The Veterans’ Foundation are saddened to learn of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday 8th September 2022, at the age of 96.
The reign of Queen Elizabeth II was the longest of any Monarch in British history and was marked by her strong sense of duty as well as a determination to dedicate her life to her throne and to her people.
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born on 21 April 1926, in a house just off Berkeley Square in London, the first child of Albert, Duke of York, second son of George V, and his duchess, the former Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon.
On the death of George V in 1936, his eldest son, known as David, became Edward VIII.
However, his choice of wife, the twice-divorced American Wallis Simpson, was deemed to be unacceptable on political and religious grounds and he abdicated the throne at the end of the year.
The Duke of York then became King George VI and his Coronation gave Elizabeth a taste of things to come and she later wrote that she had found the service "very, very wonderful".
Against a background of increasing tension in Europe, the new King, together with his wife, Queen Elizabeth, set out to restore public faith in the monarchy. Their example was not lost on their elder daughter, especially through the largest conflict the world had ever seen.
Towards the end of the Second World War, ‘Elizabeth Windsor’ became the first female member of the Royal Family to join the Armed Services as a full-time active member and during her time in the ATS, the Princess learnt to drive and to maintain vehicles.
Her enlistment made headlines around the world, with newspapers applauding the young princess’ commitment to the war effort and calling her "Princess Auto Mechanic."
Elizabeth was still in the ATS when Germany surrendered on May 8, 1945, and she and Princess Margaret famously slipped out of Buckingham Palace to join revellers celebrating in London.
After the war, her desire to marry Prince Philip – whom she first took an interest in at the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth – faced a number of obstacles.
However, the wishes of the couple prevailed and on 20 November 1947 the couple married in Westminster Abbey.
The Duke of Edinburgh, as Philip had become, remained a serving Naval officer, but for a short time, a posting to Malta meant the young couple could enjoy a relatively normal life.
Their first child, Charles, was born in 1948, followed by a sister, Anne, who arrived in 1950.
But the King, having suffered considerable stress during the war years, was terminally ill with lung cancer, brought about by a lifetime of heavy smoking.
In January 1952, Elizabeth, then 25, set off with Philip for an overseas tour. The King, against medical advice, went to the airport to see the couple off. It was to be the last time Elizabeth would see her father.
Elizabeth heard of the death of the King while staying at a game lodge in Kenya and the new Queen immediately returned to London.
"In a way, I didn't have an apprenticeship," she later recalled. "My father died much too young, so it was all a very sudden kind of taking on and making the best job you can."
Her Coronation in June 1953 was televised, despite the opposition of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and millions gathered around TV sets, many of them for the first time, to watch as Queen Elizabeth II made her oath.
As Sovereign, The Queen was Head of the Armed Forces, both in the United Kingdom and in the Commonwealth.
“It is a tradition of very long standing that the Sovereign, and members of the Royal Family, are intimately associated with the Armed Forces and have been proud to serve in all three services.” - A speech by The Queen at the Armed Forces Muster, 2012
Even though her military service officially ended with Japan’s surrender in 1945, The Queen maintained her affinity with the Armed Forces since, holding the position of Colonel-in-Chief of numerous regiments in the United Kingdom and throughout the Commonwealth, as well as the position of Lord High Admiral in the Royal Navy.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II presided over many years of modernisation of the monarchy – transforming the national institution to be known as the Royal Family – with her Silver Jubilee in 1977 celebrated with genuine enthusiasm in street parties and in ceremonies across the kingdom. The monarchy seemed secure in the public's affection and much of that was down to The Queen herself.
Although The Queen also presided over a variety of disasters and scandals surrounding the Royal Family in the next few decades, including the fire at Windsor Castle in 1992 and the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, in a car accident in Paris in August 1997, she also dedicated herself to her role as the head of the Commonwealth and made many trips all over the world.
Alongside her own long service of her country at home and abroad, The Queen has always greatly appreciated the service of others, after all, she is and was also the wife, mother and grandmother of individuals either having served, or are currently serving, in the Armed Forces.
“Wherever you are deployed in the world, you should be assured that I and the whole nation are deeply thankful for the part you play in helping to maintain peace around the globe.” - The Queen's Broadcast to the Armed Forces, 2009.
Various military events, visits and celebrations have also formed a large part of The Queen’s official calendar for her 70 years on the throne, including the Trooping of the Colour, a celebratory event where she actually attended on horseback, dressed in military uniform, for many years.
From leading the nation’s Remembrance Sunday commemoration of the fallen, to spending a lot of time meeting servicemen and women of all ranks, and their families, both at home and on overseas trips, Queen Elizabeth II has always made time for those who served.
Remembrance of those who sacrificed their lives for their country has always been an extremely important part of The Queen’s duties and alongside celebrating those whose deeds deserved recognition and gratitude, The Queen also introduced the Elizabeth Cross.
This is the first medal to which The Queen has put her name and was instituted in 2009 to give special recognition to the families of those who have died on military operations, or as a result of terrorism, since 1948.
“I greatly hope that the Elizabeth Cross will give further meaning to the nation’s debt of gratitude to the families and loved ones of those who have died in the service of our country. We will remember them all.” - The Queen's Broadcast to the Armed Forces, 2009
In more recent years, the Queen's Golden Jubilee year in 2002 saw a million people crowded into The Mall, in front of Buckingham Palace, on the evening of the jubilee.
In April 2006, thousands of well-wishers lined the streets of Windsor as the Queen performed an informal walkabout on her 80th birthday, and in November 2007, she and Prince Philip celebrated 60 years of marriage with a service attended by 2,000 people at Westminster Abbey.
There was yet another happy occasion in April 2011 when the Queen attended the wedding of her grandson, William, Duke of Cambridge, to Catherine Middleton.
In May that year she became the first British monarch to make an official visit to the Irish Republic, an event of great historical significance.
In a speech, which she began in Irish, she called for forbearance and conciliation and referred to "things we wish had been done differently or not at all".
The referendum on Scottish independence, in September 2014, was a testing time for the Queen. Few had forgotten her speech to Parliament in 1977 in which she made clear her commitment to a United Kingdom.
"I number kings and queens of England and of Scotland, and princes of Wales among my ancestors and so I can readily understand these aspirations. But I cannot forget that I was crowned Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland."
On 9 September 2015 she became the longest reigning monarch in British history, surpassing the reign of her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria. In typical style she refused to make any fuss saying the title was "not one to which I have ever aspired". Less than a year later, in April 2016, she celebrated her 90th birthday.
She continued with her public duties, often alone after the retirement of the Duke of Edinburgh in 2017, until the death of Prince Philip in April 2021, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
In 2022, Her Majesty celebrated the first Platinum Jubilee in the history of the British Isles to mark 70 years on the throne.
As Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II devoted her life to the service of her country and the Veterans’ Foundation join the millions of people around the world on thanking Her Majesty for her life of dedicated service to the British people, especially the Armed Forces.
With her death, her eldest son Charles, the former Prince of Wales, will lead the country in mourning as the new King and head of state for 14 Commonwealth realms.
In a statement, His Majesty the King said: "The death of my beloved mother Her Majesty the Queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family.
"We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished Sovereign and a much-loved Mother. I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world."
He said during the period of mourning and change he and his family would be "comforted and sustained by our knowledge of the respect and deep affection in which The Queen was so widely held".
