By Philip Schieffelin
On Sept. 8, 2022 Queen Elizabeth II died of old age at Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. She was the longest reigning monarch of Great Britain, surpassing Queen Victoria for number of years on the throne by seven years. She leaves four children, King Charles III, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward. She and the late Prince Philip, her husband, are buried together in St. George’s Chapel. When the Queen died, Charles became King immediately, however, a coronation date has not been announced and the coronation itself is not expected for some time. Charles’ oldest son, Prince William, is now first in line to the throne. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, fifteen Prime Ministers held office, including Sir Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher. The fifteenth was Liz Truss who became Prime Minister on Sept. 6, just two days before the Queen’s passing.
Queen Elizabeth was born on April 21, 1926. When she was born, she did not have a prospect of becoming Queen until she was 10 years old when her uncle, King Edward VIII, abdicated leaving the throne to Elizabeth’s father, King George VI. In 1945 she joined the Auxiliary Territory Service and became a mechanic, fixing and driving any and all automobiles used during the war. In 1947 she married Prince Philip. On Feb. 6, 1952 King George VI died and Elizabeth became Queen at the age of 25. On Sept. 11, 2022 the Queen’s coffin was moved to the Scottish capital in Edinburgh, on Sept. 12, it was flown to London, on Sept. 14, it was moved to Westminster Hall from Buckingham Palace to lie in state, and on Sept. 19, it was moved from Westminster Hall to St. George’s Chapel in the official funeral procession. Dignitaries from all over the world attended the funeral and paid their respects to the late Queen as she was lying in state.
