Seven decades in safe hands

A look back at the incredible life of Her Majesty the Queen

How do you even begin to sum up the reign of the longest serving monarch in British history?

The scope and impact of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign is a phenomenal one. She presided over an entire era, a lifetime of service that has been promptly heralded as the Second Elizabethan Age.

Indeed, every single noteworthy moment in modern history has taken place during her years on the throne.

To understand her remarkable life, it is perhaps most apt to situate her amongst her other famous peers, and the events which have irrevocably shaped the world.

Credit: BBC

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born on April 21, 1926, the first child of Albert, Duke of York – the second son of King George V, who she affectionately called ‘Grandpa England’.

She was six weeks older than Marilyn Monroe. Three years older than Anne Frank, Martin Luther King Jr. and Audrey Hepburn. Nine years older than Elvis Presley. All inescapable historic figures in the collective minds of people the world over.

Although her birth was welcomed by the British public, she was not expected to become Queen, given that she was third in line to the throne behind her uncle Edward and her father.

Edward was still expected to marry and have children of his own, who would move Elizabeth even further down the pecking order.

However, following the death of her grandfather in 1936, and the subsequent abdication of her uncle, who proposed marriage to divorced socialite Wallis Simpson, the future suddenly became very different for a young Lilibet.

Credit: BBC

With the weight of the crown placed on her aged 10, the heir presumptive was from then on diligent in her royal duties.

She watched the world go back to war, with the memories of the First World War fresh in the memory of much of her public.

In 1940, the 14-year-old Elizabeth made her first radio broadcast to the nation during the BBC’s Children’s Hour, with her younger sister Margaret watching from the wings.

She addressed other children across the United Kingdom who had been evacuated from cities, saying: “We are trying to do all we can to help our gallant sailors, soldiers, and airmen, and we are trying, too, to bear our own share of the danger and sadness of war.

“We know, every one of us, that in the end, all will be well.”

In February 1945, she was appointed an honorary second subaltern in the Auxillary Territorial Service, before training as a driver and mechanic and being given the rank of honorary junior commander five months later.

Elizabeth married her beloved Philip on November 20, 1947 at Westminster Abbey.

Their first child, and our new King, Charles was born on November 14, 1948. His sister, Princess Anne followed on August 15, 1950.

Credit: PA

When Queen Elizabeth II took the throne on June 2, 1953, the world looked very different than it does now. Even as it changed around her, she remained in place, a steadfast leader many Britons turned to for strength and resolve.

She welcomed all seven of our Chief Ministers, 15 UK Prime Ministers, 14 US Presidents and seven Popes.

She watched 17 Olympic Games take place – including the London 2012 Olympics, which famously saw her acting opposite Daniel Craig as James Bond.

Every major historic event in recent memory you could possibly think of took place during her reign.

Man walked on the moon. The USA fought a war abroad in Vietnam and another for civil rights at home. Martin Luther King Jr. declared he had a dream, and was killed for it. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated sitting in a limo beside his wife. The world watched on in horror as the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded on live TV, and again as passenger planes plunged into buildings on 9/11. Nelson Mandela was freed from prison, and served as the first President of South Africa. More wars were fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. A global recession plunged stock markets into uncertainty. The UK saw its first female Prime Minister, and the US saw its first black President. LGBTQ+ people rose up at Stonewall and Pride spread. Syria broke into civil war, and Russia invaded Ukraine. Man made technology touched down on Mars. Britain voted to join the European Union, and to leave it. Everyone’s lives came to a standstill as Covid-19 swept across the globe. Television moved into technicolour. The internet was born and social media came to dominate it.

The list could go on and on.

Credit: iMuseum

As the Isle of Man is a crown dependency, Queen Elizabeth was also our Lord of Mann.

She was on the throne for the entire operating life of Manx Airlines. For both the Winter Hill and Summerland disasters. For the Island’s decriminalisation of same-sex relationships and its first Isle of Pride. For the formation of the Bee Gees, the birth of Samantha Barks and her rise to become a star of stage and screen, and the death of Norman Wisdom. For the opening of the Sea Terminal and the launch of several Steam Packet vessels.

She was the Island’s head of state, and visited several times.

She first came over in 1955, and presided over Tynwald day in both 1979 and 2003. Her visit in 1979 coincided with the parliament's millennium year, and it was then she officially opened Queen Elizabeth II High School in Peel, which was named in her honour.

In 2011, 40 Manx residents received Maundy money from the Queen in a ceremony at Westminster Abbey, and in May this year, Douglas was one of only eight towns to be granted city status to mark her Platinum Jubilee.

Credit: CHRIS LEVINE/ROB MUNDAY © Jersey Heritage Trust

She was a constant in our lives. The only monarch most of us have ever known and the only Queen most of us likely ever will.

Regardless of any personal opinions on monarchy and the role of the Royal Family, the fact she will not be in our lives anymore is a loss which is incomprehensible for the time being.

It is truly the end of an era.

The same distinctive voice we have come to expect on Christmas Day and at times of national joy and national turmoil has now gone quiet.

Different faces will grace our television screens, faces which will undoubtedly become more familiar as time goes on.

At the height of the coronavirus pandemic, she echoed a voice from her own childhood, that of Dame Vera Lynn, telling us “we will meet again” whilst encouraging us all to pull together.

She has steered the ship for us all for 70 years, and if the outpouring of tributes worldwide is anything to go by, she was universally respected.

In the words of a certain bear from darkest Peru, “thank you Ma’am, for everything”.