Published by: Alfred Luis Armando
Date Published: September 12, 2022
Time Published: 9:35 am
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, known as Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, the longest reigning British monarch, died at the age of 96 after marking her 70 years as a monarch and celebrating her Platinum Jubilee at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8, 2022, making her eldest son the new king of the United Kingdom, King Charles III.
Elizabeth Windsor was born on April 21, 1926. Elizabeth, known as Lilibet in her family, has a little hope of being the next queen of the British Monarchy. Elizabeth was 3rd in line in the succession of the throne, next to her father, King George VI, and his uncle, King Edward VIII. After the abdication of King Edward VIII and the death of her father, King George VI, she became Queen of the United Kingdom. She was crowned at the age of 27 in June, 1953 at Buckingham Palace. In her coronation, "I have in sincerity pledged myself to your service, as so many of you are pledged to mine, and throughout all my life and with all my heart, I shall strive to be worthy of your trust," the Queen told the nation.
In her 7 decades on the throne where she became the British longest-serving monarch, an icon, and symbol of power. She met a lot of powerful global leaders and dozens of UK prime ministers.
She encountered a lot of challenges, including the backdrop of vast cultural and political transformations—the end of Britain’s age of deference and its empire; the advent of globalization and the multimedia age. She saved the monarchy from being turned into a republic.
Queen Elizabeth II became the first female in the royal family to be part of the armed forces in full-time, active-duty service. She pointed out that her reign as a queen will be a public service, she also referred to herself as representative of the people.
"In the old days, the monarch led his soldiers on the battlefield, and his leadership at all times was close and personal. Today, things are very different. I cannot lead you into battle. I do not give you laws or administer justice. But I can do something else. I can give you my heart, and my devotion to these old islands, and to all the peoples of our brotherhood of nations," she said.
The Queen is known for her great leadership, and skills. She studied everything from geopolitics and constitutional history to religion, law, and languages. She read official papers with her father and met informally with heads of state. She was the first British monarch to address the U.S. Congress. Elizabeth is also the first reigning monarch to set foot in Australia, with more than 1 million people gathering just in Sydney, "I am proud indeed to be at the head of a nation that has achieved so much," the Queen told the crowd.
She was an environmental advocate. Queen Elizabeth planted more than 1,500 trees across the world. She encourages her constituents to plant more trees through her initiative called the Queen’s Green Canopy that took place during her Platinum Jubilee. As a result, thousands of trees have been planted in the United Kingdom.
The Queen is also a very religious woman. She was the head of the church in England and, at the same time, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
She also donated to tons of charities and initiatives to help and improve the lives of people. The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, which sponsored medical initiatives to treat eye conditions and prevent blindness in Africa, Australia, and India.
Elizabeth truly gave her life to people, just like what she said when she was just a princess, "My whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service."
The Queen suffered the loss of her loved ones and constituents. Her sister, Princess Margaret, died at the age of 71 due to a stroke.
Just weeks after the death of the princess, her mother, The Queen Mother, died in her sleep at the age of 101, with Elizabeth at her bedside.
In 2020, the world suffered a new disease, the COVID-19 Pandemic, and it was hard for the couple who were celebrating their platinum anniversary. In April 2021, her husband, Prince Philip, died just a few months before his 100th birthday.
In most of the people in the world, Queen Elizabeth's legacy defines stability and diplomacy, but for some people who lived through and suffered from the royal family's discrimination and racism, it is a brutal legacy.
Harvard University history professor wrote in a letter that no matter how much the Queen buried the truth about a bloody history of decolonization whose proportions and legacies have yet to be adequately acknowledged.
As long as the monarchy is still existing, it has been a colonialist and imperialist power, colonizing and exploiting dozens upon dozens of countries and territories, in particular in the global South, many of which share common consequences of poverty and continued oppression. Under the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, the UK gained a trillion dollars from its colonies to enrich itself, which is still happening up to this day.
The British monarchy was built through slavery, slaving thousands of people and transferring millions of Africans and South and North Americans to other countries.
The family of the Royal Highness was also criticized for the issues of plundering India via the East Company, suppressing the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya, committing genocide against Aboringal people, and looting, with the Global South plundering the jewels from Africa and India.
It is indeed the end of an era.
SOURCES:
The Washington Post
History Net
NBC News
ABC News
Redfish
TRUTHOUT
No comments:
Post a Comment