The Life and Reign of Queen Elizabeth II
"I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service," said a 21-year-old Princess Elizabeth to her soon-to-be subjects in 1947. It was five years before she was crowned Queen Elizabeth II and began making good on her promise as head of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.
For many, this transition will prove bittersweet as they adjust to a world without one of the most recognizable, most beloved figures of the past century. Princess Elizabeth became the rightful heir to the throne at 10 years old, in 1936, when her uncle Edward VIII abdicated and her father was unexpectedly crowned George VI. From then on,"she was well trained," says royal expert."She knew what her fate and her future held." The princess became Queen earlier than she had hoped, following her father’s death in 1952, with a husband and two young children at her side.
Elizabeth was often called to choose duty over desire, country over family, to serve and represent her people as their hereditary head of state. Early on, sheto official advice in blocking her younger sister Margaret’s marriage to the divorcé Group Captain Peter Townsend.
Elizabeth had the benefit of hindsight then, though: Disallowing love marriages had never ended well for her family. Princess Margaret later married and divorced Anthony Armstrong-Jones, and Prince Charles wasThe time of Diana, Princess of Wales’ tragic death at 36 years old was perhaps the single biggest blow to the Queen’s popularity throughout her seven decades of reign.
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