A Brief History
On September 8, 2022, the longest reigning monarch in British history, and the second longest reigning European monarch, Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom has died at the age of 96. We offer our condolences to her family and the peoples of the realms over which she previously reigned.
(See our other articles about Queen Elizabeth and monarchies.)
Digging Deeper
Born in 1926, the Queen began her reign in 1952 and has seen the British Empire shrink massively during her reign. Her eldest son, Charles, the Prince of Wales, became King with her passing.
In recent years the aged queen has suffered an obvious decline in health, leading to speculation as to whether or not she would abdicate in favor of Charles. Elizabeth never seemed to seriously consider that possibility and remained on the throne until the end. Charles assumed the throne at the age of 73 years immediately upon the death of Queen Elizabeth, although the exact time of his crowning remains to be announced.
Question for students (and subscribers): What do you think was Elizabeth’s greatest accomplishment? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Borman, Tracy. Crown & Sceptre: A New History of the British Monarchy, from William the Conqueror to Elizabeth II. Atlantic Monthly Press, 2022.
Phillips, Charles. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Kings & Queens: The Most Comprehensive Visual Encyclopedia of Every King and Queen of Britain, from Saxon Times through the Tudors and Stuarts to Today. Southwater, 2017.
The featured image in this article, a 1/3 value postage stamp designed by Edmund Dulac and issued on 3 June 1953 by Royal Mail for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, is in the public domain, because it is one of the following:
- It is a photograph taken prior to 1 June 1957; or
- It was published prior to 1972; or
- It is an artistic work other than a photograph or engraving (e.g. a painting) which was created prior to 1972.
HMSO has declared that the expiry of Crown Copyrights applies worldwide (ref: HMSO Email Reply)
More information.
See also Copyright and Crown copyright artistic works.
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