Status: 06.02.2022 8:44 a.m
After the death of George VI. Elizabeth II was proclaimed Queen 70 years ago today. She usually spends the anniversary of her accession to the throne in memory of her father without public appointments at her country estate in East England in Sandringham.
Criticism of the monarchy, a stranger in the royal bedchamber, family crises – there hardly seems to be anything that could really upset Queen Elizabeth II. Sit out and keep your composure is her motto. And the British Queen is used to it. In her many years on the throne, Elizabeth has weathered many crises – always well dressed in her costume with a matching hat and a controlled expression. It is usually not her own, but the scandals of her family members that the queen has to deal with. The fact that she – at least outwardly – always remains calm is not least thanks to her iron discipline.
Crown Princess after Edward VIII’s abdication
When the Princess of York was born on April 21, 1926, hardly anyone expected that Elizabeth Alexandra Mary would one day become Queen of Great Britain. While her grandfather George V reigns, Elizabeth is only third in line to the throne. After his death, her uncle Edward of Wales ascended the throne as planned in 1936. But after less than a year as king, he abdicated for love of an American woman. Elizabeth’s father George VI replaces him on the throne – his eldest daughter automatically becomes crown princess. A life in public begins.
AUDIO: Queen Elizabeth II has been on the throne for 70 years (4 min)
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Trained as a car mechanic
In her new role as “Heiress Presumptive” – prospective heir to the throne – Elizabeth quickly finds her way around. At the age of 14 she gave her first radio address on the BBC children’s programme. When she was 18, Elizabeth joined the ATS and served as “Number 230873” to help her country during World War II. The princess proves that nothing is too bad for her. She gets her driver’s license and is trained as a car mechanic and driver. Elizabeth accompanies her parents on many official trips. The princess made her first major international appearance in 1947 during a state visit to South Africa. There she gives a radio address in which she pledges to serve the Commonwealth, the federation of former British colonies.
Magnificent coronation in 1953
She was proclaimed Queen on February 6, 1952, on the death of her father George. According to insiders, the day she became queen is still personally linked to the death of her beloved father. She usually spends the anniversary of her accession to the throne without public appointments, quietly at her East England country home in Sandringham.
Ever since ascending the throne, Elizabeth has lived for the crown. Her husband Philip supports her.
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A year later, on June 2, 1953, she was crowned Queen in London’s Westminster Abbey. Elizabeth insists that the coronation ceremony be televised. An ambivalent relationship with the media begins. From now on there is hardly any private Elizabeth anymore – the Queen is accompanied by cameras at every turn. Elizabeth quickly felt the downside: the private life of the royal family was increasingly in the limelight, and scandals were rampant. But the Queen wouldn’t be the Queen if she hadn’t stoically faced every scandal in her family’s life – whether it’s adultery, divorce or arguments. Always by your side: husband Prince Philip.
Married to childhood sweetheart Philip
Elizabeth met the love of her life at the tender age of 13 when she visited the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth. Philip is a cadet at the Royal Naval Academy and is 18 at the time. Some time later they meet again, the two fall in love and become a couple. On November 20, 1947, the princess and the naval officer tied the knot – it was the first aristocratic wedding ever to be televised.
About a year later their first child Charles was born, his sister Anne was born two years later. The sons Andrew and Edward follow in 1960 and 1964. The Queen is considered a strict mother. In love, as in other areas of life, it is: constant. The Queen and her prince were almost the only constant in the numerous gossip stories about failed relationships in the British royal family.
The successor is secured
As the queen, there is little time for husband and children. Family often comes last.
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The Queen needn’t worry about the continued existence of the Windsor family tree. The following generations provided further “strong branches”. Prince Charles has long been in the starting blocks to succeed the throne. But the Queen doesn’t seem to be thinking about abdicating. However, over time she leaves her son, who is on hold, with more and more tasks. And her grandson Prince William and his wife Kate often represent Elizabeth at official meetings. This fueled speculation as to whether the eternal queen could still voluntarily vacate the throne. But the British Queen is apparently not thinking of abdicating.
Throne anniversaries and 90th birthday
In June 2002, the monarch celebrates her golden jubilee on the throne. Queen guitarist Brian May performs “God Save The Queen” on the roof of Buckingham Palace in honor of his Queen. The celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the throne begin on June 3, 2012 with a grand parade of ships on the Thames and end two days later with a carriage parade through central London. In the same year she took on a small but spectacular film role for the first time in her life. On the occasion of the opening ceremony of the XXX. For the Olympic Games, she poses for an action scene alongside British secret agent James Bond (played by Daniel Craig). “Such a story would have been unthinkable 30 years ago. And it is still unimaginable that it happened,” nobility expert Rolf Seelmann-Eggebert recalls this spectacular performance.
“Even her grandchildren would not have believed her capable of it. But you never know what freedoms older women allow themselves,” says the journalist. The fact that she had her grandchildren give her a cell phone so that she could communicate with them better is part of the Queen’s new relaxed attitude. “She wants to be close to her grandchildren,” explains Seelmann-Eggebert, “as a mother she was never like that, but as a grandmother she is.” Thousands of onlookers cheered for Elizabeth in Windsor on April 21, 2016 as she celebrated her 90th birthday, with people across the country lighting bonfires in her honor. But that’s just a foretaste of the actual festival program: with a memorial service, the military parade Trooping the Color and the Patron’s Lunch, a true marathon of celebrations for the royal jubilee will follow from June 10th to 12th.
Brexit, Corona and the Megxit
On March 31, 2021, Queen Elizabeth II will visit the Air Force Memorial in Runnymede, UK, to mark the centenary of the Royal Australian Air Force.
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World events do not stop at the old age of the monarch. The corona pandemic is hitting Great Britain particularly hard. In a televised address on 5 April 2020, Elizabeth II calls on her people for British self-discipline and quiet determination. The Queen spends much of the year in isolation with husband Philip at Windsor Castle. At the end of 2020, Elizabeth is part of another major event: after approval by the British Parliament, she signs the treaty that seals Great Britain’s exit from the EU.
Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex are causing renewed family turmoil. In the spring of 2020, the couple will withdraw from the royal family – and after the “Megxit” they will move to the USA with their son Archie. In an interview with talk show host Oprah Winfrey, Meghan raises accusations of racism against the British royal family. The Queen takes the allegations “very seriously,” it said in a statement. More penetrates – typical for Elizabeth – not to the public.
Even more serious are the allegations that have just been raised again against Prince Andrew, who is involved in an abuse scandal and will probably have to answer in court in the USA. Buckingham Palace distanced itself as far as possible and explained. Andrew will contest the case as a “private citizen”.
Death of Prince Philip and 95th birthday
Always by her side: her husband Prince Philip, who only retired from his royal obligations at the age of 95 in 2017. Elizabeth and Philip have been married for more than 73 years – longer than any British royal couple before them. On April 9, 2021, Prince Philip dies and with it the Queen’s most important support. “He’s just been my mainstay and my strength all these years,” Queen Elizabeth II said of her husband. Since then, the queen has had to continue on her way alone.
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