Queen Elizabeth II Becomes Monarch

By Carol Heyen

Photo courtesy: Google Images

On February 6, 1952, after a long battle against lung cancer, King George VI of Great Britain and Northern Ireland died in his sleep at the royal estate at Sandringham. Princess Elizabeth, the oldest of the king’s two daughters and next in line to succeed him, was in Kenya at the time of her father’s death.  Upon George’s death, Elizabeth became queen.  She was formally crowned Queen Elizabeth II on June 2, 1953, at age 27.

Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, born on April 21, 1926, and known to her family as Lilibet, was groomed as a girl to succeed her father. She married a distant cousin, Philip Mountbatten, on November 20, 1947, at London’s Westminster Abbey. The first of Elizabeth’s four children, Prince Charles, was born in 1948.

According to History.com, Elizabeth has understood the value of public relations since the start of her reign, and allowed her 1953 coronation to be televised, despite objections from Prime Minister Winston Churchill and others who felt it would cheapen the ceremony. Elizabeth, the 40th British monarch since William the Conqueror, has worked hard at her royal duties and become a popular figure around the world. In 2012, she celebrated 60 years as Queen with her Diamond Jubilee.  On September 10, 2015, Queen Elizabeth II became the longest reigning British monarch ever, surpassing the 63 years 7 months that her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria spent on the throne.

The role of Queen in modern times, being that it is largely ceremonial, has come into question as British taxpayers have complained about covering the royal family’s travel expenses and palace upkeep. Still, the royals are effective world ambassadors for Britain and a huge tourism draw.

Here are some interesting facts about Queen Elizabeth II that you may not know:

• She was the first head-of-state to use electronic mail, when in 1976, she sent her first email at a demonstration in Malvern, England;
• She drove a truck in the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service, and is the only living head of state to have served in WWII;
• She doesn’t have a passport or a driver’s license;
• She paid for the material for her wedding gown with ration coupons;
• She once woke up to find a stalker in her bedroom;
• She loves the Pembroke Welsh Corgi dog breed, and has had Corgis since the 1930s;
• She is an avid horsewoman
• She has four children, eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.