Queen Elizabeth II passed away peacefully on Thursday afternoon at her Scottish estate--marking the end of the second Elizabethan era. Born in 1926 to King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen of England is the longest-ruling monarch of the royal family. Post her coronation in 1953, Queen has been a symbol of stability and hope for almost seven decades.
In her 70-year-reign, she has worked with 15 British Prime Ministers including the newly elected Lizz Truss who met the Queen at her Balmoral Cottage on Monday. Interestingly, she has met 13 out of the last 14 sitting U.S. presidents including Biden in 2021.
She is older than Pencilin, nylon, handheld calculators, FM radio, plastic bags, ballpoint pens, microwaves, barcodes, chicken nuggets and even sliced bread. It is said that the first automatic bread slicer was used at a bakery in Missouri in 1928, two years after the birth of Queen.
She is older than Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Jayne Mansfield, and The Beatles. The pop icons even penned the song "Her Majesty" (1969) as a salute to the Queen. The Beatles' first big moment with the Queen came in 1963 when they were asked to perform at the Queen's Royal Variety Performance, an annual televised charity gala.
Marilyn Monroe and Queen Elizabeth (both 30 at the time) meet at a movie premier in London. October 1956. pic.twitter.com/nDcc9tb4TE
— History In Pictures (@HistoryInPics) June 24, 2014
Indeed, the Queen has witnessed some historic moments too. Her coronation ceremony was televised grabbing a lot of eyeballs--with 27 million people watching it in the UK. Queen sent her condolence message after the 1963 Assassination of John F Kennedy.
When Apollo 11 landed successfully on the moon, she congratulated Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Other historic events include the Wales mining accident, the fall of the Berlin wall, Diana's death, US terror attacks, Brexit and the Covid pandemic.
“I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong,”
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.#thequeen #queenelizabeth pic.twitter.com/m2NyWGiK6I
As the second Elizabethan era comes to an end, the King's era begins now!