Elizabeth’s full name is Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; her formal title is “Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of her other Realms and Territories.” The current Queen of England is also known as Head of the Commonwealth of Nations.
The Queen is a member of the House of Windsor; her family name was changed from Saxe-Coburg to Windsor during World War I, due to the strong anti-German sentiments expressed by the British citizenry. It is claimed that the Queen is directly descended from the historical King Arthur of Round Table legend, who might have been either Arthur of Dyfed or Dá l Riata.
The Birth and Youth of Elizabeth II
Born in London in April, 1926, Elizabeth was the oldest child of King George IV. Her youth was a placid one, marred only by the trauma of Hitler’s blitzkriegs; the Royal Family, including Elizabeth’s sister Margaret, remained at Buckingham Palace during much of the war. The future monarch repaired military jeeps in the Auxiliary Territorial Service to aid the soldiers.
The Marriage of Elizabeth II
In 1947, the future queen wed the highly decorated war hero Philip Mountbatten, who renounced his claim to the throne of Greece and became Duke of Edinburgh instead. Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales and heir to the throne, was born in 1948. Subsequently, Elizabeth bore three more children: Anne in 1950, Andrew in 1960, and Edward in 1964.
Elizabeth and Philip, in stark contrast to their children, have maintained a stable and successful union.
Elizabeth II is Crowned Queen
King George VI died in February, 1953. Elizabeth, who had been on a world tour, rushed back to England and was crowned at Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953. Famed journalist Dorothy Kilgallen contended that the young Elizabeth often wore her heavy coronation crownaround the palace prior to the ceremony, to get used to its weight before the “big day.”
7500 observers were present and many millions watched the televised ceremony. At one point, the young Queen forgot to curtsy; at another, she was seen to pass a hand worriedly over her forehead, as though thinking of the awesome responsibility attached to the scepter and crown.
The Reign of Queen Elizabeth
The British sovereign worked hard to consolidate the loosely structured Commonwealth of Nations. In 1957, she conferred upon her husband the title of prince. The Queen used television appearances, including a yearly Christmas address, to strengthen her relationship with her subjects.
Her children’s lives became a source of anxiety and grief: All endured highly publicized divorces and were frequently ridiculed in the tabloids.
In the late 1970s, the Irish Republican Army killed Lord Mountbatten, Prince Philip’s uncle; and an attempted kidnapping of Princess Anne shocked the world.
In 1981, Marcus Sergeant discharged a gun at the Queen; luckily, the weapon was loaded with blanks. The following year, an emotionally disturbed man named Michael Fagan actually gained access to the Queen’s Buckingham Palace bedroom. Refusing to panic, Elizabeth conversed calmly with him until palace guards led him away. Difficult incidents such as the Falklands War further plagued the monarch during this era.
In 1992, Windsor Castle was partly destroyed by fire. The Queen agreed to pay income tax in order to help repair the damage.
Finally, in 1997, Princess Diana died in a horrific car crash. Queen Elizabeth wished to handle the matter as a private family affair, which made her seem cold and distant to many mourners. After a public outcry, the Queen participated in ceremonies to help assuage the outpouring of public grief.
Despite travails and periods of bad publicity, Queen Elizabeth II remains popular with her subjects and the world at large. She survived her Golden Jubilee and is now one of the top five longest-reigning monarchs in British history.
Sources
Ashley, Mike, The Mammoth Book of British Kings & Queens, Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., 1998.
Bradford, Sarah, Elizabeth: A Biography of Britain’s Queen, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1996.
Israel, Lee, Kilgallen, Delacorte Press, 1979
Amy Sillup - I have a B.S. in Chemistry from Delaware Valley College and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania. I have worked as a ...
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