The end of an era

“I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short be devoted to your service…” April 21, 1947 

Queen Elizabeth II was the second longest reigning monarch in the history of the world. She made the above statement on her 21st birthday, declaring a promise to her nation. And she kept it. From the day she ascended to the throne on February 6, 1952, up until the day she died on September 8, 2022, she remained faithful. She devoted her entire life to her nation. And it is because of this that she will go on to be remembered as one of the greatest monarchs of all time. 

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born on April 21, 1926. For the first ten years of her life, Elizabeth was not in the direct line of accession – which she was very thankful for – however, when King Edward (her uncle) abdicated to marry divorcee Wallis Simpson from Baltimore, her father became King, leading Elizabeth to be next in line for the throne.   

The monarchy in England in the early 1900s worked very complicatedly: the first-born son of the current monarch would become the next in line for the throne and then his son. So, in Elizabeth’s case, her uncle – King Edward – became king after his father died. If he had had a son, the line of accession would have gone to that child but since he didn’t, when he abdicated, it went directly to Elizabeth’s father – King George. Since King George did not have a son, it went to Elizabeth.  

At the age of 18, Elizabeth enlisted in the ATS (Auxiliary Territorial Service) as a truck driver. By doing this she became the first and only royal woman to ever enlist in the military.  

On July 9, 1947, Philip Mountbatten and Princess Elizabeth got engaged. The entire nation celebrated by sending them thousands of gifts ranging from lavish jewelry to two pieces of burnt toast sent by women who burnt their toast when hearing about the engagement. On November 20, 1947, they were married. The wedding took place at Westminster Abbey in London, where 2,000 people gathered to celebrate the joining of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Nearly 200 million listened to the wedding from their homes all over the world.   

On the night of February 6, 1952, while Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip were in Kenya, King George died. This means that at whatever point in the night that he died, and the exact time is still unknown, Elizabeth went from princess to queen. 

A year and a half later, on June 2, 1953, the Queen had her coronation. The Queen’s coronation was one of the first live television-broadcasted events, drawing millions of people to their brand-new television screens. This was likely the start of, not only the UK’s, but the world’s obsession with the royal family.  

The Queen was known for her local, national, and international travels, but unlike many other rulers and monarchs, she was also known for learning the culture of the place she was visiting. One time she did this was one of the many times she came to America: She attended a football game at the University of Maryland. The Terps won that game 21-7 and at halftime the marching bands played both the “Star Spangled Banner” and “God Save the Queen.”  

Making history on December 22, 2007, Queen Elizabeth II surpassed her grandmother’s reign, and became Britain’s longest reigning monarch. She continued making all kinds of state visits, giving speeches and performing hundreds of walkabouts. Over the course of her reign, she would go on to visit roughly 117 countries, including nearly all 56 Commonwealth countries.  

After a long life spanning 11 decades, Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle at the age of 96 on September 8, 2022.  

With the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, the media has seen a boom in trends revolving around the royal family, ranging from Princess Diana to the Queen’s corgis. However, something especially noteworthy is that the mourners causing this boom are not solely from the UK. In fact, they are in the minority. It seems that the entire world loves the royal family, but why is that?  

The royal family is one of the top brands in the world, drawing millions of tourists to England every year, and they have lavish jewelry with even more lavish drama. They have documentaries and Netflix shows based on them, countless books and movies, and even songs.  

Analysts now are looking at the data from watchers of the Queen’s funeral and it is estimated that about 7.7 billion people tuned in to watch at least part of the procession.  

So, in the end, we as Americans will never know what it is like to have one singular ruler for our entire lives. England is currently and will be mourning this great monarch for years on end, with the current wait line to give condolences to the royal family reaching 5 miles/30 hours, with over half of the people in line being from outside of the UK.