Living Example Of Monarchy; Let's Know More About Queen Elizabeth II

Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; born 21 April 1926) is Queen of the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth realms. Elizabeth was born in Mayfair, London, as the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth). Her father acceded to the throne in 1936 upon the abdication of his brother, King Edward VIII, making Elizabeth the heir presumptive. She was educated privately at home and began to undertake public duties during the Second World War, serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. In November 1947, she married Philip Mountbatten, a former prince of Greece and Denmark, and their marriage lasted 73 years until Philip died in 2021. They had four children: Charles, Prince of Wales; Anne, Princess Royal; Prince Andrew, Duke of York; and Prince Edward; Earl of Wessex. 

Queen Elizabeth II, the 95-year-old head of state, became the first British monarch in history to reign for 70 years. Public celebrations are planned for early June. As the United Kingdom marked the 70th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's rule on Sunday, the queen looked to the future of the monarchy. In remarks delivered in time for Sunday morning's front pages, the queen expressed a “sincere wish'' that Prince Charles' wife, Camilla, should be known as “Queen Consort” when her son succeeds her as expected. With those words, the monarch sought to answer once and for all questions about the status of Camilla, who was initially shunned by fans of the late Princess Diana, Charles' first wife. 

She is married to her cousin, Prince Philip -

Philip and Elizabeth first crossed paths in 1934 at a royal family wedding and then met properly again five years later in 1939 when she was 13 and he was 18 – the first time she said she remembered meeting him. The princess had accompanied her parents on a visit to Britain’s Royal Naval College where he was a cadet. The two had very different upbringings. Handsome and athletic, Philip was worldly, having lived in Paris, Germany, and the United Kingdom after his own royal family was forced to flee his birthplace, Greece. He spent much of his childhood apart from his parents and went on to serve in the Mediterranean and the Pacific during World War II. According to a letter she wrote in 1947, she and Philip were able to spend time together after the war when he was stationed at a naval officers' school and spent weekends and a long break with her family. Their differing backgrounds were a cause of concern to other members of the royal family, according to Clive Irving, the author of “The Last Queen: How Queen Elizabeth II Saved the Monarchy.” Before they got married, there was a lot of hesitancy in the court and palace about whether he was the right match. Elizabeth and Philip announced their engagement in July 1947 and got married just over four months later, with the future queen smiling broadly in photos with her new husband. 

Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II -

The coronation of Elizabeth II took place on 2 June 1953 at  Westminster Abbey in London. Elizabeth II acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon her father's death, George VI, on 6 February 1952, being proclaimed queen by her privy and executive councils shortly afterwards. The coronation was held more than one year later because of the tradition of allowing an appropriate length of time to pass after a monarch dies before holding such festivals. It also gave the planning committees adequate time to make preparations for the ceremony. Elizabeth took an oath during the service oath, was anointed with oil, was invested with robes and regalia, and was crowned queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Celebrations took place across the Commonwealth realms and a commemorative medal was issued. It has been the only British coronation to be fully televised; television cameras had not been allowed inside the abbey during her parents' coronation in 1937. Elizabeth was the fourth and last British coronation of the 20th century. It was estimated to have cost £1.57 million.

Queen Elizabeth is the monarch of 15 countries (6 February 1952 – present) Let us check out -

Queen Elizabeth II is the monarch of fourteen countries in addition to the United Kingdom. Barbados’s transition to a republic has revived debate over the future of the Crown. Queen Elizabeth II is the longest-serving British monarch in history, having ascended to the throne in 1952 at age twenty-five. She is also the queen of more than a dozen other independent countries that were once under direct British colonial rule. In 2021, Barbados became the latest country to sever its ties with the Crown. 

 All the Countries Queen Elizabeth II Reigns Over -

1. Antigua and Barbuda

2. Australia

3. The Bahamas

4. Barbados

5. Belize

6. Canada

7. Grenada

8. Jamaica

9. New Zealand

10. Papua New Guinea

11. Saint Kitts and Nevis

12. Saint Lucia

13. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

14. The Solomon Islands

15. Tuvalu

16. The United Kingdom

Some Regal Facts About Queen Elizabeth II  -

1. SHE DIDN'T GO TO SCHOOL - Heirs apparent don’t just show up to primary school like normal kids. Instead, Elizabeth was tutored at home during sessions by different teachers like Henry Marten, vice-provost of Eton College (which is still for boys only), and was also given private religion lessons by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

2. SHE WANTED TO GO TO WAR BUT WAS TOO YOUNG - When World War II broke out in 1939, Elizabeth—then just a teenager—begged her father to join the effort somehow. She started by making radio broadcasts geared toward raising the morale of British children. During one of the broadcasts, the 14-year-old princess reassured listeners, "I can truthfully say to you all that we children at home are full of cheerfulness and courage. We are trying to do all we can to help our gallant sailors, soldiers, and airmen and we are trying too to bear our share of the danger and sadness of war."

3. SHE EVENTUALLY SERVED IN WORLD WAR II - Despite the risks, Elizabeth eventually joined the women's Auxiliary Territorial Service and trained as a truck driver and mechanic in 1945, when she was 18 years old. Queen Elizabeth remains the only female royal family member to have entered the armed forces and is currently the only living head of state who officially served in World War II.

4. SHE MARRIED HER COUSIN - Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh, and Queen Elizabeth are third cousins; both share the same great-great-grandparents: Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

5. SHE HAS TWO BIRTHDAYS - Like most British monarchs, Elizabeth gets to celebrate her birthday twice, and the reason why boils down to seasonably appropriate pomp and circumstance. She was born on April 21, 1926, but April was deemed too cold and liable to fall during inclement weather. So instead, her official state-recognized birthday occurs on a Saturday in late May or June, so that the celebration can be held during warmer months. The specific date varies year to year in the UK and usually coincides with Trooping the Colour, Britain’s annual military pageant.

6. SHE DOESN'T NEED A PASSPORT TO TRAVEL - Elizabeth II is the world's most well-travelled head of state, visiting more than 115 countries between more than 270 official state visits, but she doesn't even own a passport. Since all British passports are officially issued in the Queen’s name, she technically doesn't need one. 

7. SHE DOESN'T NEED A DRIVER'S LICENCE EITHER - It's not just because she has a fleet of chauffeurs. Britain also officially issues driver's licences in Elizabeth’s name, so don’t expect her to show off her ID when she gets pulled overtaking other heads of state for a spin in her Range Rover. Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, former British ambassador to Saudi Arabia, recounted to The Sunday Times the time when Elizabeth drove former Saudi crown prince Abdullah around the grounds of Balmoral: "To his surprise, the Queen climbed into the driving seat, turned the ignition and drove off," he said. "Women are not—yet—allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia, and Abdullah was not used to being driven by a woman, let alone a queen."

8. SHE TECHNICALLY OWNS ALL THE DOLPHINS IN THE UK - In addition to owning all of the country's dolphins, she owns all the sturgeon and whales, too. A still-valid statute from the reign of King Edward II in 1324 states, "Also the King shall have ... whales and sturgeons taken in the sea or elsewhere within the realm," meaning most aquatic creatures are technically labelled "fishes royal," and are claimed on behalf of the Crown. As the song goes, "Rule, Britannia! Britannia rules the waves!"

9. SHE HAS HER OWN SPECIAL MONEY TO GIVE TO THE POOR - Known as "Maundy Money," the Queen has silver coins—currently with Elizabeth's likeness on the front—that is given to pensioners in a ceremony called Maundy Thursday. The royal custom dates back to the 13th century, in which the royal family was expected to wash the feet of and distribute gifts to penniless subjects as a symbolic gesture to honour Jesus’s act of washing the feet of the poor in the Bible. Once the 18th century rolled around and washing people's dirty feet wasn't seen as befitting of a royal, the act was replaced with money allowances bequeathed by the monarch.

10. SHE CREATED HER BREED OF DOGS - Elizabeth has a famous, avowed love of Corgis (she has owned more than 30 of them during her reign; her last one, Willow, passed away in 2018), but what about Dorgis? She currently owns two Dorgis (Candy and Vulcan), a crossbreed she engineered when one of her Corgis mated with a Dachshund named Pipkin that belonged to Princess Margaret.

Charles, Prince of Wales (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is the heir apparent to the British throne as the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II. He has been heir apparent as well as Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay since 1952 and is both the oldest and the longest-serving heir apparent in British history. He is also the longest-serving Prince of Wales, having held the title since July 1958. Upon the death of this father, Prince Philip, on 9 April 2021, Charles also inherited the title of Duke of Edinburgh. 

And he is more likely to be the next king to the monarch of the empire. Next in line after him is Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, the Prince of Wales's elder son. 

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Aashi Harita