On February 6, 1952, during an adventure holiday at a game-viewing lodge in Kenya, Princess Elizabeth—a keen photographer—rose early to capture the morning light and wildlife of the park, with her husband Philip keeping a watchful eye on a cantankerous rhinoceros lurking nearby.
It was a magical moment of shared wonder and joy for the couple, far away from the public eye.
Within hours, though, the idyll was shattered as news of the death of Elizabeth’s beloved father, King George VI, finally reached the isolation of Sagana Lodge in the foothills of Mount Kenya.
Over one momentous night, nestled in the African wilderness some 10,000 kilometres away from her palace home in London, the 25-year-old princess not only lost her father, she become Queen of the United Kingdom.
Elizabeth and Phillip first met when they were children. Photo: Getty
So began a lifetime of service to the people of Britain and the Commonwealth— a reign that prior to her death in the early hours Friday – placed her as the longest-serving living monarch in the world.
Her passing at age 96 came just over 17 months after the passing of Philip, “her strength and stay” throughout their 73-year marriage.
Together the royal couple had welcomed four children, shared countless tours across the world (before her death she was the only reigning monarch of Australia to have visited here, racking up sixteen tours), experienced loss and heartache and weathered numerous scandals within the family.
Throughout all, Queen Elizabeth II conducted herself with an innate sense of stoicism, dignity, humour and resilience.
The Queen was admired around the world. Photo: Getty
Heir presumptive
Born on April 21, 1926, the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York, and granddaughter of King George V, the young Elizabeth had no expectations of assuming the role of Queen.
But the abdication of her uncle, King Edward VIII, in 1936, amid the controversy of his decision to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson, suddenly saw Elizabeth’s father ascend the throne, making her heir presumptive.
The royal sisters during the 1930s. Photo: Getty
Princess Elizabeth and her younger sister Margaret spent their early years living between Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle (where the princesses stayed during the bombing raids of World War II) under the care and tutelage of governess Marion Crawford – or Crawfie, as she was affectionately known to the girls.
Taking Crawfie into her confidence from an early age, Elizabeth told her that Philip was “the one”, having fallen for the naval officer when she was just 13 years old.
Over the next few years, the couple’s friendship gradually developed into a romance, leading to marriage and a deep devotion that, according to the Queen’s former press secretary Dickie Arbiter, remained until the very end.
“They’ve got humour, they’ve got affection for each other. They’ve got chemistry,” he said of the royal pair before Philip’s death.
It was that combination of love, respect and spark, together with their shared sense of duty to the crown that seemingly stood them in good stead for the trials and tribulations of a life’s journey travelled under the gaze of an increasingly probing media.
A young Queen with Prince Philip after a polo match in New Zealand in 1956. Photo: Getty
Early challenges
One of Queen Elizabeth’s earliest challenges came from within her own family when Princess Margaret revealed her intention of marrying divorcee, Captain Peter Townsend, a former equerry to King George VI.
Eager as she was to help facilitate her sister’s happiness, the Queen could not sanction her marriage. Divorcees could not remarry in the Church of England, a problematic edict for the Queen as the church’s supreme governor.
Elizabeth during a royal visit to Canada in 1984. Photo: Getty
For Margaret a decision was forced between marriage or her place in the royal family. On October 31, 1955, the heartbroken princess chose family, announcing the end of her engagement to Townsend.
The following years were some of the happiest for Elizabeth.
In 1977 she celebrated both her silver jubilee as monarch and the arrival of her first grandchild, Peter Philips, the first of two children shared by Princess Anne and then husband Captain Mark Philips.
Four years later, royal fervour gripped Britain when the Queen’s eldest child Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer in a lavish fairy-tale wedding at St Paul’s Cathedral.
Prince Charles and his fiancee Lady Diana Spencer with Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace in 1981. Photo: Getty
A staggering 750 million viewers tuned in to watch the royal nuptials, while an estimated 600,000 royal fans lined the streets of London to witness the newlywed’s open-carriage journey back to Buckingham Palace.
Annus horribilis
By 1992, however, the royal couple’s happily ever after was not to be.
Just weeks after a fire ripped through the historic halls of Windsor Castle, eight months after Princess Anne filed for divorce from Mark Philips and nine months after the Queen’s second eldest son, Prince Andrew, split with wife Sarah, Charles and Diana announced their separation, capping off a disastrous year for the royals.
It was, declared the Queen during a speech marking her Ruby Jubilee, an annus horribilis. “1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure,” she said.
Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Diana Princess of Wales, Prince William and Prince Harry together on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. Photo: Getty
Little did she know, worse was to come. In 1997 the shocking news of Princess Diana’s tragic death in a horror car crash rocked the royal family and prompted an unprecedented outpouring of grief across the globe.
As the world mourned —60 million flowers were laid at memorials across London in honour of the late Princess of Wales—public sentiment turned on the Queen who remained in Balmoral with Prince Philip and Diana’s boys, princes William and Harry.
Her silence and absence from London in the wake of Diana’s death, combined with the decision not to raise the royal standard at half-mast at Buckingham Palace were viewed as a lack of respect.
It was to be five days after the princess’s death before the Queen returned to London, releasing a statement praising her former daughter-in-law’s devotion to William and Harry. “No one who knew Diana will ever forget her,” she said.
A grieving public quickly forgave the royal misstep.
Later trials
In the decades since, the Queen regained her crown as the most trusted and popular royal.
While scandals and heartache continued to challenge—the 2020 decision by Prince Harry and his wife Meghan to withdraw from royal life to live in the US, allegations of sexual abuse made against Prince Andrew, and the passing of Prince Philip during the height of the world’s COVID pandemic—Queen Elizabeth remained resilient.
In fact, “brand” Queen Elizabeth II was a global juggernaut.
Queen Elizabeth supported Prince Andrew while allegations about the extent of his links with Jeffrey Epstein emerged. Photo: Getty
Research commissioned for a True Royalty TV documentary about the Queen to mark her 95th birthday in 2021, revealed the sovereign’s personal brand was 23 times bigger than the Beckhams, 16 times greater than Beyoncé and six times that of Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
While much of this so-called brand achievement was due to Buckingham Palace’s well-oiled publicity machine, the Queen was central to its success.
Throughout the past 70 years, the Queen, as the most famous woman on the planet, managed a growing connection with the public through royal walkabouts, regular televised national addresses and, more recently, Zoom audiences, while still maintaining a fascinating royal mystique.
Queen Elizabeth performed her official duties via video link. Photo: Getty
Unstinting devotion
Today, as the world grieves her passing, Queen Elizabeth II will be remembered for her unstinting devotion to the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, from that bittersweet day in Kenya when she learned of her ascension to the throne, to her recent platinum jubilee speech of gratitude, hope and humility.
One of the last photographs of the Queen was taken at Balmoral this week. Photo: Getty
“As I look ahead with a sense of hope and optimism to the year of my Platinum Jubilee, I am reminded of how much we can be thankful for,” she said.
“I remain eternally grateful for, and humbled by, the loyalty and affection that you continue to give me.”
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