Elizabeth II was “distant, formal, mysterious” before Diana and continued to be “distant, formal, mysterious” after her. But she became “distant, formal, mysterious” in a different way. And this is also very important to understand the reign of the queen.
“I declare before all of you that my whole life, whether long or short, will be dedicated to serving you and serving this great imperial family to which we all belong”: April 21, 1947, Elizabeth II was not yet Elizabeth II , had just turned 21 and it was her own words on her birthday.
September 8, 2022: died, lived long, so mission ended at age 96 and reign 70, saw a lot, lived a lot, saw everything transform – watched reproduction and expansion of color photography , the emergence of color television, the birth of the Internet, but it was also part of key historical moments and dealt with various political changes: the post-Second World War, the Cold War, the conflicts in Northern Ireland, the departure from Union of the European Union (Brexit) and now a war at the gates of Europe.
From Churchill to Truss, through her hands or through the rooms of Buckingham Palace, 15 prime ministers passed while she was there. He also lived through family scandals: the allegations of sexual abuse against Prince Andrew, he went through that day when Harry and Meghan abdicated their royal titles (the Megxit), he had to deal with Kate Middleton’s topless photos, there was the wedding of Charles and Diana and everything else associated with it. She withstood everything: Elizabeth II has the second longest reign ever in world history, only behind Louis XIV of France – 72 years and three months.
“This allows him to have a very strong historical legacy, as he is the last historical figure that connects Europe to one of the most important moments in its most recent history: the Second World War”, tells CNN Portugal Filipe Vieira Martins, specialist in European royal families.
For Diana Soller, commentator and expert on international affairs, from a political point of view “the Queen did almost everything well until the end”.
What does that mean? “It means representing your country with all dignity, with all honor and knowing what your role is. That is, never to exceed its constitutional functions and always leave to the executive, legislative and judicial powers the role of government of Great Britain, which was not their role. Her role was to act. The latest example of this is Brexit. Queen Elizabeth II left not knowing whether or not she wanted Brexit. We are facing an exceptional monarch.”
Despite having reigned for 70 years, little is known about the monarch’s life, about “what she thought, what her ideas about the advancement of the world, how she lived the current times”, comments Filipe Vieira Martins. And it was so because “it was not part of her role” to do otherwise.
D. Duarte Pio, Duke of Bragança, even says that Elizabeth II was treated by every Englishman “as one of the family”. “Her ability to empathize with people, especially since the beginning of television, was one of the characteristics that marked her reign”, he points out. “And that is why the English must feel today as if they had lost someone in their family”, he concludes.
From Diana Soller’s perspective, the monarch went through three phases: “A first phase in which she is a very young queen, with very high popularity for three essential reasons: the political, for doing decolonization very well; the staff, for being such a young and beautiful queen by the standards of the time; and for being a queen who knew how to use the media very well in her favor”, she points out.
“Then there was a second phase, corresponding to the marriage of Charles and Diana, in which the Queen’s popularity plummets because Diana came to have an absolutely fundamental role in the British monarchy – namely with a new type of role that monarchs did not have. , the role of the people’s princess”, continues Diana Soller.
“And what is curious is that it was in the third phase, after the untimely death of the princess, that the figurehead of the British crown was once again Queen Elizabeth II. And there are a number of reasons for this: the first is that she learns from Diana and, somehow, without ever losing her identity – distant, formal, mysterious -, she ends up adopting an attitude closer to the British people that makes her popular again in the eyes of the British”, he concludes.
Diana greatly changed the perception of the royal family and Elizabeth II “did not cut short on that legacy”.
Elizabeth II was the first monarch to insist that her entire coronation ceremony be broadcast directly on television. At the end of her reign, she had to adapt to social networks, namely Instagram.
“This queen knew how to adapt to the times without ever giving in to the times, without ever giving in to the importance of tradition”, defends Diana Soller. “When the queen came to power, there was radio. The queen leaves power and the heads of state send their condolences on Twitter.”
Charles’ unpopularity
Charles is now the King of England. He waited 70 years to become one and during that time he was involved in several controversies that did not make him a very cherished figure by the British.
Can this shake the monarchy in any way? Filipe Vieira Martins thinks not. “I think that in any transition of powers there is always this issue. The Queen has lived through things and represented the British people at crucial times in her history, something her successor does not. And that has an impact. And then there’s the popularity that the queen had and her successor doesn’t. Will this shake the system? I would say no”.
Even so, there are some Britons who argue that the reign of Charles could be “skipped” and the portfolio passed directly to Prince William. But Elizabeth II always made it clear who her successor would be: Charles, now King Charles III.
For Diana Soller, “everything he does in the near future will be compared to the queen”. The CNN Portugal commentator also does not believe that the monarchy could be weakened with the departure of Elizabeth II.
On the contrary, “I think that, on the one hand, the Queen’s legacy will endure and, on the other hand, I think that the couple William and Kate are a couple that will reign and that are very popular among the British. So, unless King Charles III makes a mistake that is costly for the monarchy, I don’t see any indications that the monarchy could suffer from the Queen’s departure”, says Diana.
D. Duarte Pio has a different view of Charles’ succession. “Six years ago they took a poll: ‘If England becomes a Republic, who could be President?’ And the first answer was Prince Charles. I think the moment he becomes king and people realize what he really is, that problem (of unpopularity) will change.”
Photos: who is King Charles III?
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m James Harper, a highly experienced and accomplished news writer for World Stock Market. I have been writing in the Politics section of the website for over five years, providing readers with up-to-date and insightful information about current events in politics. My work is widely read and respected by many industry professionals as well as laymen.
