Queen Elizabeth (crowned Head of State,England)

Biography:

Queen Elizabeth  (1952 –   )  was  crowned Head   of                          State,              Head                          of         the Commonwealth  and   Supreme    Governor of the Church of England in 1952.

She                      is   the       longest-serving             British monarch       and     has    presided  over  half a century  of  continual change  both    within the     Royal Family,      Great  Britain  and     the Commonwealth.

Elizabeth   was   the eldest    child of   Prince Albert, the Duke of York  (later George  VI) and    his    wife  Elizabeth     (later  known    as the       Queen   Mother).      Her    father    Prince Albert   was second in  line  to   the       throne until         his  elder         brother Edward                       VIII abdicated     in    1936      –   pushing    the       shy Prince   Albert  into an unexpected     role of King.               King           George     VI               rose     to the challenge though he died early in 1952.

Elizabeth   was    educated  at home,   along with her sister Princess Margaret. During the         Second             World           War,        they     were evacuated  to Balmoral and later Windsor Castle. Towards   the    end   of    the   war       in 1945, Elizabeth joined the Women’s Royal Auxiliary      Territorial    Service,      where  she served      as a  driver   and mechanic.    After the war, she increasingly stepped into her role    of       performing     public   service       and made   her    first        overseas  trip to          South Africa in     1947.    Shortly   before    her   21st birthday, she said:

“I  declare  before      you  all    that  my   whole life, whether  it   be long  or short,     shall  be devoted  to   your   service    and  the  service of   our  great imperial family  to  which  we all belong.”

phillip-queenIn   1947, she married   Prince Philip         of Greece     and          Denmark    in            a ceremony                 at     Westminster;    they     had known        each         other   for        several   years. Some                  were    opposed  to       the              union because of his   foreign ties,  but   this was overcome  by     his      service     in     the      Royal Navy. They have been happily married for over 70 years, and    their   relationship  is a source of  mutual strength, even if Prince Philip   has a reputation for letting slip the odd        colourful remark about     foreigners. Elizabeth    gave birth     to their first child in 1948 –  the   future    Prince    Charles.    They had four children  in total. (Charles, Anne, Andrew, Edward)

elizabeth-iiIn 1952, her      father  George  VI passed  away    and Queen  Elizabeth     was crowned                   Queen          with               widespread enthusiasm.          Her         coronation      set        TV records      around                        the              globe,      and it appeared  to   usher   in  a new   era for       the monarchy        and  British     Commonwealth. News      of  Edmund             Hilary reaching     the peak      of      Mt      Everest was             delayed       to coincide with her coronation. It appeared a      symbolic            end                 to                the     post-war austerity.

The  1950s   could  be  seen as  the    golden age          for                the       Queen. Deference       and Queen_Elizabeth_IIrespect      to    the    Royal family       were     still    high,      and    the      young Elizabeth              looked     like                the       fairy-tale Princess.   However,   over  the            next     few decades,  widespread social  change saw a   decline    in          traditional  attitudes to  the monarchy.   Also,  the   new       era of TV  and intense       media  scrutiny          led              to  many unfavourable headlines  as  her         children were   caught up  in marital   problems and related scandals.

Yet,   there  were still    high points    for        the Royal  Family,  such  as   her ‘Silver Jubilee’ in                1977    and  the       wedding        of   Prince Charles and     Lady    Diana  in 1981.  By  the 1990s,          the       media        had    a  widespread fascination   with   Princess   Diana,  but   as their marriage         broke    down,   the    Queen was    increasingly  perceived  as being out of touch. In 1992,  she famously declared the  year to  be   her ‘annus   horribilus‘   The year  saw media  headlines dominated  by the      marriage  breakup       of       Charles    and Diana,  a        fire          in    Windsor,                 and  other criticisms of the Royal Family.

“1992 is not   a  year on    which I shall   look back        with          undiluted  pleasure.        In    the words of   one        of    my   more sympathetic correspondents,    it has   turned out     to  be an   ‘Annus    Horribilis‘.”                                    (Christmas address, 1992)

In  1996,       Princess  Diana died               in  a car crash, and temporarily    there    was  public dismay   as    the  Queen  appeared     distant and    refused  to  fly the flag    at half   mast. But,  after         the    Queen           later    expressed admiration                           for  Princess     Diana      the hostility       evaporated.      Nevertheless,   the relationship between Princess Diana and the Queen   were best  described as  being ‘cool’.

elizabethThe          Queen                        placed         great emphasis   on    her          job       as             uniting the Commonwealth  –  a    difficult   job       in     the post-war period  as de-colonisation led to many differing      problems.     However,   the Queen       usually                received        widespread acclaim, and many comment she   was    a real           unifying              presence                   at                      the Commonwealth meetings. In a speech at the United Nations, in 2010, she spoke of the      importance      of     countries         working together:

“In tomorrow’s world      we must      all    work together as  hard   as  ever, if we’re  truly to be United Nations.”

After  the            difficulties   of  the  1990s,    the 2000s saw a resurgence in her popularity as   the Royal Family  put many difficulties behind    them,    and             they    were       able    to celebrate    good  news. If       1992  was       her annus  horribilus,   2012, was perhaps  her annus    mirabilis.     Firstly,    in  April,     Prince William            married         Kate           Middleton      to widespread    public      enthusiasm. Then in summer, her  Golden  Jubilee     was  widely celebrated   and  popular  despite     the   wet weather.     Finally,   in  July       2012, she  took part   in        the    opening     ceremony        of    the London      Olympics  –  which    was   a    huge global success.

During  her  time as  Head  of State, Queen Elizabeth    has         sought        to  refrain      from interfering in  political  issues and provide a moderating influence on the nation.

“We   are      a  moderate, pragmatic    people, more   comfortable        with   practice           than theory.” (30 April 2002)

She   is    a  committed Christian   and  often mentions    her       religious               beliefs in    her Christmas addresses.     However,      in      her role  as Head  of the       Church   of   England, she has    stated that  she  is committed to protecting   the                    rights      of   all   different faiths.

“The   concept   of  our established  Church is  occasionally     misunderstood              and,     I believe, commonly under-appreciated. Its role is    not to    defend  Anglicanism  to the exclusion  of  other    religions. Instead, the Church       has  a    duty   to protect          the free practice of all faiths in this country.”

–   During         a  speech    at Lambeth Palace, 15/02/2012.

Despite    passing      90    years,            she is           in relatively good health and  shows no sign of passing  the throne  to her  heir Charles early.    Though         in   recent   years,  she has begun   to                           cut            back                 on             public engagements.