On 8th September, Buckingham Palace announced the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. In light of the Queen’s death, Forge Press takes a look back in time at the significance of her reign in British and international History.
Officially crowned in 1953 at Westminster Abbey, 16 months after the death of her father King George VI on 6 February 1952, Queen Elizabeth II ruled for 70 years. The length of her reign makes Elizabeth II the longest-running monarch in British History and the second longest-ruling monarch recorded of any monarch of a sovereign nation.
Queen Elizabeth began making history from the very start of her rule as hers was the only British coronation to be fully televised. It was also the first major world event to be broadcasted internationally.
Her parents did not allow television cameras inside Westminster Abbey for their coronation.
During Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, she became the first reigning monarch of Australia and New Zealand to visit those nations and was the most widely travelled head of state.
Her rule coincided with the offices of 15 Prime Ministers in the United Kingdom including Winston Churchill and Harold Wilson, 16 if one counts welcoming Truss. The Queen also saw 13 American presidents move into the White House during her reign, who included John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan; a 14th, Harry S. Truman, was already President when she became Queen. Each world leader is remembered for their involvement in individual world events, while Queen Elizabeth’s reign overlapped all of them.
Her reign witnessed the acceleration of decolonisation in the 1960s and 1970s and the growth of the Commonwealth from 7 nations initially to the present number of 56. She has been sovereign of 32 independent countries across her reign, but was head of just 15 at the time of her death.
While the popularity of the monarchy has wavered at times, Queen Elizabeth played a key part in modernising Britain’s oldest constitutional institution.
The Queen invented the ‘royal walkabout’ on her tour to Australia and New Zealand in 1970.
Looking to the future, the new King Charles III, as he has been officially named, is already in the record books for being the oldest heir apparent in British History to be crowned. The eyes of the public are on the new King, watching to see where his reign leads and what history he makes.
Image: Library and Archives Canada via Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/lac-bac/7195944290/
