QUEEN ELIZABETH II DEATH: THE END OF A LEGENDRY MONARCH

SILVER JUBILEE

Elizabeth celebrated the Silver Jubilee of her accession in 1977. Parties and events were held around the Commonwealth, with many of them coinciding with her connected national and Commonwealth visits. Despite nearly coincidental bad news coverage of Princess Margaret’s split from her husband, Lord Snowdon, the celebrations reaffirmed Elizabeth’s popularity.  In 1978, Romania’s communist leader, Nicolae Ceaușescu, and his wife, Elena, paid an official visit to the United Kingdom, despite Elizabeth personally believing they had “blood on their hands.” The next year saw the unmasking of Anthony Blunt, former Surveyor of the Queen’s Pictures, as a communist spy, and the killing of her relative and in-law, Lord Mountbatten, by the Provisional Irish Republican Army.

GOLDEN JUBILEE

The queen celebrated her Golden Jubilee, the 50th anniversary of her ascension, in 2002. Her sister and mother died in February and March, respectively, and the media debated whether or not the Jubilee would be a success.  She embarked on another extended tour to her kingdoms, beginning in Jamaica in February, where she dubbed the departure supper “memorable” when a power outage dropped the King’s House, the governor-formal general’s house, into darkness. There were street dances and memorial festivities, as there had been in 1977, and monuments were named in honour of the occasion. One million people attended each of the three days of the major Jubilee celebration in London, and the public’s passion for Elizabeth was stronger than many journalists had imagined.

DIAMOND JUBILEE

Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 commemorated her 60th year on the throne, and festivities were staged across her countries, the Commonwealth, and beyond. Her husband and she went on a lengthy tour of the United Kingdom, while her children and grandchildren went on royal visits to other Commonwealth countries on her behalf. Jubilee beacons were lighted across the world on June 4th.  Elizabeth and her husband celebrated their blue sapphire wedding anniversary in November (65th). On December 18, she became the first British royal since George III in 1781 to attend a peacetime Cabinet meeting.

PLATINUM JUBILEE

Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee began on February 6, 2022, celebrating 70 years after her father’s death, when she ascended to the throne. On the eve of the wedding, she hosted a reception at Sandringham House for retirees, members of the local Women’s Institute, and charitable volunteers. Elizabeth repeated her promise to a lifetime of public service, which she made in 1947, in her accession day statement. Later that month, Elizabeth, along with several employees and family members, developed “moderate cold-like symptoms” and tested positive for COVID-19. She cancelled two virtual audiences on February 22, but spoke with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson the next day about the crisis on the Russian-Ukrainian border, after which she made a gift to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. On 28 February, she was reported to have recovered and spent time with her family at Frogmore. On 7 March, Elizabeth met Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau at Windsor Castle, in her first in-person engagement since her COVID diagnosis. She later remarked that COVID infection “leave[s] one very tired and exhausted … It’s not a nice result”.

Elizabeth was deeply religious and civic-minded, and she took her Coronation Oath seriously.  In addition to her formal religious function as Supreme Governor of the established Church of England, she attended both that church and the national Church of Scotland.  She advocated for interfaith dialogue and visited with leaders from different churches and religions, including five popes: Pius XII, John XXIII, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis. Her annual Christmas Message to the Commonwealth frequently included a personal comment about her beliefs. Elizabeth supported around 600 organisations and charities.  According to the Charities Aid Foundation, Elizabeth helped raise almost £1.4 billion for her patronages during her reign. Her major hobbies were equestrianism and pets, particularly her Pembroke Welsh Corgis.  Her lifelong passion for corgis began in 1933 with Dookie, her family’s first corgi Scenes of carefree, casual home life were occasionally observed; she and her family made dinner together and cleaned the dishes together occasionally.

TITLES 

• 21 April 1926 – 11 December 1936: Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth of York
• 11 December 1936 – 20 November 1947: Her Royal Highness The Princess Elizabeth
• 20 November 1947 – 6 February 1952: Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh
• 6 February 1952 – 8 September 2022: Her Majesty The Queen