFP Elizabeth quickly felt invested with a sense of royal duty. During the Second World War, when the United Kingdom was regularly bombarded by the German air force, the royal family refused to emigrate: the couple of monarchs remained in Buckingham Palace and their two daughters were installed in Windsor Castle, west of London. The princesses, Elizabeth and her younger sister Margaret, then participated in the “war effort”, knitting socks or making bandages for British soldiers. In 1940, at age 14, Elizabeth made her first radio address to all the children of the kingdom. In 1942, Elizabeth enlisted in the Grenadier Guards, an infantry regiment of the Royal Guard of which she was quickly named Colonel-in-Chief. Then at the end of the war, she joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service, the female branch of the British army. Despite her rank, she doesn’t hesitate to get her hands dirty: she learns to drive and works as a mechanic. She also repaired her own vehicles until the 1980s and all her life traveled the back roads surrounding Balmoral Castle, Scotland, driving pick-ups launched at full speed. Princess Elizabeth repairs, in the 1940s, a wheel of an English military vehicle of the Second World War. © AFP The crown above allOn November 20, 1947, Elizabeth married Prince Philip of Greece, a distant cousin. A few months later, on November 14, 1948, the first of their four children was born, Prince Charles, heir to the throne. Anne, Andrew and Edward will follow. But reputed to be cold and absent, Elizabeth is not a woman to devote herself to her family. Princess Elizabeth and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, pose on their wedding day, November 20, 1947. © AFP In 1950, the health of her father, George VI, declined, and Elizabeth replaced him more and more regularly in official trips and ceremonies. She is also performing in Kenya when she learns of the king’s death in 1952 and becomes the 40th monarch to reign over the kingdom since William the Conqueror. Two days later, the young queen made her first declaration before the Privy Council: “By the sudden death of my dear father, I am called to assume the duties and responsibilities of the kingdom. I ask God to help me to fulfill worthily the task he entrusted to me so early in my life.” A task in which she never failed. Crowned on June 2, 1953 at Westminster Abbey in a ceremony broadcast live on radio and television – a technological first – Queen Elizabeth has always maintained that she would not abdicate, “unless she suffered stroke or developing Alzheimer’s disease”. Queen Elizabeth II receives tributes from her subjects during her coronation on June 2, 1953 at Westminster Abbey. © Intercontinental © AFP A woman of the world Elizabeth II, on the other hand, witnessed the dissolution of the British Empire without batting an eyelid and knew fifteen Prime Ministers, always staying above the political fray. “Always dedicated, always resolute and always respected, she represents wisdom and continuity,” David Cameron, then British Prime Minister, said of her in 2012 in a tribute message on the occasion of the milestone Diamond Jubilee. the 60 year reign of the Queen. Queen Elizabeth II visits the condominium of the New Hebrides, a former Franco-British colony, in February 1974. © AFP On the international level, Elizabeth II has kept a symbolic but no less important role: she led the largest kingdom of planet and ruled over 130 million subjects. Besides the United Kingdom, Elizabeth II was the head of the Commonwealth, a group of 56 countries made up of 15 monarchies of which she is the queen, five other monarchies with their own monarch and 36 republics. The vast majority of these states are former British colonies. A kingdom she has traveled throughout her life, like the rest of the planet. She has made more than 260 trips abroad and visited nearly 120 countries. Several generations of heads of state have also flocked to Buckingham to meet her. She was thus the interlocutor of Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Jean-Paul II, Gerhard Schröder, George W. Bush, Jacques Chirac, Nelson Mandela, Angela Merkel or even Barack Obama. Queen Elizabeth II with former South African President Nelson Mandela during a reception at Buckingham Place, October 20, 2003. © Kirsty Wigglesworth, AFP Succession assuredOn the private level, she has weathered the storms. In particular the divorce of three of his children, which has permanently damaged the image of the royal family, placed under the constant gaze of the media. But the queen’s consistency has always earned her the respect of her subjects. With one exception. The death of Princess Diana, ex-wife of Prince Charles, almost marked a rupture between the Queen and her people in 1997. No flag had been hoisted in sign of mourning at Buckingham Palace, and Elizabeth’s coldness towards the one who was no longer officially part of the royal family widened the rift with the British. “Show us there’s a heart in the House of Windsor” (Show us that there is a heart in Windsor), had titled the tabloid The Sun to challenge the queen. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, facing the flowers that have been laid outside Kensington Palace in tribute to Princess Diana, September 5, 1997. © John Stillwell, AFP But the sovereign has knew how to bounce back. She finally paid a televised tribute to the “people’s princess” and regained the esteem of the British. Over the years, it has even softened, applying itself to modernizing the monarchy, the only condition for its survival. She thus kindly welcomed a commoner into the family, Kate Middleton, who became Duchess of Cambridge by marrying Prince William, eldest son of Charles and heir to the crown, in 2011, after his father now called to reign. The queen also gave his blessing that Prince Harry, Charles’s youngest son, would marry divorced African-American actress Meghan Markle, a first in Windsor history. However, this period of calm was only short-lived. Two years after their marriage, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex caused a new scandal by announcing, at the beginning of the year 2020, that they wanted to stop being active members of the royal family. Queen Elizabeth II and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, during the inauguration of the Mersey Gateway Bridge, in Chesire, on June 14, 2018. © Jim Clarke, AFP The queen also had to face sexual assault charges against Prince Andrew in connection with the Epstein case. Despite her attachment to this adored son, she did not hesitate, in January 2022, to withdraw most of his military titles as well as his charitable patronage. But Elizabeth II was above all affected, in April 2021, by the death of her husband, Prince Philip, after more than 73 years of marriage. After the disappearance of her husband, the queen appeared with a cane and chained the problems of health, including a Covid-19 infection. Absent in May 2022 for the third time in her reign during the traditional Speech from the Throne, she however greeted her subjects a few weeks later on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, on the occasion of the platinum jubilee which marked her 70 years at head of the kingdom. These four days of festivities, which brought together hundreds of thousands of people, showed the attachment of the British to their sovereign. Guardian of traditions, Elizabeth II ensured her succession and was able to die serenely, leaving behind she three generations of heirs and a monarchy more alive than ever. Queen Elizabeth II with her son Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, her grandson Prince William and his wife, Catherine, and their children, from the balcony of Buckingham Palace, June 5, 2022, at the occasion of its platinum jubilee. © Chris Jackson, AFP