Elisabeth II celebrates the platinum jubilee, full 70 years on the throne

On February 6, 1952, King George VI passed away. Thus his daughter Elisabeth, who was then on a trip to Kenya, automatically became queen and the coronation followed a year later. The official platinum jubilee celebration ceremony will be celebrated this year in June.

“A life in service”

My life is in the service, that is how Elisabeth II considered her life. Ever since she was a princess on her 21st birthday in 1947 she addressed the peoples of her future regency throughout the Commonwealth with the words: “I swear before you, that throughout my life, whether long or short, I will to serve you all and the great imperial family to which we all belong. ”

BG Queen Elizabeth II Crown 1953

The queen even now at the age of 96 continues to respond to tens of thousands of meetings, hundreds of trips abroad and is always smiling. She is well-informed and closely follows political developments, but has never spoken out about politics. Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher said: “She has excellent knowledge of current developments and has a treasure trove of experience. Her tips and recommendations are always very solid. “As prime minister, I have benefited greatly from it.” 14 prime ministers have experienced Queen Elisabeth so far in her regency – from Winston Churchill to Boris Johnson. Every week she hosts politicians for confidential talks at the royal palace. Not only prime ministers, but also judges, trade unionists, entrepreneurs and ordinary people. “An audience means to me that I can meet people without anyone else hearing what I’m talking to them about. This enables me to have a clear picture of what is happening in government or at the administration level. “Many are very simple people, but I can meet anyone I want to meet.” This is how the queen explained her work style in an interview with the BBC.

Horses are everything to him

“I did not have time to learn, my father passed away very quickly. “I suddenly had to take the lead and possibly do a good job.” The Queen takes her work very seriously. Discipline is its leitmotif. But her passion is rural life. Horses. Her dogs. Over 30 Corgies accompany the queen. Since 2012 she has not received a new dog. Because there is no desire for any of the dogs to survive her. “She is always happy and laughs when it comes to horses. With them she relaxes. “She spotted a wounded horse 30 meters away,” said her former spokeswoman Dickie Arbiter. The little woman with white hair, who often dresses in bold colors, impresses you. Former US President Barack Obama, after his recent visit to Windsor Castle, praised the Queen: “She is a person to be amazed and a real jewel not only for Great Britain, but for the whole world. ”

Fate blow

The queen finally faced some blows of fate: her nephew Prince Harry and his wife Meghan with much media fuss broke away from the Windsor circle presenting themselves as a misunderstood royal child. Meghan, the daughter of a colored mother and a white father, accused the Windsor family of racism in a March 1521 worldwide broadcast interview.

Even stronger was the blow in the case of Prince Andrew: The queen’s second son indicted by a court in New York in the context of the scandal surrounding the multimillionaire from the USA Jeffrey Epstein. But more painful was the death in April 2021 of her husband Prince Philip, her marriage to whom she is more than 73 years old. “He has been my pillar all these years,” she said. But shortly after the funeral of Prince Philip, the queen returned to her duties as head of state./DW/