96 years, of which more than 70 passed on the throne, and under the weight of the crown of England. Elizabeth II died Thursday in Balmoral, Scotland. Became queen at only 25 years old, Elisabeth II put her life at the service of her subjects, tirelessly chaining official engagements, smiling, before slowing down the pace as her 70-year reign approached.
Aged 96 and suffering from difficulties in getting around, the queen had recently limited her public appearances to gradually hand over to her eldest son Charles, 73. In addition to her health problems, the death in April 2021 of prince Philip, her husband of seven decades, had shaken the one who had fallen in love at 13 years old and had married her eight years later.
queen in spite of herself
In the United Kingdom, no monarch has ever reigned so long. His face is everywhere: on banknotes, stamps, or mailboxes. And its immense popularity. Yet Elisabeth Alexandra Mary, born in the Mayfair district of London on April 21, 1926, was not destined to be queen.
Princess “Lilibet”, blond curls and angel face, grew up in a certain carelessness. But at the end of 1936, her uncle Edward VIII abdicated to marry Wallis Simpson, a twice-divorced American. Elisabeth’s father, a shy and stuttering man, then became George VI. The little girl moves into the austere Buckingham Palace and will be educated at home with her sister Margaret, four years her junior.
To prepare for her future role, she studied law and constitutional history and also learned French. Towards the end of the Second World War, she joined the Army Reserve, aged 19, as a driver. At the age of 21, she married the dashing officer Philip Mountbatten, son of Prince Andrew of Greece, in a ceremony that would make post-war Britain dream, still marked by deprivation.
On February 6, 1952, while on a trip to Kenya, she learned of her father’s death. She immediately returned to the United Kingdom and was crowned on June 2, 1953. At the age of 25, she became sovereign of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan and of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), she promises her subjects “to be worthy of their trust throughout (her) life”.
calm in the storm
A strong sense of duty, she performed hundreds of engagements each year, until recently, from receptions of foreign dignitaries at Buckingham Palace to presentations of decorations and tours abroad. To be seen by everyone despite her height (1m63), she adopts colorful outfits, matching hat and handbag on her elbow, a uniform that she creates for herself to embody her function.
After a brief hospitalization in October 2021 for examinations, the nature of which has never been revealed, she was forced to reduce the pace, on the advice of her doctors. She relied on a tight royal family since the distancing, in 2020, of her grandson Harry who settled in California, accusing “the Firm”, nickname of royalty, of having lacked support and made evidence of racism towards his wife Meghan, who is of mixed race.
Andrew, often seen as his favorite son, has meanwhile been asked to step back from the monarchy, due to his links to the Epstein case.
Accustomed to scandals
A very religious woman, Elisabeth II embodied the stability within a family regularly crossed by scandals. In 1992, which she nicknamed “Annus Horribilis”, three of her children Charles, Anne and Andrew, saw their respective couples explode and her Windsor Castle was engulfed in flames. The queen remains stoic, maintaining her course in the storm, a reserve that earned her criticism when Lady Di died in 1997.
If she spoke every Christmas to the British during a televised address, she knew how to keep her opinions to herself and never granted an interview. Receiving a weekly audience with the head of government, the queen observes strict political neutrality as it should. In the summer, she slips away to Balmoral, Scotland, where she swaps her hat for a simple scarf and her shoes for a pair of boots. Passionate about dogs, especially corgis, and horses, she still rode horses at 90
Indentation
Since a brief hospitalization in October, Elizabeth II’s appearances had become extremely rare, although she continued to perform “light duties” at Windsor Castle, mostly by videoconference.
On March 29, however, she attended a religious ceremony in Westminster Abbey in honor of Prince Philip. It was his first major public appearance in months. Arrived on the arm of her son Andrew, leaning on a cane, we saw her there, frail and dignified, walking slowly and greeting several participants after the ceremony.
Since the end of 2021, the queen had largely delegated to her son Charles, 73, heir to the crown.