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Queen Elizabeth II, RIP
Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle Thursday, surrounded by her children and grandchildren. She was 96 years old and the United Kingdom’s longest-serving monarch — a 70-year reign. Her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, preceded her in death 16 months earlier.
Elizabeth’s eldest son has succeeded her, a plan agreed to 2018 without requiring an official coronation. King Charles III will return to London Friday.
Born in April 1926, Elizabeth began to undertake public duties during World War II, serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. In November 1947, she married Philip Mountbatten, a former prince of Greece and Denmark. The royal couple had four children: Charles; Anne, Princess Royal; Prince Andrew, Duke of York; and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.
She ascended to the throne in February 1952, following the death of her father, King George VI.
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Very sorry to see her go. She has been the keystone in a crumbling arch of decency.
God Bless Her.
God Save the King.
@she My condolences on the loss of one of your Nation’s greatest Monarchs.
Thanks, Bryan. She has been a rock, the only monarch most Brits have ever known, and one of the very last links to the Britain of the War years. My stepdaughter texted me a little bit ago, saying, “I liked it better when she was with us on this mortal plane. Like it was like knowing Gandalf was around.” Amen.
May she rest in peace, reunited with her beloved Philip, and–at last–her dear Papa.
The BBC has a wonderful biography.
“When I was 21, I pledged my life to the service of our people and I asked for God’s help to make good that vow. Although that vow was made in my salad days, when I was green in judgement, I do not regret, or retract, one word of it.”
Is that new? I thought that had always been the tradition. “The Queen is dead, long live the King!” and so forth.
Thanks, Jon. I think her passing will be felt around the world.
Sad news. I admired her greatly.
There was some speculation, possibly based a bit around Edward VIII’s abdication, that Charles might be passed over in favor of William.
Godspeed, Elizabeth. You inspired.
A rare model of servant leadership. Eternal rest grant unto her. . . Good and faithful servant.
We’ll not see her like again.
The news was not unexpected, but still, it knocked me back a little. I watched the BBC announcement and thought, there was a life well lived. However; given the world’s current situation, the news came at “not” a good time and I would sum up my feelings paraphrasing British Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Grey who said on 03 Aug 1914,“The lamps are going out all over Europe, we shall not see them lit again in our life-time.“
God grant her peace and watch over us who are left behind.
Not perfect, but certainly one of the best monarchs to ever rule, a lovely lady, all class and honor and integrity. I feel deeply saddened by her passing. God grant her eternal peace.
A truly Great Lady. I actually saw her in 1983, and will always cherish that memory. God Save the Queen, forever.
A symbol of decency. she placed duty before self for her entire life. The end of an era.
God Save the King.
I’m amazed that she received her new Prime Minister earlier this week. Truly she did her duty ’till the very end.
So sad . . .
I was going to say “Replace'” but save is ok too.
I’ve read some biographies of members of the modern British royal family, specifically Queen Victoria, Queen-consort Mary of Teck (Queen Elizabeth’s grandmother), and some light reading of the Prince of Wales, Albert who later became Edward VIII (son of Queen Victoria). I’ve also read about the pre-modern Queens and Queens, the Tudors and Plantagenets, when the monarchy had real power.
As an American, I’m a little embarrassed at how much time I’ve spent reading up on the modern monarchy, especially since I’ve concluded that the institution has become a useless appendage.
Hopefully the inept King Charles III will kill it off.
Queen Elizabeth II did a outstanding job in the role she was given, and she (and her father, King George) has my admiration. But I can’t help but feel that it was largely a waste of a life well lived.
Can’t agree.
When the Queen made state visits you could be sure there would be no missteps, or misstatements, in starkest contrast to our various presidents’ faux pas and foot-in-moutheries.
Does this seem like a very pivotal historic event? Like the beginning of a world war type of event? It sorts of feels that way to me.
I don’t remember who it was that said “She’s like everybody’s Gran”
Night night Gran.
Her role was almost entirely ceremonial, so I suppose it depends whether you view ceremony as valuable or a waste of time. If her life was wasted then so are the lives of countless wedding planners, funeral directors, priests, and others who devote much of their professional lives to the planning and execution of ceremonies large and small.
The reason the Commonwealth exists at all is largely because of Elizabeth’s deftly refereeing the remake of the British Empire. At a time when Sammy Davis, Jr., was not invited to perform at JFK’s inauguration, it is said because of his interracial marriage, Queen Elizabeth danced with Ghana’s President Kwame Nkrumah.
If that is not power on the world stage, I don’t know what is.
That is very insightful. We are truly at the end of a era. Where we go from here is certainly an enigma. I do hope that Charles’ ascension to the throne causes a real change in him, and he grows into his new role as his mother did 70 years ago.
When Elizabeth became Queen, Stalin was in power. I can imagine him literally licking his chops at the thought.
She’s free now in Paradise. She reigned with dignity and honor and now she is free.
Very funny story.
https://twitter.com/davidmackau/status/1567894552744271872?s=20&t=1r2YTfya3Z2D4xx5duGlPg
That made my day! Thank you. :-)