Her Majesty The Queen, Elizabeth II 1926 - 2022
When Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born on 21st April 1926, nobody suspected she was destined to rule. But at the age of 10, the course of her life changed.
And like thousands of others, had a sweetheart in the forces, her third cousin Prince Philip of Greece. They married at Westminster Abbey in November 1947. The following year, the couple's first child, Prince Charles, was born and two years later, Princess Anne. It was a quality she needed more than ever in the 1990s when the marriages two of her children collapsed. The fire at Windsor Castle seems to symbolise the deterioration of the Royal family's esteem. She said of the year: "It has turned out to be an annus horribilus".But there was worse to come with the death of Princess Diana in 1997. The Queen was criticised for her reserved response and ultimately was forced to make an unprecedented live broadcast.
But during four days of celebrations to mark the Queen's 60-year reign, which included the largest flotilla ever assembled on the River Thames, her family was quick to return the compliments. Speaking in Gaelic at the State Banquet paved the way for an act once deemed unthinkable. During her Diamond Jubilee tour of Northern Ireland, the Queen shook hands with Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, a former commander in the IRA, the group which killed her cousin Lord Mountbatten in 1979.
He said: "Rarely has anyone in public life served for so long, served so brilliantly, worked so hard and brought so many people together. And in this modern Elizabethan era in which so much all around her has changed, Her Majesty has been steadfast, a rock of strength for our nation, for our Commonwealth and on so many occasions, for the whole world."
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