ANALYSIS | What was Queen Elizabeth II’s greatest achievement?

Queen Elizabeth’s Best Buckingham Balcony Moments 0:56 London (CNN) — If you can’t answer the headline question right away, it probably says more about her than it does about you.
Queen Elizabeth II did so much for so long that it can be difficult to quantify and there is simply no one comparable. Queen Margaret of Denmark has also been in office for a long time and is greatly admired by her subjects, but Elizabeth’s reign was longer and she had many more subjects. The Queen during a private audience to present the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry to Grace Nichols at Windsor Castle in early June 2022. Perhaps we should first ask ourselves what is the main function of a monarch? It is not to serve as long as possible; it is to serve well and leave the throne in a stronger position than when he inherited it. In this sense, Isabel exceeded all forecasts. Elizabeth reigned during a period of change that threatened the monarchy on many fronts. The media revolution has subjected an institution that largely eschewed accountability to unprecedented scrutiny and stripped it of some of the mystique that made it so intriguing. This was accompanied by a loss of deference from society at large, which made the monarchy seem even more distant and unrelated. But the queen had a unique ability to turn threats into opportunities and she embraced the media to connect with her subjects, most notably by inviting cameras to film her on her walks and among the people. She televised the Christmas message and with it was introduced to the most intimate family moment of the British year. She had an official social media account before any of her grandchildren. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh walk past children in Sabina Park, Kingston, during her visit to Jamaica in 1953. But Elizabeth’s biggest backlash has to be the Commonwealth. When she ascended the throne, her empire — which in her day was the largest on Earth — was falling apart. Country after country voted for independence and many saw it as the beginning of the end for the entire institution of monarchy. Isabel, then still in her twenties, stopped her breakdown by offering her support to a fledgling group her father had overseen for post-colonial nations. The queen made the Commonwealth a priority and, under her leadership, it has grown from eight members to 54 today. Because it is important? Because she changed the narrative. As fast as she was losing authority with a sinking power base, she was regaining it as a figurehead of an association of independent states. She maintained her international footprint and modernized at the same time. The Queen opened the 2011 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth, Australia. Now that the crown passes to Carlos, it is less vulnerable than it was when she received it, and that had to be her greatest achievement. The queen’s wish that the Commonwealth of Nations be strengthened with Carlos at the head was fulfilled in 2018, when the body appointed him the next head of it. His promotion to office was not guaranteed, as the British king or queen is not automatically head of the Commonwealth, but rather it is the member countries who choose who takes office. Since then, Charles has placed increasing importance on the modern Commonwealth as he prepared for his own reign. He increasingly took on more Commonwealth responsibilities on his mother’s behalf, such as when he addressed the family at Monday’s Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey. Coinciding with that day, he also launched climate action scholarships for students from small island nations, many of which are part of the Commonwealth. Prince Charles and Camilla arrive at the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey. In a statement in June, Prince Charles said it was “more important than ever” for members to come together as the world continues to recover from the pandemic. “As a family of some 2.6 billion people from fifty-four nations on six continents, the Commonwealth represents a rich diversity of traditions, experiences and talents that can help build a more equal, sustainable and prosperous future,” he added. Editor’s Note: This content was originally published on June 3, 2022, for Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee.