Born, April 21, 1926, as the first daughter of Prince George, she saw first her uncle's coronation and then after he abdicated, her father's.
During WWII she and her sister were sent to the countryside for safety. But when she reached eighteen she joined the women's services and as a second lieutenant drove and repaired military trucks.
In 1947, she married Phillip Mountbatten, a prince of Greece and Denmark, who renounced his titles in order to marry her.
It was on February 6, 1952, whilst in Kenya, on a world goodwill tour, they received word that her father had died. Immediately she was proclaimed Queen, but it would take over a year for the full coronation ceremony to took place.
At the age of eighty-six she is still going strong. Despite beginning to give some of her duties to her children, she is showing no signs that she'll stop anytime soon.
You know Elizabeth II has this alluring power over all who know of her right around the world. I was just writing on my own site that even in Kenya (where of course the history with Britain is rather checkered) and we may not necessarily have a direct reason to celebrate her Sixty years, we do because we have such a connection to the Diamond Queen. As I was researching my book, Living Memories (available on Amazon) I discovered this waiter who served Elizabeth II as a boy at treetops on the day of her ascension. Interesting how on the day he contributed to the struggle by spitting in her soup and in this decade, has such fond connection with her.
ReplyDelete