TRIBUTE TO HRH QUEEN ELIZABETH II
LONG LIVE THE QUEEN A tribute to HRH Queen Elizabeth II The team at Education Choices Magazine was greatly saddened to hear of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in early September this year. She was the sixth sovereign queen and the forty-second sovereign of Britain since William the Conqueror. As the longest reigning monarch in Britain, she served for 70 years from her coronation on 2nd June 1953, until the age of 96. An inspiration to thousands, Queen Elizabeth II carried out more than 21,000 royal engagements and appearances over her reign; was more well-travelled than any previous British monarch with at least 260 official overseas trips, and hosted an average of 50,000 people every year at Buckingham Palace for a variety of luncheons, receptions and events. A remarkable woman, the Queen was never intended to be the heir to the throne. It wasn’t until the abdication of her uncle, King Edward VIII, that she found herself next in line. As a child, Winston Churchill described Elizabeth: “She has an air of authority and reflectiveness astonishing in an infant.” Her composure has been remarked upon throughout her entire reign, particularly after her father’s sudden death whilst she was visiting Kenya in 1952; the public was
“She has an air of authority and reflectiveness astonishing in an infant.” Winston Churchill 6 | EDUCATION CHOICES MAGAZINE | AU T U M N 2 02 2
much impressed by her remarkable composure on her homecoming, as she found herself the Queen of England and the Commonwealth countries, aged only 25. As a young girl, the Queen never attended formal schooling. Instead, she was taught by private tutors at home in a variety of subjects such as constitutional history, law, as well as French, German and music. The Queen was, in fact, fluent in French; a skill she often utilised in her overseas engagements. Her Majesty spent some of her teen years growing up during the tumultuous Second World War as well, during which time she learned to drive by driving a truck and also trained as a mechanic. Famously, at the end of War, she and her sister, Margaret, secretly left the Palace to celebrate amongst the public on VE Day in 1945. The Queen maintained her strong familial values despite the responsibility involved in her reign, having four children: Charles, Prince of Wales; Anne, Princess Royal; Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex. Her Majesty, in fact, only missed the opening of Parliament twice in her lifetime: once in 1959 for Prince Andrew’s birth, and once again in 1963 for Prince Edward’s birth. She was also the first monarch to celebrate a Diamond Wedding Anniversary, after being married to her husband, Prince Phillip, for 60 years in 2007. Before Prince Phillip’s passing just last year in April, the couple had been together for 73 years. The Queen had purchased her wedding dress with World
