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- She reigned against the backdrop of vast cultural and political transformations — the end of Britain’s age of deference and its empire, and the advent of globalization and the multimedia age. Throughout, she and her family experienced unprecedented levels of public exposure and, at times, a fractious relationship with the media.
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Sep 17, 2024 · Much has happened over the course of The Queen's life. Television has been invented, man has walked on the moon for the first time and the Berlin Wall has been built and then razed to the ground.
Sep 8, 2022 · Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch in British history, died September 8 at Balmoral Castle on her Scottish estate. She was 96 years old, and had been on the throne since the age of...
When Her Majesty acceded to the throne aged just 25, her life changed overnight from that of a young naval wife and mother to a busy Head of State. She was to become known for her sense of duty and her devotion to a life of service, and was an important figurehead for the UK and the Commonwealth during times of both crisis and celebration.
Sep 8, 2022 · Queen Elizabeth II's reign lasted from the industrial age to the internet age — 70 years of endurance and stoicism that endeared her to millions.
- Rachel Elbaum
- 5 min
- Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation - June 2, 1953
- First State Visit to West Germany - 1965
- Mining Disaster in Wales - 1966
- First 'Walkabout' - 1970
- Silver Jubilee - 1977
- Prince Charles' Wedding to Lady Diana Spencer - 1981
- Visit to China - 1986
- 'Annus horribilis' - 1992
- Response to Princess Diana’s Death - 1997
- Golden Jubilee - 2002
Held at Westminster Abbey, Elizabeth’s coronation ceremony was the first to be broadcast live on television. Some 27 million people in the United Kingdom (out of a total population of 36 million) watched the ceremony, and 11 million more listened on the radio. Afterward, some 3 million people lined the route as the queen and her entourage made thei...
In the midst of a decade marked by social and political changes, the queen kept to a busy schedule of diplomatic duties, including a 10-day visit to the Federal Republic of Germany (or West Germany) that was the first official visit there by a British royal since 1913. Her visit marked the 20-year anniversary of the end of World War II, helping to ...
On October 21, 1966, an avalanche of mud, water and debris from a coal mine buried an elementary school in the South Wales village of Aberfan, killing 116 children and 28 adults. Though Prince Philip arrived in Aberfan a day after the disaster, the queen herself delayed her visit for over a week, fearing her presence would distract from rescue and ...
During a royal tour of Australia and New Zealand with Philip and Princess Anne in 1970, Elizabeth bucked centuries of royal tradition when she took a casual stroll to greet crowds of people in person, rather than wave to them from a protected distance. Now a regular practice for British royals both abroad and at home, the first “walkabout” in Sydne...
On June 7, Elizabeth and Philip rode in the Gold State Coach from Buckingham Palace to St. Paul’s Cathedral to officially celebrate her 25th year on the throne. Wearing a bright pink outfit, including a hat decked out with 25 fabric bells, the queen repeatedher long-ago pledge to devote her life to service, saying that "Although that vow was made i...
On July 29, 1981, an estimated 750 million people in 74 countries around the world tuned in to watch Prince Charles, Elizabeth’s eldest son, marry Lady Diana Spencer, at St. Paul’s Cathedral. The romance between the heir to the British throne and the young “Shy Di” had attracted massive media attention, and their lavish nuptials were considered the...
In late 1984, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s government agreed to return sovereignty over Hong Kong to China beginning July 1, 1997. In 1986, Elizabeth became the first British monarch to visit the Chinese mainland, touring the terracotta warriors in Xi’an, the Great Wall in Beijing and other sites. For the press, the diplomatic importance of t...
Charles and Diana’s marriage continued to deteriorate, and in 1992 they announced their decision to separate. Prince Andrew, the queen’s second son, and his wife, Sarah Ferguson, also separated, while Anne divorced her husband, Mark Phillips. Late that year, a fire broke out in Windsor Castle, destroying more than 100 rooms. In a speech delivered t...
Public criticism of the royal family grew more intense after Charles and Diana’s divorce in 1996 and especially after Diana’s death in a car crash in Paristhe following summer. The queen initially remained at her estate in Balmoral, Scotland, and refused to allow the flag to fly at half-mast over Buckingham Palace or address the grieving nation. At...
The queen’s celebration of her 50th year on the throne was marred by a double loss, when her younger sister, Princess Margaret, and their mother died within weeks of each other. As the first British monarch since Queen Victoria to celebrate a Golden Jubilee, Elizabeth traveled more than 40,000 miles that year, including visits to the Caribbean, Aus...
Sep 8, 2022 · December 11, 1936: King Edward VIII abdicates after the governments of the UK and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth object to his decision to marry divorcee Wallis Simpson. Elizabeth’s father, George VI, is proclaimed King. She becomes the heir presumptive aged 10.
Sep 8, 2022 · More than seven decades later, on the 75th anniversary of the day the war in Europe ended, she sits behind a desk, a picture of her father, the late King, in uniform, to her right. Her hair - still...
