Queen Elizabeth II: longest reigning monarch in Brit history

[msmerymac]

news.yahoo.com/queen-goes-low-key-record-reign-landmark-044851656.html


London (AFP) - Queen Elizabeth II is planning to keep things low-key on Wednesday when she will overtake Queen Victoria as Britain's longest-serving monarch, despite public interest in the historic date.


The queen will ride on a steam train in Scotland to inaugurate a new railway line and will host a dinner at Balmoral Castle with her grandson Prince William and his wife Kate in attendance.



According to calculations by royal officials, at around 1630 GMT Elizabeth will beat her great-great grandmother Victoria's time on the throne: a total of 63 years, seven months and two days which she served between 1837 and 1901.



The exact hour has been difficult to determine because the exact start of her reign -- the moment when her father George VI passed away -- is difficult to work out as the king died at night in his sleep.



The 89-year-old Elizabeth, also the world's oldest monarch, had originally not planned anything special for the day itself but reportedly agreed to a public appearance due to public pressure.



"You need to remember for the queen this is a date whose calculation rests on the death of her father and great-great grandmother. That naturally colours the way she sees it," a royal source said.



"While she acknowledges it as an historic moment, it's also for her not a moment she would personally celebrate, which is why she has been keen to convey business as usual, and no fuss," the source said.



Buckingham Palace will mark the day with a photo display of her reign and the Royal Mint has designed a new silver £20 coin (27 euros, $30) with the five official portraits since she became queen in 1952.



- New Elizabethan Age? -


At around 1630 GMT on Wednesday Queen Elizabeth II will beat her great-great grandmother Queen Victo …

Historian David Starkey said the queen's style, inherited from her father King George VI, and grandfather King George V, had helped "established a record of unimpeachable integrity".



He said her refusal to comment on controversial issues had deprived "republicanism of the necessary oxygen of controversy".



However, it also meant she had "done and said nothing that anybody will remember" and she would therefore "not give her name to her age" as Victoria did, the historian wrote in the Radio Times.



By contrast, fellow historian Andrew Gimson argued that Elizabeth's reign "will be seen as an incredible accomplishment," spanning a period "marked by many major social and economic changes".



These changes saw Britain's global influence, which peaked during Victoria's reign, diminish as the empire gave way to independence.



It was a process already under way when Elizabeth came to the throne, as the country was rebuilt after the trauma of World War II.



She then witnessed Europe draw closer together, eventually leading to the formation of the European Union, but also saw turmoil at home as Britain's economy collapsed during the 1970s.



Over the Irish Sea, the Troubles raged in Northern Ireland for decades of her reign, eventually being brought to an end by the 1998 peace agreement, while mass immigration changed the face of the country.



- 'Still point' in stormy world -



The 1990s were her toughest years as a series of crises and a less-deferential society led to serious doubts about the future of the family.



Three of her four children went through highly public divorces, and she appeared out of touch with modern Britain with her muted response to the 1997 death of Princess Diana, former wife of Prince Charles, as the rest of the country mourned.



But she was able to ride the storm, and a series of recent good-news stories such as the wedding of William and Kate, the birth of their two children George and Charlotte and a diamond jubilee have all helped boost her popularity.



The birth of George meant there are now four generations of present and future rulers of Britain alive at the same time, for the first time since Victoria's reign.



Prince Charles, 66, is also a record-holder thanks to his mother's longevity, having three years ago become the longest-waiting heir to the British throne.



For Daily Telegraph pundit Allison Pearson, he will have large shoes to fill.



"A still point in a tumultuous world, the clock face over which the hands of time revolve, she has been with us for as long as we can remember," she wrote.

[tres3]

Here's a really cool story about the latest portrait of her to honor the reign.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/queen-elizabeth-II/11842883/Artist-who-was-working-as-a-cleaner-to-make-ends-meets-lands-the-Queen-as-his-first-ever-portrait-commission.html

[ttt]

It's a cool milestone, but I don't feel like kings and queens actually do anything anymore, so it's also kind of pointless to compare.

[hopecounts]

Sept 9, 2015 7:10:36 GMT -5 ttt said:

It's a cool milestone, but I don't feel like kings and queens actually do anything anymore, so it's also kind of pointless to compare.

Read up on her role in the UK backing sanctions against South Africa.
While the monarch has very little constitutional power they have some very powerful behind the scenes/PR power that QEII has very subtly used over her reign usually well occasionally it's backfired.

[mbcdefg]

She gave a speech at the railroad opening today, making statements including, "Inevitably a long life can pass many milestones. Mine is no exception" and "[The milestone is] not one to which I have ever aspired... But I thank you all." www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzy3kny0GX0 

The bow brooch on her coat was passed down from Queen Victoria. I love how her brooches and other jewelry give subtle nods to the occasions at hand. 

Re: portraits, my favorite is the Pietro Annigoni portrait from the 1950s. Her Majesty looks like such a badass in this painting:

[hopecounts]

William and Kate are at Balmoral and they will be having dinner with the Queen tonight.
It was stressed that this is not a celebratory dinner just a family dinner.  

[ttt]

Sept 9, 2015 7:37:20 GMT -5 hopecounts said:

Sept 9, 2015 7:10:36 GMT -5 ttt said:

It's a cool milestone, but I don't feel like kings and queens actually do anything anymore, so it's also kind of pointless to compare.

Read up on her role in the UK backing sanctions against South Africa.
While the monarch has very little constitutional power they have some very powerful behind the scenes/PR power that QEII has very subtly used over her reign usually well occasionally it's backfired.

I will look this up. It sounds interesting.

It's not that they literally don't do *anything* but comparing Elizabeth IIs role to Victoria or Elizabeth I seems kind of silly.

[hopecounts]

Sept 9, 2015 9:39:05 GMT -5 @littlemoxie said:

Sept 9, 2015 9:36:11 GMT -5 hopecounts said:

William and Kate are at Balmoral and they will be having dinner with the Queen tonight.
It was stressed that this is not a celebratory dinner just a family dinner.  

Maybe they are celebrating the latest pregnancy?

I don't actually believe the tabloids, just thought that would be amusing conjecture.

LOL 
I think the only reason they are addressing it at all is to make sure it isn't presented in the press as a celebratory dinner. 
Since W&K are staying there them eating dinner together is pretty normal I would guess. 
I think the Queen is torn on this while it is a big milestone as you said it's due to the death of her Father when she was relatively young. 
and by all accounts they were close.
So I'm sure this stirs up some emotions for her. 

[msmerymac]

Sept 9, 2015 9:43:07 GMT -5 hopecounts said:

Sept 9, 2015 9:39:05 GMT -5 @littlemoxie said:

Maybe they are celebrating the latest pregnancy?

I don't actually believe the tabloids, just thought that would be amusing conjecture.

LOL 
I think the only reason they are addressing it at all is to make sure it isn't presented in the press as a celebratory dinner. 
Since W&K are staying there them eating dinner together is pretty normal I would guess. 
I think the Queen is torn on this while it is a big milestone as you said it's due to the death of her Father when she was relatively young. 
and by all accounts they were close.
So I'm sure this stirs up some emotions for her. 

The Queen and the Queen Mother were always so insistent that the stress of the job killed Bertie, and he wouldn't have died so young if he wasn't under so much pressure due to his brother's abdication. 

Never mind the lung cancer caused by chain smoking.

[hopecounts]

Agreed.
Now I'm sure the stress didn't HELP his smoking addiction but come on.

[anastasia517]

This is a cool milestone. She was Canada's longest serving for a while (since we missed the first 30 years of Queen Victoria's reign) but it is cool none the less.

Also related to this, I find it cool that Canada's head of state has been a woman for just over 97 years of our 148 years as a country.

[mbcdefg]

Some are speculating that Kate will receive the Royal Family Order to mark the occasion (the badge on the yellow ribbon that senior female family members wear): www.forbes.com/sites/ceciliarodriguez/2015/09/03/queen-elizabeth-bestows-high-honor-to-kate-middleton-as-british-ask-is-she-too-old-to-reign/ 

This award is never formally announced, though - you have to wait to see if she shows up to a formal event wearing it. She and William are expected to attend next month's state visit from the President of China, which will include a formal evening banquet (which also means a *tiara*), so hopefully we'll see her wearing it at the banquet. That's going to be tricky in itself, because they don't release many photos from state banquets in the first place.

If she'll be attending the banquet it makes sense that she'd receive the RFO before then, because otherwise she'd have no orders (the colorful sashes and badges) at all to wear. Kate could potentially collect four RFOs if she lives long enough (Elizabeth II, Charles, William, and George), and you can wear them all at once if you wish. There have only been two royal ladies in history who could wear five at once. 

[hopecounts]

With William's recent China visit and his upcoming speech on Chinese TV about the wild animal trade I expect to see them at the China Bangquet.
Yay for tiara and we'll see about the order, it would make sense for her to get it now.
Kate has officially completed her primary duties as William's wife by having the heir and the spare and it's likely that she and William will be increasingly involved in events as Charles takes over more of the Queen's duties and they probably want her to have a sash for these events.