laitimes

Elizabeth II: The king who has been on standby for the longest time, the least powerful but the most loved by the people

author:Literary and historical brick family

Comrade | Guevara

On September 8, 2022 local time, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland at the age of 96. For the Queen of England, who has ruled for more than 70 years and has been "waiting" for the longest time, the evaluation of the world can be described as various, but one thing is agreed by everyone, that is, without Elizabeth II, many members of the British Commonwealth, and even the United Kingdom itself, are likely to abandon the monarchy and bring "disaster" to royal politics. Today, we will briefly talk about the extraordinary life of this legendary queen.

Elizabeth II, the 4th King of the Windsor Dynasty, the 7th Queen of the United Kingdom, the eldest daughter of George VI, full name Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, full name "To God Hunn, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and other territories and dependencies, Head of the Commonwealth, Protector of Christianity". Elizabeth was born on 21 April 1926 in the family of her maternal grandfather at 17 Bruton Street, West End, London, to her mother, Elizabeth Bose-Leon (later Queen Elizabeth), from a prominent Scottish family.

Elizabeth II: The king who has been on standby for the longest time, the least powerful but the most loved by the people

Elizabeth and sister Margaret of childhood

George VI was the second son of George V, and originally had no hope of becoming king, and because of this, Elizabeth in her childhood lived a quiet and secluded life with her parents, but a major change broke this quiet life and pushed George VI's father and daughter to the throne. It turned out that after the death of George V, the eldest son Edward VIII succeeded to the throne, but this king "loves beauty and does not love the country", and even voluntarily gave up the throne in 1936 in order to marry Mrs. Simpson, an American woman who had been divorced twice and was a Nazi believer.

Since Edward VIII had no heirs, when he abdicated, the throne was inherited by his younger brother George VI, who had long been plagued by stuttering, and this jun was the male protagonist of the 2010 Oscar best film "The King's Speech". According to the constitution, the king's eldest son was the first heir to the throne, but George VI had no male heirs when he ascended the throne. Therefore, While waiting for the birth of his son, George VI raised his eldest daughter Elizabeth as his successor, but did not grant her the official title of Crown Prince.

Elizabeth II: The king who has been on standby for the longest time, the least powerful but the most loved by the people

Elizabeth, who served in the military during World War II

During World War II, Britain was bombed by Nazi Germany, including Buckingham Palace. In this case, the British government, for security reasons, suggested that the king's family move to Canada for refuge, but Queen Elizabeth firmly opposed this, claiming that their family would coexist with the military and civilians of the country. Influenced by her mother's fearless spirit, Elizabeth, who was only a teenager, joined a women's group supporting the war as a lieutenant and made several public speeches calling for resistance, which greatly encouraged the military and civilians of the country.

Since George VI never expected a son, elizabeth's position as crown prince was further consolidated after the end of World War II, especially from 1951, when George VI's health deteriorated, Elizabeth began to attend various public events in place of her father, and led many foreign visits. During this period (1947), Elizabeth married her third brother, the Greek prince Philip, who, in order to marry his cousin, did not hesitate to give up the greek throne and change his nationality and religion, which shows the depth of his love for Elizabeth.

Elizabeth II: The king who has been on standby for the longest time, the least powerful but the most loved by the people

Elizabeth II poses with her family at the coronation ceremony

On February 6, 1952, when Elizabeth and Prince Philip were visiting Kenya, they suddenly received the bad news of their father's death and the news that they were about to be crowned and ascended the throne. At the time, Elizabeth was staying in a tree hotel, so when the locals talked about the experience, they quipped: "She is a princess when she goes up the tree, and she is the queen when she goes down the tree." On 2 June 1953, Elizabeth II was officially coronated at Westminster Abbey, ushering in a new era.

At the beginning of Elizabeth II's reign, many British people were full of expectations, hoping that she could recreate the glory of Elizabeth I and make the British Empire become the hegemon of the world again. However, the Second World War severely destroyed Britain's strength, and the re-establishment of hegemony was a fool's dream. At the same time, affected by the national liberation and colonial and semi-colonial independence movements, Britain's colonies scattered around the world and "protectorates" declared independence one after another, which directly destroyed the remaining hopes of the British Empire.

Elizabeth II: The king who has been on standby for the longest time, the least powerful but the most loved by the people

Elizabeth II received Churchill, the first Prime Minister of her term

With the declaration of independence of the Caribbean island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis in 1983, the British Empire, which once accounted for 1/4 of the world's total land area, officially collapsed, and only 12 narrow and remote colonies were still under British rule, and the "Empire that Never Sets" became a passing cloud. However, although the British Empire was in the past, Britain, with a modern version of the "Commonwealth", maintained its special relations with the former colonial countries to the greatest extent possible, and used it to maintain and develop its international influence.

The Commonwealth is made up of 53 countries with equal rights, non-subordination and preferential tariffs to each other. As agreed, the King is the Head of State of the Commonwealth, but in practice only 17 countries comply with this requirement, in addition to the United Kingdom, the other 16 countries are: Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Jamaica, Bahamas, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Grenada, Cook Islands, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tuvalu, Niue.

Elizabeth II: The king who has been on standby for the longest time, the least powerful but the most loved by the people

Elizabeth II is not only the King of The United Kingdom, but also the head of state of 16 countries, including Canada and Australia

Although she is the king of 17 countries, Elizabeth II only has nominal rule over Canada, Australia and other countries, and the real ruler is the prime minister elected by the local people. Not only that, but Elizabeth II was a titular ruler even in England, with no leading role in politics and no veto power over parliamentary bills. As a joke, even if Parliament passes a bill to execute Elizabeth II, all the Queen can do is sign it. It can be seen that Elizabeth II is undoubtedly the least powerful king in The history of England.

Although Elizabeth II did not have any real power, this "hypocrisy" succeeded in protecting the Queen so that she was not questioned by Parliament and not responsible for the mistakes made by the government. For this reason, Elizabeth II, who did not have to worry about state affairs, devoted herself to ceremonial social affairs and devoted herself to maintaining and developing relations among the countries of the Commonwealth. Therefore, the people of the Commonwealth of Nations sincerely loved this "mascot", so much so that the factions that demanded the abolition of Elizabeth II's fuehrer status and the establishment of a republic were always difficult to achieve.

Elizabeth II: The king who has been on standby for the longest time, the least powerful but the most loved by the people

The Queen receives Arsenal players

Elizabeth II did not have the lofty and awe-inspiring posture that the world imagined, but was an open-minded and humorous figure, who not only liked to chase new things, but also could put down her body and enjoy with the people, so she was loved by people from all walks of life. For example, the Queen has participated in the filming of the "007" series of films, publicly declared herself an Arsenal fan and a "fan" of Ali G comedy talk show, and occasionally broke into other people's selfies in public, full of joy.

As the queen of the new century, Elizabeth is well aware of the need for role transformation and has made many efforts to improve the image of the royal family. For example, opening some rooms of the royal Windsor Castle to the outside world and removing some "second-line" princes and princesses from the royal family list not only reduce the burden on the country, but also eliminate people's mysterious sense of the royal family to a certain extent. These measures have won the favor of the people of all walks of life and all parties, and have greatly helped to maintain the existence of the royal family. It is no exaggeration to say that among all the kings of England, Elizabeth II is the most loved by the people.

Elizabeth II: The king who has been on standby for the longest time, the least powerful but the most loved by the people

The Queen is kind and kind to the people, and is deeply loved by the people

Elizabeth II not only achieved great success in her career, but also had a very happy marriage with Prince Philip, the two of them frothed and supported each other, walked through 64 years together, and raised 3 sons and 1 daughter, which is a model of royal marriage. However, the relationship between Elizabeth II and the eldest son Charles was not harmonious, coupled with the latter's poor image among the people, so it was once reported that the queen planned to be directly "succeeded" by the eldest grandson William after her death, in order to maintain the good image of the royal family among the people.

By the time of her death, Elizabeth II had sat on the throne for a total of 70 years and 215 days, the second longest-reigning monarch in world history, after King Louis XIV of France, who reigned for 72 years and 110 days. In these long years, Elizabeth has successfully "survived" 13 US presidents, 15 British prime ministers, 30 Japanese prime ministers, 9 French presidents, and surpassed Queen Victoria to become the longest "standby" king in British history.

Elizabeth II: The king who has been on standby for the longest time, the least powerful but the most loved by the people

Elizabeth II with Crown Prince Charles and other family members

With the death of Elizabeth II, a long and legendary era came to an end, leaving the world with unlimited reverie and lamentation. Today, Crown Prince Charles has finally "achieved the right results" after 64 years of suffering, and the United Kingdom has once again ushered in a male king after a gap of 70 years. However, the British people have a bad impression of Charles, and the people of other Commonwealth countries are even more "unimpressed" by him, and it is conceivable that how to maintain the support of the people for the royal family and maintain the "big family" of the Commonwealth will greatly test the wisdom of the new king.

bibliography

1. Robert Hardeman, Our Queen: Elizabeth II, Chinese University Press, 2017.

2. Robert Hardeman, Elizabeth II: The Queen's Journey, Cultural Development Press, 2021.

3. Clive Owen [English]: Elizabeth II and Its Time, China Friendship Publishing Company, 2022 edition.

Read on