Tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

September 08, 2022

Tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, officially Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of her other realms and territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith. The late Queen was born on 21st April 1926 on Bruton Street, Mayfair in London, the capital of what was then the British Empire. She was the elder daughter of Prince Albert, Duke of York and of his wife, Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. She was christened on May 29, 1926 at Buckingham Palace.

When she was born, it seemed very unlikely that she would become Queen, however this changed when her uncle, Edward VIII (later known as the Duke of Windsor), abdicated in her father’s favor on December 11, 1936 - her father became King George VI and Elizabeth became heir presumptive.

The young princess had a broad education in history, music, and languages. She even trained as a lifeguard. During World War II, the Queen and her sister, Princess Margaret Rose, spent their time away from London, in the safety of Balmoral Castle or at the Royal Lodge in Windsor Castle. In October 1940, she joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service as a driver and mechanic.

Early in 1947, Princess Elizabeth went with the king and queen on a trip to South Africa, after her return, there was an announcement of her betrothal to Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten of the Royal Navy, formerly Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark. Their marriage took place on November 20, 1947 at Westminster Abbey. On the eve of the wedding, her father conferred upon the prince, the titles of Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth, and Baron Greenwich. They took residence at Clarence House in London. These were happy years for the couple, spent between Britain and Malta - where some of their best memories were formed. Their first child, Prince Charles (Charles Philip Arthur George, future King Charles III), who was born on November 14, 1948, at Buckingham Palace.

It was the summer of 1951, when the health of King George VI started to enter into a serious decline, Princess Elizabeth represented him at the Trooping of the Colour and on various other state occasions. In early October, the couple went on a successful tour of Canada and the United States. After Christmas in the UK, the duke and princess once again set out for a tour of Australia and New Zealand, but on en route to Sagana, Kenya - they received the news of the King’s death on February 6, 1952.

Queen Elizabeth II, immediately flew back to England. The first three months of her reign were a period of mourning for her father. In the summer, the Queen moved from Clarence House to Buckingham Palace, where she began to undertake official duties as monarch - she carried out her first state opening of Parliament on November 4, 1952. Her historic Coronation, the first to be televised, was held at Westminster Abbey, on June 2, 1953.

The Queen's first prime minister was Sir Winston Churchill. The man who led Britain into victory and with whom she always shared a special relationship. He was notoriously the only Prime Minister with whom she was on a first name basis.

Beginning in November 1953, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh made a six-month round-the-world tour of the Commonwealth, which included the first visits of a reigning monarch to Australia and New Zealand. In 1957, after visiting various European nations, including Italy, the Queen and the Duke visited Canada and the United States once again.

The Queen was being taken around the world by her favorite HMY Britannia, which remained in service until 1997. In 1961, the couple made the first royal tour of India in 50 years, she was also the first reigning monarch to visit South America (in 1968) and the Persian Gulf (1979). In 1977, she celebrated her Silver Jubilee and once again travelled all over the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the whole Commonwealth.

On the accession of Queen Elizabeth, her son, Prince Charles became heir apparent; he was named Prince of Wales on July 26, 1958, and was so invested in a ceremony on July 1, 1969. The Queen’s other children were Princess Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise, born August 15, 1950; Prince Andrew Albert Christian Edward, born February 19, 1960, and created Duke of York in 1986; and Prince Edward Anthony Richard Louis, born March 10, 1964, and created Earl of Wessex and Viscount Severn in 1999. While all the children bore the surname of Windsor, in 1960, Queen Elizabeth decided to create the name Mountbatten-Windsor for other descendants not styled HRH. The Queen’s first grandchild, Princess Anne’s son, was born on November 15, 1977.

Increasingly, the Queen became aware of the modern role of the monarchy, allowing, for example the televising of the Royal Family’s domestic life in 1970 and condoning the formal dissolution of her sister’s marriage in 1978. In 1982, the Queen became yet another monarch to lead the country in victory after the Falklands War, following the Argentinian invasion.

In 1992, a year that the Queen referred to as annus horribilis, the Royal Family underwent various misfortunes; Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales, separated - so did Prince Andrew and his wife, Sarah, Ducess of York. The Princess Royal divorced that same year. Moreover, a terrible fire gutted the royal residence of Windsor Castle. The country also struggled with recession, that same year the Queen agreed to pay taxes on her private income, despite the exemptions. The separation and divorce of the heir apparent in 1996, together with the support for media-worshipped Princess Diana eroded support for the Royal Family which began to be seen as superfluous. Such criticism intensified after the Princess of Wales’ death in 1997. Fortunately, eventually the public realized that each of the Queen’s actions was a result of putting bereaved great-grandchildren before the people, for once.

During the attacks of September 11th, 2001, the Queen changed protocol and had the Royal Band play the Star Spangled Banner outside Buckingham Palace to honor the American victims - on that occasion she spoke the famous words: “grief is the price we pay for love”. In 2002, Queen Elizabeth celebrated her 50th year on the throne, Golden Jubilee events were held throughout the Commonwealth, despite the deaths of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret, earlier in the year. Public support for the Royal Family rebounded once again, and when Charles, Prince of Wales married Camilla Parker Bowles, future Queen consort, in 2005 - old wounds started to be healed.

In April 2011, Queen Elizabeth II led the Royal Family in celebrating the wedding of Prince William of Wales, and of Catherine Middleton. The following month, she surpassed George III to become the second longest-reigning monarch in British history, behind Queen Victoria. In May, Queen Elizabeth II made a historic trip to Ireland, becoming the first British monarch to visit the Irish republic and to set foot on on Irish soil since 1911.

In 2012, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, which coincided also with the London Olympics, was celebrated all over the Commonwealth. On September 9, 2015, she surpassed Queen Victoria’s record reign or 63 years and 216, becoming the world’s longest reigning monarch; a reign in which she met and hosted the world’s greatest events and people; popes, presidents, astronauts, actors, poets, and more. She was indeed the first non-Catholic monarch to not wear a black head-cover on her meeting with Pope Francis in 2015.

In August 2017, Prince Philip officially retired from public life, while periodically appearing at official engagements. In the meantime, the Queen began to reduce her official engagements, passing some duties to Prince Charles and other members of the Royal Family. The Queen’s popularity was at an all-time high in the last years of her reign.

The Duke of Edinburgh died in April 2021, as she stated on their 50th anniversary in 1997: “he has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years”. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Queen sat alone in a choir stall in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor - these images became emblematic of the dignity and courage she brought to her reign.

Last June, Britain celebrated Queen Elizabeth’s 70 years on the throne, with the Platinum Jubilee, all the stops were pulled out for this glorious goodbye to the woman who gave the world a new Elizabethan age. Concerns about the Queen’s health led to the appointment of the new Prime Minister Liz Truss at Balmoral Castle, rather than at Buckingham Palace, the Queen died two days later on September 8, 2022 - having kept her word: “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”.

Her Majesty was known to favour simplicity in her private life, she was known for having taken serious interest in government business, aside from her traditional and ceremonial duties. She was a hard-worker. She was also an avid horsewoman, she kept racehorses, frequently attended them.

She was also a devoted Christian, not just as a Head of the Church of England and Defender of the Faith but also as a simple servant of Christ. Since her Coronation in 1953, when she was anointed by the Holy Spirit through the Archbishop of Canterbury, in the ancient and historic manner dating back to the very legal establishment of Christianity by Constantine - she took an oath to "maintain and preserve inviolably the settlement of the Church of England, and the doctrine worship, discipline, and government thereof, as by law established in England”.

She preached the Word innumerable times, notably during her Christmas speeches, not only did she preach, but she did also act, as when in 2005 she extended her time with Holocaust survivors. Among the words that resume her Christian faith, these are some favorite ones: "For me the teachings of Christ and my own personal accountability before God provide a framework in which I try to lead my life. I, like so many of you, have drawn great comfort in difficult times from Christ's words and example.”

“Genuine human happiness and satisfaction lie more in giving than receiving; more in serving than in being served’. "We can surely be grateful that, two thousand years after the birth of Jesus, so many of us are able to draw inspiration from his life and message, and to find in him a source of strength and courage.” He restored love and service to the centre of our lives in the person of Jesus Christ." These are the words of a true saint. She left this world to become Elizabeth the Confessor.

It is with great sadness that we learn of the peaceful passing of Queen Elizabeth II at Balmoral Castle, this afternoon. In the next few days, she will lie in state at Westminster Hall where millions will pay their respects, her funeral will take place at Westminster Abbey on September 19. After serving in the war in her youth - Her Majesty has not only been the head of state of several countries and territories, but the real face behind an age that will come to be known as a new Elizabethan era under her. We give thanks for the glorious reign of Elizabeth the Great.

It was an era of both war and peace, of both financial crisis and prosperity, of scientific progress and other great achievements. She met the first men who walked on the Moon, she was the first monarch to be crowned on tv, as well as the first one to use social media, and even became the first monarch to travel faster than sound onboard British Airways' Concorde! It is during her reign that the Internet became widespread in all of its modern forms. The list goes on. When she became Queen, the world was still suffering from the consequences of WWII, 70 years later she was having online conferences. With her, dies the last great example of the greatest generation, those heroes that lived through WWII.

Her commendable dedication to service throughout all these years until the very end as well as her steadfast faith as a Christian servant and as head of the Church in England will continue to inspire people for the generations to come. To be remembered is also her service as head of the armed forces and the countless times she attended events or services of Remembrance for the Fallen. She embodied Britannia in soul and body.

She remained a spiritual guide and a rock of stability at a time when hers remained the only nation in the world of having the luck of having a similar figure. Britain and the Commonwealth prospered under her reign. She is loved by people in all the countries in which she reigned as well as millions of people throughout the world. The memorial services and events as well as the Westminster Abbey funeral itself will draw millions from around the world, including heads of state and religion, over a billion people will watch the service. Her Majesty leaves us a great legacy and becomes the history, she joins Elizabeth I, Mary II, Anne and Victoria as one of the great women that made Britain and the Commonwealth such.