Who Was Queen Elizabeth II?
Queen Elizabeth II became queen on February 6, 1952, and was crowned on June 2, 1953. She was the mother of Prince Charles, heir to the throne, as well as the grandmother of Princes William and Harry. As the longest-serving monarch in British history, she tried to make her reign more modern and sensitive to a changing public while maintaining traditions associated with the crown.
Elizabeth died on September 8, 2022, at age 96.
Early Life
Queen Elizabeth II was born Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary on April 21, 1926, in London, to Prince Albert, Duke of York (later known as King George VI), and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon.
When Elizabeth’s grandfather George V died in 1936, his eldest son (Elizabeth’s uncle) became King Edward VIII. Edward, however, was in love with American divorcée Wallis Simpson and had to choose between the crown and his heart. In the end, Edward chose Simpson and abdicated the crown.
The event changed the course of her life, making her the heir presumptive to the British crown. Her father was crowned King George VI in 1937, taking on the name George to emphasize continuity with his father. Her mother became Queen Elizabeth; on King George’s death in 1952, she became Queen Mother and her daughter became Queen Elizabeth II.
Scents of Science 
September 12, 2022 at 1:58 pm
you should not have entered/touched this subject… extremely controversial… read what people at the ex colonies are writing…
the monarchy is a house of parasites if you look at the light side, a house of horror if you look at the real world…
have a look at this article: https://consortiumnews.com/2022/09/09/cruelties-of-the-queens-reign/
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September 12, 2022 at 4:11 pm
Well, Europe’s history and culture stretches for more than peoples opinion.
I understand the outsiders view about kings and queens…however I appreciate Queen Elizabeth determination and service.
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September 12, 2022 at 4:29 pm
is this what you call an opinion? or a reality check Europe don’t like to see or acknowledge?
“Elizabeth ascended to the throne in 1952, reigning for 70 years as a head of an institution built up, sustained, and living off a brutal legacy of dehumanization of millions of people across the world,” he continued.
“During her 70-year reign as queen, she never once acknowledged the atrocities that her family inflicted on native people that Britain invaded across the world,” Malema noted. “She willingly benefited from the wealth that was attained from the exploitation and murder of millions of people across the world.”
“The British royal family stands on the shoulders of millions of slaves who were shipped away from the continent to serve the interests of racist white capital accumulation, at the center of which lies the British royal family,” Malema added.
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September 12, 2022 at 4:51 pm
Slavery was abolished in 1807 In British Empire and in 1865 in US. History of all humankind is bloody and involves slavery or oppression of minorities or women, or children.
Even now people fight for whatever interests they have and all over the world are elite groups (financial, royals, political leaders) who are profiting on expenses of the vulnerable people.
Queen Elizabeth was an emblematic figure of England and Europe. Was she fair and empathic? Perhaps not, but her role was to reign. That’s all.
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September 12, 2022 at 5:11 pm
A nice, 96-year-old woman has passed.
From the instant that the news of her death was announced, the tone of much of the media’s coverage has been sombre and reverential. With a funeral procession and succession ceremony on the horizon, we can expect that hushed, respectful mood to persist.
But, even at this subdued hour, it would be deeply irresponsible and an egregious mistake to avoid acknowledging that the imperial institution Queen Elizabeth II led has caused indelible harm and suffering to so many people, in so many places.
Only recently have members of the royal family been obliged to admit publicly the inhumane consequences of the crown’s long, disfiguring history of being the pretty face to the violence, racism, slavery and wholesale pillaging of largely non-white nations that made up Britain’s colonial empire.
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/9/10/the-monarchy-needs-to-die-too
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September 12, 2022 at 4:41 pm
Elizabeth was a symbol of Britain’s denial for colonial crimes
Others find it difficult to celebrate the queen’s life — in part because they feel she should be held accountable for what her country did.
“We essentially have to respect her for her very long service, but as the monarch, she cannot be disentangled from colonization of South Asia,” Mou Banerjee, a professor of South Asian history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told NPR.
Banerjee is from India, which gained independence from Britain in 1947. Although Elizabeth was crowned five years later, Banerjee said many Indians hoped the queen would express remorse for the damages of colonialism.
That was the case in 1997 during what would be the queen’s last visit to India. Elizabeth told Indians “history cannot be rewritten” in reference to the 1919 massacre in Jallianwala Bagh, where hundreds of Indians were shot and killed by British troops.
https://www.npr.org/2022/09/12/1122238140/queen-elizabeth-ii-death-commonwealth-countries-colonial-history
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