Life, time of Britain's longest reigning monarch

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The United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth realms went into mourning on Thursday, September 8, 2022 after news broke that Britain's longest reigning monarch, Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, had officially passed away. known as Queen Elizabeth II. , was announced. The grandmother and great-grandmother was born on April 21, 1926, in Bruton Street, London, United Kingdom, to the former Duke of York, Prince Albert, and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. According to a statement from Buckingham Palace, the Queen, who became the longest-serving monarch in 2015 when she overtook Queen Victoria, died peacefully aged 96.

Queen Elizabeth II is survived by her children, the Prince of Wales, Prince Charles; Duke of York, Prince Andrew; Princess Royal, Anne; Earl of Wessex, Prince Edward; many grandchildren, including Prince William and Prince Harry, as well as many great-grandchildren.

His prospect of ascending to the throne began after Edward VIII abdicated in favor of his father on December 11, 1936. Her father became King George VI, placing Elizabeth as heiress presumptive. She married on November 20, 1947, Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten of the Royal Navy, which was their wedding day conferred with the titles of Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth and Baron Greenwich. This was after renouncing his Greek title and taking British citizenship. The couple, who met in 1939 when the Royal Family visited Dartmouth Naval College, welcomed their first child, Prince Charles, on November 14, 1948. Prince Philip died on April 9, 2021. He was his husband for 73 years.

Before ascending to the throne, Elizabeth represented her father on several occasions when his health began to decline. During this period, she was appointed Honorary Colonel of the Royal Army Regiment. She also became a second lieutenant in the women's branch of the British Army, Auxiliary Territorial Service. Accompanied by her husband, she toured Australia and New Zealand in 1952 and while on her way to Kenya, she heard the news of her father's death which occurred on February 6, 1952. He died of cancer lung at the age of 56. Elizabeth immediately became queen and was crowned at Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953, an event seen by more than 20 million people. Without much delay, the new monarch began official visits to the Commonwealth and was the first reigning monarch to visit Australia and New Zealand. His silver jubilee was honored by the leaders of the 36 members of the Commonwealth in 1977.

The royal family during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II was not without controversy. In 1968, Queen Elizabeth II allowed a film crew to follow her for two months, documenting her activities which were featured in the documentary 'The Royal Family', watched by more than 30 million people. This is believed to have opened the royal family up to a series of tabloid stories that seemingly stripped them of the fear that surrounds them and made people think of them as ordinary people. In 1992, the monarch lamented that the royal family suffered its annus horribilis when his children's marriages crashed. Prince Charles and his wife, Princess of Wales, Diana, have separated. Prince Andrew and his wife, the Duchess of York, Sarah, have also separated. Anne was not left out as she divorced her husband Mark Phillips. The royal family also experienced another period of sadness when Diana died on August 31, 1997 in a car accident in Paris. Most recently, the Queen's grandson, Prince Harry, and his wife Meghan Markle gave up their duties to the royal family and moved to the United States.

A period of national mourning is expected to begin following which his funeral will take place 10 days after his death. The monarch is expected to be buried at St George's Chapel on the grounds of Windsor Castle, where her father King George VI, sister Princess Margaret and husband Prince Philip were buried.