“My Coronation is not the symbol of a power and a splendor that are gone but a declaration of our hopes for the future, and for the years I may, by God's Grace and Mercy, be given to reign and serve you as your Queen.”
The longest reigning monarch and a rock of stability across much of a turbulent century, in English history, has died at the age of 96. Reflecting a monarchy heritage of over seventy years surpassing her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria. For many in Britain, Elizabeth the 2nd was the only living monarch they had ever known, lasting from the industrial age to the Internet Age.
As we jog our memory, there are countless yet fascinating components of her life that are already highlighted in the history books, and that is the very precise reason that it enlightens our wellspring of interest, shedding on one will be when she was crowned in 1952, the prime minister was none other than Winston Churchill. We can put it this way she has been survived by her four children, eight grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren.
A patron of more than 600 organizations and charities, she enjoyed her leisure times surrounded by her beloved corgis and Dorgis, giving shooting parties and breeding horses.
It is beyond imagination that making more than 260 official overseas visits and more than 95 state visits to over 115 countries she was described as the most traveled head of state in the world by the Telegraph in 2012. At Buckingham Palace, she hosted many leaders starting from President Kennedy to Pope John Paul 2nd, to Nelson Mandela.
A Piercing Lullaby
Born in 1926 to the Duke and Duchess of York, later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, she was thrust in direct line to the throne when her uncle, Edward VIII, abdicated and her father inherited the throne. When her father died in 1952, the queen ascended to the throne at just 25. The news of her father's death, King George, took several hours to reach Kenya. When they heard this sad news, Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip, were on a royal tour. Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh, gave up his naval career to serve the Queen and the nation.
Her Majesty quoted’
“He has quite simply been my strength and stays all these years.”
He gave up his Greek citizenship, to become a British subject. Together the couple had four children and remained together until Philip’s death in 2021.
Yes, the timing was not right, the crown bestowed on her comes at a time when people were strikingly in the phase of feeling thornier to the perception associated with women in power. The first woman who was elected as the prime minister wouldn’t be chosen till 1960, occurred in the Commonwealth. The imperial obligations need to be balanced by supreme highness associated with the expectations eyed by mothers, wives, and female youth of her time.
The avalanche of speculation comes down knocking at Queen’s door, when three of her four children got divorced in the 1990s, conjectured enchantments started to rise in public towards her, pointing arrows at her royal duties linking at the price of time with her loved ones.
Queen Elizabeth once said
“We none of us live forever. But we are doing this not for ourselves but for our children and our children’s children and those who will follow in their footsteps.”
Instead of all this, her behavior remained ice cool, the cheerfulness always created a certain vibe with British people which made her predominantly famous. Year after year she grinned over various topics and visited with an immense number of her subjects, and not to forget about the admirer's list, regardless of family scandalous issues and the princess's death.
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The Media Queen
During her reign, the queen helped delicately modernize the monarchy to fit the contemporary culture. The whole crowning ceremony was broadcasted on television across the world, making the first in-line ceremony intended for the peaceable of England, Anglo-Saxon King Edgar in 973, open to the public.
Reporters Quoted’
He placed it upon the Queen’s head and removes his hands. The assemblage in one voice cries, “God save the Queen.” The media teams were invited to her palace in 1969, allowing them to film a documentary, which can be called today as “A Day in Royal Family”. The sole purpose of this documentary was to allow the public to have a sneak peek inside Royal Family.
The pressure from the public was real in 1997, after the death of Princess Diana in an unfortunate accident. Her Majesty stood up and addressed the nation making her first live-broadcast speech in almost fifty years recognizing the demise of her beloved daughter-in-law. In this modern era of the 21st century, all imperial visits & humanitarianism are now mandatory to advertise and live-streamed via news channels or social media platforms.
Behind the curtains, her personality can be personified as “enigmatic”. Her perspectives on social and political changes that she saw throughout the span of her rule are more challenging to decide, as she seldom uttered a personal conviction publicly on anything. At the start of Brexit in 2016, her majesty remained so impartial that it took years to accept the decision publicly. The conjectures started flying around, the flaming demeanor of mystery for screenwriters to produce various shows and films like “The Queen” & “The Crown on the many conversations”, that took place behind the curtains of the Royal Palace. To point out a few were the secret meetings between the prime ministers and the queen.
Fortune Flames
The Queen’s death leaves behind a sizeable state which is worth around £18.2 billion, yes it is flamingly $21 billion. According to various reports, her majesty's private assets range between $450-500 million which she left behind over the course of seventy years on the throne. In any case, what befalls the Queen’s fortune is complex.
About everything we have seen is owned by the Queen and solely belongs to the Royal family. Quoted by King George the 6th & Prince Philip, the whole empire of $28 billion in “The Family Business”.
But what about her personal assets which include gems, land possessions, huge investments, and not to forget the premium art collection, where do they go? Queen Elizabeth also inherited almost $70 million from her mother when she died in 2002, which includes state-of-the-art gems, stamps, canvases, fine china, and much more.
Yes, how can we forget about the famous jewels? Those symbolic gems are valued at $3.4 billion, as per law will be passed on to the next monarch in line – King Charles III.
Shouldn’t her personal assets be distributed as per Queen’s wishes?
or
Should they be treated as per monarchism law?
Both are debatable questions and have laws that favor them all day long, but we all know the answer and the majority will agree on inheritance law. Inheritance should be defined by the person who is leaving it behind instead of the state or such Monarchism laws in the Queen’s case.
So, have you sorted out your inheritance? Learn more
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Flipping the coin
There is a certain influence when it comes to mainstream Western media to plot a story that the whole world is in a grieving state for the royal majesty, portraying her mirror reflection as “queen of hearts”, or this is just an implausible reality? For many she maybe was “The Queen of Hearts”, but for most, she was a “devil” sitting on a throne. An African professor at the University of Ghana quoted’
“The decision to honor Queen Elizabeth’s memory in Ghana betrays the struggles of Africans for freedom from colonial rule.”
During a survey, only 46% were in favor of former colonial rule and stated a positive impact on economies and political impact on the continent over the years. Shedding light on the fact that this is not as much when it comes to China 63%, and the United States of America 60%, however, compared to Russia which is more than 35%.
The Queen's possession was enormous which reaches with a number of colonies in North America, the Caribbean formed the heart of England’s first overseas empire,” explained by David Lambert, professor of Caribbean history at the University of Warwick.
During the time of 1913, the British Empire ruled over 23% of the total population of the world. It reaches beyond seven seas, as there were people who were affected by former colonial rule, located in countries such as India, the Caribbean, and Africa. They recall of merciless past and mourn the role of monarchism in the slave trade.
The needle in a haystack is that the colonial system of British profited itself by looting the assets of different nations, abusing minorities, and using violence within its boundaries. Thus, there is no shame when we say that the joy of black and African people is totally legitimate to bits. Following the years of persecution, they were at last given the opportunity to articulate their thoughts.
In the Washington Post, a Ghanaian American writer, Karen Attiah, published Black and brown people around the world who were subject to horrendous cruelties and economic deprivation under British colonialism are allowed to have feelings about Queen Elizabeth. After all, they were her 'subjects' too.”
There was a bombshell of tweets and posts on Twitter and different social media platforms from countries that often referenced from British colonial empire's history of brutality and horrendous acts, quoting that these battles made their country hazardous.
Hours after Queen’s death, notable media personality Jemele Hill tweeted, “Journalists are tasked with putting legacies into full context, so it is entirely appropriate to examine the queen and her role in the devastating impact of continued colonialism.”
She later said on Twitter, “The Queen as a symbol means many things to many people — and that is fine. It’s fine to write about, discuss, analyze, critique, or celebrate.”
Verdict
What will be the legacy of Queen Elizabeth II?
Well during 1950, a similar discussion started to rose which was “another Elizabethan” era, but that was a thing of the past. In any case, there were uncountable historical events in the late 20th & mid-21st centuries that eclipsed the Queen’s influence. Though, one might conflict on positive and negative influences on different former British colonial regions.
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The topic of discussion can be the net worth of Queen Elizabeth II, who possessed a projected net fortune of approximately $12 billion, which was never publicly discussed or it can be a topic about the positive things she has done for the British people over the years. The scale on both ends weighs heavy.
However, Elizabeth stayed a widely regarded & respected figure, in both political and social aspects. We are living in an era, where there are fewer reigning houses on the planet than at any time in recent memory, her greatest legacy likely is ushering Monarchism into the 21st century.
Ciao to the last ride, Queen Elizabeth, For death is no more than a turning of us over from time to eternity.
