Queen Elizabeth II today crosses a historic milestone: she is the first British monarch to celebrate 70 years on the throne, a reign longer than that of Queen Victoria which lasted 63 years. Public commitments have been thinned out enormously on the advice of doctors, she is in Sandringham , the royal residence in Norfolk, surrounded by the dearest affections but without her beloved wife Philip, who died last April at the age of 99.
Yesterday she attended a reception where she was offered a celebratory cake. Very elegant, in a light blue dress, walking stick and the inevitable handbag on her arm, she did not fail to show off her proverbial irony: “I think it’s enough that I put the knife inside, then someone else can do the rest”, he would say. according to reports from the Daily Mail.
The reception was the busiest public engagement the Queen has attended since last October and after the concerns about her health that in recent months had led to a hospitalization and a recommendation to rest by doctors.
I wonder if the celebrations of the Jubilee, between now and the next few months, will sweep away the controversies that torment the sovereign in what has certainly not been a simple two-year period for her: the isolation for the pandemic, the revelations from the United States, where she is transferred with his wife and children, of Prince Harry, the accusations of sexual violence against Prince Andrew and, last but emotionally very burdensome, the disappearance of the dear husband Philip.
If today the party remains private, from tomorrow with the 41 cannon shotsfired from Green Park near Buckingham Palace and 61 from the Tower of London begins a long period of public Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Associations, schools and town halls across the UK will plant a “jubilee tree”, responding to the royal appeal, while subjects will retire to the kitchen to try to excel in the pastry contest, the Platinum Pudding Competition, whose winner, who he must have proposed a delicious recipe, easy to make at home and worthy of a queen, he will be rewarded.
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Queen Elizabeth, Platinum Jubilee
Elizabeth II saw a succession of 14 prime ministers, from Winston Churchill to Boris Johnson. He has witnessed historical events: the end of the British Empire, the United Kingdom’s exit from the EU, the Falklands / Malvinas war and the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Islamist attacks, the Covid-19 pandemic.
With eight grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren, he also lived through alternating and complicated family events: in 1992, Annus Horribilis, when he helplessly witnessed the announcement of the separation of Prince Andrew from Sarah Ferguson, then the divorce of Princess Anne from Mark Phillips and finally the release of the book ‘Diana. His True Story ‘by Andrew Morton, which marks the beginning of the end of the marriage of the heir to the throne, Charles, with the princess.
In 1997, another very delicate moment: the death of Diana, on August 31, in Paris. The tragic end of Lady D threatened to make her shake the throne so much that, on September 5, she decided to speak on TV to express her pain and the closeness to the mourning of the people who, outside Buckingham pacale, continued to deposit flowers in memory of the ‘people’s princess’.
Diana’s “ghost” has long accompanied the sovereign who only in the Jubilee message expressed a desire that certainly did not go unnoticed by subjects and tabloids: that Camilla Parker-Bowleswife of the heir to the throne is considered the Queen consort when her son Charles becomes King. “It is my sincere wish that, when this time comes, Camilla will be considered Queen consort as she continues with her loyal service,” said the 95-year-old sovereign. asking British citizens to “give Charles and his wife the same support they gave me,” he added.
And on the day when the Queen celebrates 70 years of reign, there was obviously no lack of wishes from the heir to the throne: “On this historic day, my wife and I join in our wishes to the Queen for her important achievement in serving the nation. , the kingdom and the commonwealth for 70 years, “writes Prince Charleswho in a message also thanks her mother for having wished to express the wish that Camilla be recognized as Queen consort. “We are deeply aware of the honor represented by my mother’s desire – she said – and while together we try to serve and support her majesty and the people of our community, my dear wife and solid support for me”.
Meanwhile, you paid tribute to Prime Minister Boris Johnsonto mark “the historic moment” when Queen Elizabeth becomes the “first British ruler to celebrate the platinum jubilee”: “In his seven decades of reign, he has shown an inspiring sense of duty and an unwavering dedication to the nation. I want to pay tribute to his many years of service and I look forward to this summer when we can celebrate his historic reign together as a nation, “said the British Prime Minister.
Former Downing Street tenants Theresa May and David Cameron also expressed their gratitude to the queen. As well as opposition leader, Labor Sir Keir Starmer who thanked her for 70 years of “unprecedented public service”.
British tabloids: “Camilla will be Queen Consort” A sad anniversary
On February 6, 1952 , on the death of her father, King George VI, Elizabeth fell asleep as a princess and woke up as a queen. During the night, the king had died in Sandringham, of lung cancer. Elizabeth was with her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, thousands of miles from her home in Kenya, on what was to be the first stop on a Commonwealth tour in which the royal couple had replaced the ailing king.
That night Elizabeth and Philip had taken an evening out of official commitments, to stay in a one-of-a-kind place, Treetops Hotel, in the African bush of Aberdare National Park. The site had been chosen so that she and Prince Philip could observe elephants and baboons from the treetops. The news of her father’s death was given to her by her husband, while the two were already on their way back.
Forced to cancel the rest of the tour, the royal caravan in mourning robes begin the long journey home. Thus began the long reign of Elizabeth II.
