Queen Elizabeth II, was Britain’s longest-reigning monarch. She died at 96. Over her decades as Queen, she was very elusive and rarely allowed much access to the press. She provided comfort to the people of Britain even before she ascended the throne.
She began her first ever recorded radio broadcast to comfort the people of the United Kingdom in 1940, 13 years before her coronation in 1953. Queen has left with a complicated legacy in addition to the families of her four children: Prince Edward, Prince Andrew, Prince Anne, and the eldest, Prince Charles – who is the next in line for the throne.
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When Did Queen Elizabeth II Ascend The Throne?
Queen Elizabeth’s ascension to the throne was totally unexpected. However, she has surpassed all of the wrong conceptions by the duration of her reign. Queen’s father, King George VI, became King after his brother, King Edward VIII. Shortly after he assumed power, World War II broke out. He raised wartime morale and visited the sites of bombings across the UK alongside Queen Elizabeth I. He also took his royal family on a momentous tour of South Africa, the first time for the monarchy, in 1947.
King George VI who was already battling coronary thrombosis, died in his sleep at age 56 on February 6, 1952. Elizabeth was 25 at that time and was still a princess. She was at Kenya when she heard the news and returned home to ascend the throne as Queen. It was reported that Queen heard the news from her husband Philip who got the news by telephone from a local newspaper. Philip then “sent an equerry to call London for confirmation, then gently led his wife down to the river’s edge and told her that her father was dead. The Queen returned to the lodge on her husband’s arm, shaken but in full command of herself.” Her coronation took place on June 2, 1953 – 14 months after she ascended the throne.
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The Queen’s Memorable Speech
After her ascension, Elizabeth became Queen of the countries including the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Her speech which she gave when she addressed the public, still remains one of the most memorable highlights of her legacy. Queen Elizabeth II, thanked the public for their support and promised to do right by the nation.
Queen Elizabeth II said, “Many thousands of you came to London from all parts of the Commonwealth and Empire to join in the ceremony, but I have been conscious too of the millions of others who have shared in it by means of wireless or television in their homes. All of you, near or far, have been united in one purpose. It is hard for me to find words in which to tell you of the strength which this knowledge has given me. “Therefore, I am sure that this, 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.”
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