The Queen Is Dead is the third studio album by the English rock band the Smiths, released on 16 June 1986 by Rough Trade Records. Following the release of their second album Meat Is Murder, the Smiths retreated to Greater Manchester to begin work on new material, with Johnny Marr and Morrissey writing extensively at Marr's home in Bowdon as the band sought to escape the pressures of London and their label Rough Trade. The album was produced by Morrissey and Marr, with engineering by Stephen Street; its music blends indie rock and post-punk. Recording for the album took place between July 1985 and December of that year, with sessions held at RAK Studios in London, Jacobs Studios in Farnham and Drone Studios in Manchester.
The Queen Is Dead spent 22 weeks on the UK Albums Chart, peaking at number two. It reached number 70 on the US Billboard Top Pop Albums chart and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in late 1990. The album received widespread critical acclaim, praised for Marr's guitar work and Morrissey's witty and emotional lyricism. It has been included in multiple lists of the greatest albums of all time. Rolling Stone ranked the album 113th on its 2020-updated list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". In its 2013 list, NME named The Queen Is Dead the greatest album of all time.
Background
Following the completion of Meat Is Murder in December 1984,[1] guitarist Johnny Marr began developing new ideas for the Smiths' next album. In early 1985, the band returned to Greater Manchester, with Morrissey settling in Hale and Marr purchasing a home in Bowdon; the latter served as a writing base for the band. Marr described this period as an attempt to "shut out the outside world" and focus creatively, distancing themselves from the pressures of London and their record label. Drummer Mike Joyce likened Marr's home to a personal Brill Building due to the creative intensity.[2] During this time, Morrissey channeled his frustrations with the media and music industry into lyrics.[3]
Recording and production
The Queen Is Dead was developed over a period of more than eighteen months, from its earliest musical sketches to its release.[2] The album was produced by Morrissey and Marr, working predominantly with engineer Stephen Street, who had engineered the band's 1985 album Meat Is Murder.[4] The three shared a strong bond in the studio, helped by their similar ages and interests, which created a relaxed atmosphere.[5] At the time the band was having difficulty with its record label Rough Trade Records. However, according to Street, "this didn't get in the way of recording because the atmosphere in the studio was very, very constructive".[5] The first song from the album to be completed, "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side", was recorded at Drone Studios in Manchester in July 1985.[3] Marr later recalled composing the song's melody while riding a bus during the Meat Is Murder tour.[3] "Frankly, Mr. Shankly", "I Know It's Over" and "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" were written by Morrissey and Marr in a "marathon" writing session in the late summer of 1985 at Marr's home in Bowdon.[6]
RAK Studios building in 2011
In August 1985, "Bigmouth Strikes Again" and "Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others" were recorded at RAK Studios in London, along with the B-sides to "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side"; "Asleep" and "Rubber Ring".[7][5]Kirsty MacColl sang a backing vocal for "Bigmouth Strikes Again" but her take was deemed to be "really weird" by Marr, and was replaced with a sped-up vocal by Morrissey in the final mix, processed by Street who ran his voice through a harmoniser. The same vocal manipulation was performed for "The Queen Is Dead", and both were attributed to "Ann Coates" on the record sleeve (Ancoats is a district in Manchester, just north-east of the city centre). Morrissey liked to experiment with effects on his voice, but he rarely used backing vocals or harmonies aside from the harmoniser, though he enjoyed experimenting during sessions.[5][8] "Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others" has an opening which fades in, out, and back again.[4] This effect was devised by Street, who aimed to create a mix that sounded similar to a door closing and opening again.[9]
During the same session, a first version of "Never Had No One Ever" was recorded.[10] The said track, completed in August 1985, was based on an instrumental demo which Marr had recorded in December 1984.[11] Marr described the track's atmosphere as representative of the album's overall mood and recording experience.[12] According to Marr, "Cemetry Gates" originated during an informal writing session in his kitchen with Morrissey. Marr recalled that he was uncertain about the song and had considered discarding it, but Morrissey responded enthusiastically.[13] Marr described the creative process as coming together "effortlessly and easy".[4] "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side", "Bigmouth Strikes Again" and "Frankly, Mr. Shankly" were debuted live during a tour of Scotland in September and October 1985,[14] while "The Queen Is Dead" and "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" were played during a soundcheck.[15]
The bulk of the album was recorded in the winter of 1985 at Jacobs Studios in Farnham, under the working title "Margaret on the Guillotine",[16] which was later used for Morrissey's song about Margaret Thatcher from his 1988 album Viva Hate.[17] "Frankly, Mr. Shankly" was an attempt to recreate the "vibe" of Sandie Shaw's "Puppet on a String", although "it didn't quite work out that way", according to Marr. Linda McCartney was asked to play piano on the track, but declined,[18] and a first take featuring a trumpeter was scrapped.[6] A technical fault on the tape rendered the first completed version of the song unusable, and so it was re-recorded with John Porter at Wessex Studios in London.[6] "The Queen Is Dead" was among the last songs to be recorded. Its distinctive tom-tom loop was created by Joyce and Street using a sampler. A line of guitar feedback was played by Marr through a wah-wah pedal throughout the song.[5] The album was shortly completed before Christmas 1985.[10]
Title and cover
The album title is taken from American writer Hubert Selby Jr.'s 1964 novel, Last Exit to Brooklyn.[19] The cover of The Queen Is Dead features a still of French actor Alain Delon from the 1964 film The Unvanquished. Delon granted permission for the image's use, though according to Morrissey's Autobiography, the actor mentioned that his parents were dismayed by the album's title.[20][21]
Music critics have categorised The Queen Is Dead as an indie rock[22] and post-punk[23] recording. Marr was heavily influenced by the Stooges and the Rolling Stones while crafting the album.[4] A central thematic tension in the album is the interplay between melancholy and other emotions.[24] Humour, anger and joy are also notable concepts throughout the album.[24] Mark Lindores praised Morrissey's lyrics for their wit and sensitivity, noting his ability to craft both humorous and genuinely moving lines.[25]Pitchfork'sSimon Reynolds noticed that Morrissey's lyrics were inspired by both surreal humour and black comedy.[26] The album addresses a distinct criticism of the United Kingdom.[27] According to Kevin Korber of PopMatters, Morrissey's writing has largely centred on two themes: himself and the United Kingdom. He often portrays himself as a misunderstood figure at odds with a world that fails to comprehend him.[28] Marr notes that the album captures the progressive and the "night time" side of the Smiths.[29]
The album's opener and title track "The Queen Is Dead" was based on a song Marr began writing as a teenager.[15] Influenced by the Velvet Underground and the Detroit garage rock scene,[4] it is strongly anti-monarchist,[4] portraying the royal family as "useless, taxpayer-funded tabloid fodder", according to Korber.[28] "Frankly, Mr. Shankly" functions as a "meta" reflection on Morrissey's position within the music business, featuring a self-aware admission of his "insatiable lust for attention". This is captured in lines such as "Fame, fame, fatal fame / It can play hideous tricks on the brain", and his declaration that he would "rather be famous than righteous or holy".[26] Lyrically, "I Know It's Over" shares elements with the two mentioned ballads: the suicidal connotations of "The Queen Is Dead" and the agonising diary of many mornings waking up alone of "Frankly, Mr. Shankly".[30] Despite what Simon Goddard described as Morrissey's "obvious depression", the song retains some hope in its message, stating that being "kind and gentle" is a noble trait that requires rare courage, and that love is "natural and real", even if not for Morrissey, whose unfulfilled heart's desire is further tormented by the sight of "loutish lovers" taking their partners for granted.[31]
The composition for "Never Had No One Ever" was based on the song "I Need Somebody" by the Stooges.[11] The lyric to the song reflects Morrissey's feeling unsafe and, being from an immigrant family, not at home on the streets of Manchester.[32] In interviews, he explained that the song expresses the frustration he felt at age 20, when he found himself unable to feel at ease or at home in the very streets where he had been born and raised.[4] Musically, the track was composed by Marr, who sought to evoke a mood that was both "beautiful and dark", inspired by his teenage experiences listening to Raw Power by the Stooges.[4] "Cemetry Gates" features what NME described as a light, "jaunty pop backing", which Street has described as a "nice bit of blessed relief" within the broader flow of The Queen Is Dead.[4] Reynolds said that it retains a sense of emotional strength and is characterised as "sprightly and carefree".[26] The lyrics focus on "plagiarists receiv[ing] the sharp lash of the Morrissey tongue".[4]
The track "Bigmouth Strikes Again" is driven by fast drum rolls,[24] which give it what has been described by Korber as a "shot of punk adrenaline".[28] Lyrically, Morrissey criticises the media and society,[28] presenting himself as a martyr, with Reynolds saying there is a "hint of reveling in the martyr posture". This theme is underscored by imagery evoking the execution of Joan of Arc by fire.[26] "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side" presents Morrissey's recurring theme of being misunderstood, this time framed in more universal terms.[28] Described by NME as one of his most poetic moments,[4] the lyrics refer allegorically to the band's experience of the music industry that failed to appreciate it.[3] It also reflects a self-perception of rejection, encapsulated in the line: "How can they hear me say those words and still they don't believe me?"[26] "Vicar in a Tutu" centres on a cross-dressing clergyman,[4] with Terence Cawley of The Boston Globe noting its "casual dismissal of gender norms", further describing as "sneakily subversive".[24] Musically, the song features musical elements characteristic of the music hall tradition[4] with Korber describing it as a "slight-yet-enjoyable rockabilly pastiche".[28]
"There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" features lyrics drawn from "Lonely Planet Boy" by the New York Dolls. According to Marr: "When we first played it, I thought it was the best song I'd ever heard".[33] Reynolds interpreted Morrissey's depiction of doomed love and romanticised death, highlighted by the iconic image of being hit by a double-decker bus, as evoking sincere yearning without lapsing into parody.[26] It is grouped with other emotionally intense tracks such as "I Know It's Over" and described as part of the album's "life-and-death serious stuff",[26] contributing to what Louder called the band's impression of being "simultaneously in love with both life and death".[34] The song's guitar part drew on the Rolling Stones' cover of Marvin Gaye's "Hitch Hike", whose original version by Gaye himself had acted as an inspiration for the Velvet Underground's "There She Goes Again".[35] "Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others" features lyrics that Morrissey described as a deliberate reduction of meaning, intended to highlight, in his words, "the basic absurdity of recognising the contours of one's body".[4]
Release
Promotional photograph of the Smiths in 1985. The same photo is used in the album's inner gatefold.
Although The Queen Is Dead was initially planned for a February 1986 release, tensions with Rough Trade delayed it, with it eventually releasing on 16 June 1986.[29] A legal dispute with Rough Trade had delayed the album by almost seven months, and Marr was beginning to feel the stress of the band's exhausting touring and recording schedule. He later told NME, "'Worse for wear' wasn't the half of it: I was extremely ill. By the time the tour actually finished it was all getting a little bit ... dangerous. I was just drinking more than I could handle".[36]
The album's release was preceded by the singles "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side", released on 16 September 1985,[37] and "Bigmouth Strikes Again", on 19 May 1986.[10] "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side" was initially intended as a demo, but was considered by the band to be good enough for release as a single.[38]The Queen Is Dead would become the last Smiths album supported by a tour.[10] Many at Rough Trade favoured releasing "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" as the lead single, but Marr insisted on "Bigmouth Strikes Again", believing it was a more energetic and striking choice that better represented the band's sound.[33] "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" was not released as a single until 12 October 1992, five years after their split, to promote the compilation album ...Best II.[39]
"The Queen Is Dead" was accompanied by an expressionistic music video directed by Derek Jarman, starts with a sampled excerpt from Bryan Forbes' 1962 British film The L-Shaped Room.[40]Mayo Thompson from the band Red Krayola was an associate producer for the film and through working for Rough Trade persuaded Jarman to direct a promotional video for the Smiths.[41][42] The album became a commercial success upon release, spending 22 weeks on the UK Albums Chart, peaking at number two.[43] It spent 21 weeks on the European Albums Chart,[44] peaking at number 19 based on the sales from 18 major European countries.[44] It also reached number 70 on the US Billboard 200 chart,[45] and was certified Gold by the RIAA in late 1990.[46]
In June 2017, one year after the album's 30th anniversary, the Smiths released the full version of "The Queen Is Dead" on vinyl with other Smiths songs: "Oscillate Wildly", "Money Changes Everything", and "The Draize Train" served as B-sides. The band also released a 7" single containing "The Queen is Dead" and "I Keep Mine Hidden".[47] Later that month, Morrissey accused HMV of trying to "freeze sales" on the new re-issues after the store limited the number of records sold to one per person.[48] Later in 2017, the album was re-released as a deluxe reissue on Warner Bros. Records including new studio takes of "There's a Light That Never Goes Out" and "Rubber Ring" as well as a previously unheard live album recorded in 1986.[49] In a press release for the re-issue Morrissey said of the album: "You progress only when you wonder if an abnormally scientific genius would approve – and this is the leap The Smiths took with The Queen Is Dead".[49]
The Queen Is Dead has received acclaim from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the deluxe version of The Queen Is Dead received a rating of 99 out of 100 based on eleven critic reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[50]
From contemporary reviews, Mark Coleman of Rolling Stone gave the album an overwhelmingly positive review, remarking on Morrissey's sense of humour and singling out the singer's performance on "Cemetry Gates" as a highlight, and concluded that "like it or not, this guy's going to be around for a while".[61] Writing in British pop magazine Smash Hits, Tom Hibbert praised the guitar work and lyricism, describing Morrissey as "half genius half buffoon", while the other musical elements sound "like scratchings on a Fifth Form desk".[62] Stephen Dalton, writing for Uncut, described the album as the Smiths' "most confident and coherent album yet" despite the escalating internal friction within the band.[59] In a mixed review, Robert Christgau of The Village Voice wrote that despite his dislike of the Smiths' previous albums, he held an "instant attraction" to The Queen Is Dead, where he found consolation in Morrissey's frank witty lyrics, "dishing the queen like Johnny Rotten never did and kissing off a day-job boss who's no Mr. Sellack", which "makes it easier to go along on his moonier escapades".[60]J. D. Considine found that the band "epitomize[s] all that is admirable and annoying about British new music" finding the Smith's material to be "terrifically tuneful" due to Marr's "incisive, visceral guitar work", but felt that Morrissey "had a tendency to wander away from conventional notions of pitch often mangling the band's melodies in the process".[63]
In retrospective reviews, Pitchfork writer Simon Reynolds described The Queen Is Dead as a masterpiece marking the Smiths' "imperial phase". He highlighted Morrissey's "idiosyncratic" and "grandly moving" lyrics and delivery, alongside Johnny Marr's "sparkling" melodies and intricate arrangements. He observed that, for true believers, the album cemented the Smiths' status as "the greatest group in the world" despite their struggle to gain widespread commercial success at the time, and positioned Morrissey as a "spurned savior" of British music.[26]Stephen Thomas Erlewine, writing for AllMusic, described it as the Smiths' "great leap forward", showing their ascent to new musical and lyrical heights. He noted that while the album was "harder-rocking" than previous efforts, it did not conform to conventional rock structures. Instead, Johnny Marr's "dense web of guitars" created a variety of moods.[51]
Accolades
In 2000, The Queen Is Dead was voted number 10 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.[64] In 2002, Pitchfork listed The Queen Is Dead as the sixth-best album of the 1980s.[65] In 2003, the album was ranked number 216 on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time",[66] 218 in a 2012 revised list,[67] and 113 in the 2020 revision.[68]NME named it the second-greatest British album of all time in its 2006 list.[69] In 2006, Q magazine placed the album at number three in its list of "40 Best Albums of the '80s".[70] The album was included in Spin Alternative Record Guide, a reference book part of the American Spin magazine. It was reviewed by Rob Sheffield, who gave the album a total score of ten.[71] English-based magazine Clash added The Queen Is Dead to its "Classic Album Hall of Fame" in its June 2011 issue, saying it "is an album to lose yourself in; it has depth, focus and some great tunes. It's easy to see why the album is held in such high esteem by Smiths fanatics and why, a decade later, it became a key influence for all things Britpop".[43]
In 2012, Slant Magazine listed the album at number 16 on its list of "Best Albums of the 1980s" and said: "There may never again be an indie-rock album as good as The Queen Is Dead".[72] In 2013, it was ranked the greatest record of all time on the NME's "Greatest Albums of All Time" list.[73] At Rolling Stone, Gavin Edwards retrospectively viewed the album as "one of the funniest rock albums ever", noting that Morrissey had "learned to express his self-loathing through mockery" while Marr "matched his verbal excess with witty, supple music", and concluded, "If the queen's reaction to Morrissey was 'We are not amused,' then she was the only one".[57]
In 2016, Paste magazine named the album as the second-best post-punk album of all time. Staff writer Jay Sweet explained: "What truly makes this definitive album a benchmark is it marks the fall of the insufferable decade of synth music that preceded it and the second coming of the British Invasion with guitarist Johnny Marr's penchant for high-timbre guitar riffs and sonic urgency."[74]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
^Luerssen, John D. (2015). The Smiths FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Most Important British Band of the 1980s. Backbeat Books. p. 237. ISBN978-1-4803-9449-0.
La Reine Elizabeth II s'est éteinte le 22 fructidor (8 septembre), à l'âge de 96 ans.
Elle a joué le jeu qu'elle avait reçu. Dotée de vertus qui pourraient bien inspirer nos personnalités publiques : dévouement, fiabilité, silence, dignité, fidélité, dévotion à Dieu, à la famille et à la nation...
Présente sur wikipedia en 191 langues, il sera intéressant de jeter un oeil sur les modifications en cours de l'article en français. Soutien bienvenu à la communauté Wikipedia francophone : https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Élisabeth_II
Significant events included Elizabeth's coronation in 1953 and the celebrations of her Silver, Golden, Diamond, and Platinumjubilees. Although there was occasional republican sentiment and media criticism of her family—particularly after the breakdowns of her children's marriages, her annus horribilis in 1992, and the death of her former daughter-in-law Diana in 1997—support for the monarchy and her popularity in the United Kingdom remained consistently high. Elizabeth died aged 96 at Balmoral Castle, and was succeeded by her eldest son, Charles III.
Elizabeth's sole sibling, Princess Margaret, was born in 1930. The two princesses were educated at home under the supervision of their mother and their governess, Marion Crawford.[10] Lessons concentrated on history, language, literature, and music.[11] Crawford published a biography of Elizabeth and Margaret's childhood years titled The Little Princesses in 1950, much to the dismay of the royal family.[12] The book describes Elizabeth's love of horses and dogs, her orderliness, and her attitude of responsibility.[13] Others echoed such observations: Winston Churchill described Elizabeth when she was two as "a character. She has an air of authority and reflectiveness astonishing in an infant."[14] Her cousin Margaret Rhodes described her as "a jolly little girl, but fundamentally sensible and well-behaved".[15] Elizabeth's early life was spent primarily at the Yorks' residences at 145 Piccadilly (their town house in London) and Royal Lodge in Windsor.[16]
Heir presumptive
During her grandfather's reign, Elizabeth was third in the line of succession to the British throne, behind her uncle Edward, Prince of Wales, and her father. Although her birth generated public interest, she was not expected to become queen, as Edward was still young and likely to marry and have children of his own, who would precede Elizabeth in the line of succession.[17] When her grandfather died in 1936 and her uncle succeeded as Edward VIII, she became second in line to the throne, after her father. Later that year, Edward abdicated, after his proposed marriage to divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson provoked a constitutional crisis.[18] Consequently, Elizabeth's father became king, taking the regnal name George VI. Since Elizabeth had no brothers, she became heir presumptive. If her parents had subsequently had a son, he would have been heir apparent and above her in the line of succession, which was determined by the male-preference primogeniture in effect at the time.[19]
In 1939, Elizabeth's parents toured Canada and the United States. As in 1927, when they had toured Australia and New Zealand, Elizabeth remained in Britain since her father thought she was too young to undertake public tours.[23] She "looked tearful" as her parents departed.[24] They corresponded regularly,[24] and she and her parents made the first royal transatlantic telephone call on 18 May.[23]
In September 1939, Britain entered the Second World War. Lord Hailsham suggested that Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret should be evacuated to Canada to avoid the frequent aerial bombings of London by the Luftwaffe.[25] This was rejected by their mother, who declared, "The children won't go without me. I won't leave without the King. And the King will never leave."[26] The princesses stayed at Balmoral Castle, Scotland, until Christmas 1939, when they moved to Sandringham House, Norfolk.[27] From February to May 1940, they lived at Royal Lodge, Windsor, until moving to Windsor Castle, where they lived for most of the next five years.[28] At Windsor, the princesses staged pantomimes at Christmas in aid of the Queen's Wool Fund, which bought yarn to knit into military garments.[29] In 1940, the 14-year-old Elizabeth made her first radio broadcast during the BBC's Children's Hour, addressing other children who had been evacuated from the cities.[30] She stated: "We are trying to do all we can to help our gallant sailors, soldiers, and airmen, and we are trying, too, to bear our own share of the danger and sadness of war. We know, every one of us, that in the end all will be well."[30]
In 1943, Elizabeth undertook her first solo public appearance on a visit to the Grenadier Guards, of which she had been appointed colonel the previous year.[31] As she approached her 18th birthday, Parliament changed the law so that she could act as one of five counsellors of state in the event of her father's incapacity or absence abroad, such as his visit to Italy in July 1944.[32] In February 1945, she was appointed an honorary second subaltern in the Auxiliary Territorial Service with the service number 230873.[33] She trained as a driver and mechanic and was given the rank of honorary junior commander (female equivalent of captain at the time) five months later.[34]
Elizabeth (far left) on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with her family and Winston Churchill, 8 May 1945
At the end of the war in Europe, on Victory in Europe Day, Elizabeth and Margaret mingled incognito with the celebrating crowds in the streets of London. In 1985, Elizabeth recalled in a rare interview, "... we asked my parents if we could go out and see for ourselves. I remember we were terrified of being recognised ... I remember lines of unknown people linking arms and walking down Whitehall, all of us just swept along on a tide of happiness and relief."[35][36]
During the war, plans were drawn to quell Welsh nationalism by affiliating Elizabeth more closely with Wales. Proposals, such as appointing her Constable of Caernarfon Castle or a patron of Urdd Gobaith Cymru (the Welsh League of Youth), were abandoned for several reasons, including fear of associating Elizabeth with conscientious objectors in the Urdd at a time when Britain was at war.[37] Welsh politicians suggested she be made Princess of Wales on her 18th birthday. Home Secretary Herbert Morrison supported the idea, but the King rejected it because he felt such a title belonged solely to the wife of a Prince of Wales and the Prince of Wales had always been the heir apparent.[38] In 1946, she was inducted into the Gorsedd of Bards at the National Eisteddfod of Wales.[39]
Elizabeth went on her first overseas tour in 1947, accompanying her parents through southern Africa. During the tour, in a broadcast to the British Commonwealth on her 21st birthday, she made the following pledge:[40][c]
I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong. But I shall not have strength to carry out this resolution alone unless you join in it with me, as I now invite you to do: I know that your support will be unfailingly given. God help me to make good my vow, and God bless all of you who are willing to share in it.
The engagement attracted some controversy. Philip had no financial standing, was foreign-born (though a British subject who had served in the Royal Navy throughout the Second World War), and his sisters had married German noblemen with Nazi links.[45] Marion Crawford wrote, "Some of the King's advisors did not think him good enough for her. He was a prince without a home or kingdom. Some of the papers played long and loud tunes on the string of Philip's foreign origin."[46] Later biographies reported that Elizabeth's mother had reservations about the union initially and teased Philip as "the Hun".[47] In later life, however, she told the biographer Tim Heald that Philip was "an English gentleman".[48]
At Buckingham Palace with Philip after their wedding, 1947
Before the marriage, Philip renounced his Greek and Danish titles, officially converted from Greek Orthodoxy to Anglicanism, and adopted the style Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, taking the surname of his mother's British family.[49] Shortly before the wedding, he was created Duke of Edinburgh and granted the style His Royal Highness.[50] Elizabeth and Philip were married on 20 November 1947 at Westminster Abbey. They received 2,500 wedding gifts from around the world.[51] Elizabeth required ration coupons to buy the material for her gown (which was designed by Norman Hartnell) because Britain had not yet completely recovered from the devastation of the war.[52] In post-war Britain, it was not acceptable for Philip's German relations, including his three surviving sisters, to be invited to the wedding.[53] Neither was an invitation extended to the Duke of Windsor, formerly King Edward VIII.[54]
Elizabeth gave birth to her first child, Prince Charles, in November 1948. One month earlier, the King had issued letters patent allowing her children to use the style and title of a royal prince or princess, to which they otherwise would not have been entitled, as their father was no longer a royal prince.[55] A second child, Princess Anne, was born in August 1950.[56]
Following their wedding, the couple leased Windlesham Moor, near Windsor Castle, until July 1949,[51] when they took up residence at Clarence House in London. At various times between 1949 and 1951, Philip was stationed in the British Crown Colony of Malta as a serving Royal Navy officer. He and Elizabeth lived intermittently in Malta for several months at a time in the hamlet of Gwardamanġa, at Villa Guardamangia, the rented home of Philip's uncle Lord Mountbatten. Their two children remained in Britain.[57]
As George VI's health declined during 1951, Elizabeth frequently stood in for him at public events. When she visited Canada and Harry S. Truman in Washington, DC, in October 1951, her private secretary Martin Charteris carried a draft accession declaration in case the King died while she was on tour.[58] In early 1952, Elizabeth and Philip set out for a tour of Australia and New Zealand by way of the British colony of Kenya. On 6 February, they had just returned to their Kenyan home, Sagana Lodge, after a night spent at Treetops Hotel, when word arrived of the death of Elizabeth's father. Philip broke the news to the new queen.[59] She chose to retain Elizabeth as her regnal name,[60] and was therefore called Elizabeth II. The numeral offended some Scots, as she was the first Elizabeth to rule in Scotland.[61] She was proclaimed queen throughout her realms, and the royal party hastily returned to the United Kingdom.[62] Elizabeth and Philip moved into Buckingham Palace.[63]
With Elizabeth's accession, it seemed possible that the royal house would take her husband's name, in line with the custom for married women of the time. Lord Mountbatten advocated for House of Mountbatten, and Philip suggested House of Edinburgh, after his ducal title.[64] The British prime minister, Winston Churchill, and Elizabeth's grandmother Queen Mary favoured the retention of the House of Windsor. Elizabeth issued a declaration on 9 April 1952 that the royal house would continue to be Windsor. Philip complained, "I am the only man in the country not allowed to give his name to his own children."[65] In 1960, the surname Mountbatten-Windsor was adopted for Philip and Elizabeth's male-line descendants who do not carry royal titles.[66][67]
Amid preparations for the coronation, Princess Margaret told her sister she wished to marry Peter Townsend, a divorcé 16 years Margaret's senior with two sons from his previous marriage. Elizabeth asked them to wait for a year; in the words of her private secretary, "the Queen was naturally sympathetic towards the Princess, but I think she thought—she hoped—given time, the affair would peter out."[68] Senior politicians were against the match and the Church of England did not permit remarriage after divorce. If Margaret had contracted a civil marriage, she would have been expected to renounce her right of succession.[69] Margaret decided to abandon her plans with Townsend.[70] In 1960, she married Antony Armstrong-Jones, who was created Earl of Snowdon the following year. They divorced in 1978; Margaret did not remarry.[71]
Despite Queen Mary's death on 24 March 1953, the coronation went ahead as planned on 2 June, as Mary had requested.[72] The coronation ceremony in Westminster Abbey was televised for the first time, with the exception of the anointing and communion.[73][d] On Elizabeth's instruction, her coronation gown was embroidered with the floral emblems of Commonwealth countries.[77]
From Elizabeth's birth onwards, the British Empire continued its transformation into the Commonwealth of Nations.[78] By the time of her accession in 1952, her role as head of multiple independent states was already established.[79] In 1953, Elizabeth and Philip embarked on a seven-month round-the-world tour, visiting 13 countries and covering more than 40,000 miles (64,000 km) by land, sea and air.[80] She became the first reigning monarch of Australia and New Zealand to visit those nations.[81] During the tour, crowds were immense; three-quarters of the population of Australia were estimated to have seen her.[82] Throughout her reign, she made hundreds of state visits to other countries and tours of the Commonwealth; she was the most widely travelled head of state.[83]
In 1956, the British and French prime ministers, Sir Anthony Eden and Guy Mollet, discussed the possibility of France joining the Commonwealth. The proposal was never accepted, and the following year, France signed the Treaty of Rome, which established the European Economic Community, the precursor to the European Union.[84] In November 1956, Britain and France invaded Egypt in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to capture the Suez Canal. Lord Mountbatten said that Elizabeth was opposed to the invasion, though Eden denied it. Eden resigned two months later.[85]
The Suez crisis and the choice of Eden's successor led, in 1957, to the first major personal criticism of Elizabeth. In a magazine, which he owned and edited,[87]Lord Altrincham accused her of being "out of touch".[88] Altrincham was denounced by public figures and slapped by a member of the public appalled by his comments.[89] Six years later, in 1963, Macmillan resigned and advised Elizabeth to appoint Alec Douglas-Home as the prime minister, advice she followed.[90] Elizabeth again came under criticism for appointing the prime minister on the advice of a small number of ministers or a single minister.[90] In 1965, the Conservatives adopted a formal mechanism for electing a leader, thus relieving the Queen of her involvement.[91]
In 1957, Elizabeth made a state visit to the United States, where she addressed the United Nations General Assembly on behalf of the Commonwealth. On the same tour, she opened the 23rd Canadian Parliament, becoming the first monarch of Canada to open a parliamentary session.[92] Two years later, solely in her capacity as Queen of Canada, she revisited the United States and toured Canada.[92][93] In 1961, she toured Cyprus, India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Iran.[94] On a visit to Ghana the same year, she dismissed fears for her safety, even though her host, President Kwame Nkrumah, who had replaced her as head of state, was a target for assassins.[95] Harold Macmillan wrote, "The Queen has been absolutely determined all through ... She is impatient of the attitude towards her to treat her as ... a film star ... She has indeed 'the heart and stomach of a man' ... She loves her duty and means to be a Queen."[95] Before her tour through parts of Quebec in 1964, the press reported that extremists within the Quebec separatist movement were plotting Elizabeth's assassination.[96] No assassination attempt was made, but a riot did break out while she was in Montreal; her "calmness and courage in the face of the violence" was noted.[97]
Elizabeth gave birth to her third child, Prince Andrew, in February 1960; this was the first birth to a reigning British monarch since 1857.[98] Her fourth child, Prince Edward, was born in March 1964.[99]
The 1960s and 1970s saw an acceleration in the decolonisation of Africa and the Caribbean. More than 20 countries gained independence from Britain as part of a planned transition to self-government. In 1965, however, the Rhodesian prime minister, Ian Smith, in opposition to moves towards majority rule, unilaterally declared independence while expressing "loyalty and devotion" to Elizabeth. Although Elizabeth formally dismissed him, and the international community applied sanctions against Rhodesia, his regime survived for over a decade.[100] As Britain's ties to its former empire weakened, the British government sought entry to the European Community, a goal it achieved in 1973.[101]
In 1966, the Queen was criticised for waiting eight days before visiting the village of Aberfan, where a mining disaster killed 116 children and 28 adults. Martin Charteris said that the delay, made on his advice, was a mistake that she later regretted.[102][103]
In February 1974, British prime minister Edward Heath advised Elizabeth to call a general election in the middle of her tour of the AustronesianPacific Rim, requiring her to fly back to Britain.[106] The election resulted in a hung parliament; Heath's Conservatives were not the largest party but could stay in office if they formed a coalition with the Liberals. When discussions on forming a coalition foundered, Heath resigned, and Elizabeth asked the Leader of the Opposition, Labour's Harold Wilson, to form a government.[107]
According to Paul Martin Sr., by the end of the 1970s, Elizabeth was worried the Crown "had little meaning for" Pierre Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister.[114]Tony Benn said Elizabeth found Trudeau "rather disappointing".[114] Trudeau's supposed republicanism seemed to be confirmed by his antics, such as sliding down banisters at Buckingham Palace and pirouetting behind Elizabeth's back in 1977, and the removal of various Canadian royal symbols during his term of office.[114] In 1980, Canadian politicians sent to London to discuss the patriation of the Canadian constitution found Elizabeth "better informed ... than any of the British politicians or bureaucrats".[114] She was particularly interested after the failure of Bill C-60, which would have affected her role as head of state.[114]
Perils and dissent
Riding Burmese at the 1986 Trooping the Colour ceremony
During the 1981 Trooping the Colour ceremony, six weeks before the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer, six shots were fired at Elizabeth from close range as she rode down The Mall, London, on her horse, Burmese. Police later discovered the shots were blanks. The 17-year-old assailant, Marcus Sarjeant, was sentenced to five years in prison and released after three.[115] Elizabeth's composure and skill in controlling her mount were widely praised.[116] That October, Elizabeth was the subject of another attack while on a visit to Dunedin, New Zealand. Christopher John Lewis, who was 17 years old, fired a shot with a .22 rifle from the fifth floor of a building overlooking the parade but missed.[117] Lewis was arrested, but instead of being charged with attempted murder or treason was sentenced to three years in jail for unlawful possession and discharge of a firearm. Two years into his sentence, he attempted to escape a psychiatric hospital with the intention of assassinating Charles, who was visiting the country with Diana and their son Prince William.[118]
Riding at Windsor with President Reagan, June 1982
From April to September 1982, Elizabeth's son Andrew served with British forces in the Falklands War, for which she reportedly felt anxiety[119] and pride.[120] On 9 July, she awoke in her bedroom at Buckingham Palace to find an intruder, Michael Fagan, in the room with her. In a serious lapse of security, assistance only arrived after two calls to the Palace police switchboard.[121] After hosting US president Ronald Reagan at Windsor Castle in 1982 and visiting his California ranch in 1983, Elizabeth was angered when his administration ordered the invasion of Grenada, one of her Caribbean realms, without informing her.[122]
Intense media interest in the opinions and private lives of the royal family during the 1980s led to a series of sensational stories in the press, pioneered by The Sun tabloid.[123] As Kelvin MacKenzie, editor of The Sun, told his staff: "Give me a Sunday for Monday splash on the Royals. Don't worry if it's not true—so long as there's not too much of a fuss about it afterwards."[124] Newspaper editor Donald Trelford wrote in The Observer of 21 September 1986: "The royal soap opera has now reached such a pitch of public interest that the boundary between fact and fiction has been lost sight of ... it is not just that some papers don't check their facts or accept denials: they don't care if the stories are true or not." It was reported, most notably in The Sunday Times of 20 July 1986, that Elizabeth was worried that Margaret Thatcher's economic policies fostered social divisions and was alarmed by high unemployment, a series of riots, the violence of a miners' strike, and Thatcher's refusal to apply sanctions against the apartheid regime in South Africa. The sources of the rumours included royal aide Michael Shea and Commonwealth secretary-general Shridath Ramphal, but Shea claimed his remarks were taken out of context and embellished by speculation.[125] Thatcher reputedly said Elizabeth would vote for the Social Democratic Party—Thatcher's political opponents.[126] Thatcher's biographer John Campbell claimed "the report was a piece of journalistic mischief-making".[127] Reports of acrimony between them were exaggerated,[128] and Elizabeth gave two honours in her personal gift—membership in the Order of Merit and the Order of the Garter—to Thatcher after her replacement as prime minister by John Major.[129]Brian Mulroney, Canadian prime minister between 1984 and 1993, said Elizabeth was a "behind the scenes force" in ending apartheid.[130][131]
By the end of the 1980s, Elizabeth had become the target of satire.[136] The involvement of younger members of the royal family in the charity game show It's a Royal Knockout in 1987 was ridiculed.[137] In Canada, Elizabeth publicly supported politically divisive constitutional amendments, prompting criticism from opponents of the proposed changes, including Pierre Trudeau.[130] The same year, the elected Fijian government was deposed in a military coup. As monarch of Fiji, Elizabeth supported the attempts of Governor-General Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau to assert executive power and negotiate a settlement. Coup leader Sitiveni Rabuka deposed Ganilau and declared Fiji a republic.[138]
In November 1992, in a speech to mark the Ruby Jubilee of her accession, Elizabeth called 1992 her annus horribilis (a Latin phrase, meaning 'horrible year').[140]Republican feeling in Britain had risen because of press estimates of Elizabeth's private wealth—contradicted by the Palace[e]—and reports of affairs and strained marriages among her extended family.[145] In March, her second son, Prince Andrew, separated from his wife, Sarah; her daughter, Princess Anne, divorced Captain Mark Phillips in April;[146] angry demonstrators in Dresden threw eggs at Elizabeth during a state visit to Germany in October;[147] and a large fire broke out at Windsor Castle, one of her official residences, in November. The monarchy came under increased criticism and public scrutiny.[148] In an unusually personal speech, Elizabeth said that any institution must expect criticism, but suggested it might be done with "a touch of humour, gentleness and understanding".[149] Two days later, John Major announced plans to reform the royal finances, drawn up the previous year, including Elizabeth paying income tax from 1993 onwards, and a reduction in the civil list.[150] In December, Prince Charles and his wife, Diana, formally separated.[151] At the end of the year, Elizabeth sued The Sun newspaper for breach of copyright when it published the text of her annual Christmas message two days before it was broadcast. The newspaper was forced to pay her legal fees and donated £200,000 to charity.[152] Elizabeth's solicitors had taken successful action against The Sun five years earlier for breach of copyright after it published a photograph of her daughter-in-law the Duchess of York and her granddaughter Princess Beatrice.[153]
In January 1994, Elizabeth broke her left wrist when a horse she was riding at Sandringham tripped and fell.[154] In October 1994, she became the first reigning British monarch to set foot on Russian soil.[f] In October 1995, she was tricked into a hoax call by Montreal radio host Pierre Brassard impersonating Canadian prime minister Jean Chrétien. Elizabeth, who believed that she was speaking to Chrétien, said she supported Canadian unity and would try to influence Quebec's referendum on proposals to break away from Canada.[159]
In the year that followed, public revelations on the state of Charles and Diana's marriage continued.[160] In consultation with her husband and John Major, as well as the Archbishop of Canterbury (George Carey) and her private secretary (Robert Fellowes), Elizabeth wrote to Charles and Diana at the end of December 1995, suggesting that a divorce would be advisable.[161]
In August 1997, a year after the divorce, Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris. Elizabeth was on holiday with her extended family at Balmoral. Diana's two sons, Princes William and Harry, wanted to attend church, so Elizabeth and Philip took them that morning.[162] Afterwards, for five days, the royal couple shielded their grandsons from the intense press interest by keeping them at Balmoral where they could grieve in private,[163] but the royal family's silence and seclusion, and the failure to fly a flag at half-mast over Buckingham Palace, caused public dismay.[131][164] Pressured by the hostile reaction, Elizabeth agreed to return to London and address the nation in a live television broadcast on 5 September, the day before Diana's funeral.[165] In the broadcast, she expressed admiration for Diana and her feelings "as a grandmother" for the two princes.[166] As a result, much of the public hostility evaporated.[166]
In October 1997, Elizabeth and Philip made a state visit to India, which included a controversial visit to the site of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre to pay her respects. Protesters chanted "Killer Queen, go back",[167] and there were demands for her to apologise for the action of British troops 78 years earlier.[168] At the memorial in the park, she and Philip laid a wreath and stood for a 30‑second moment of silence.[168] As a result, much of the fury among the public softened, and the protests were called off.[167] That November, the royal couple held a reception at Banqueting House to mark their golden wedding anniversary.[169] Elizabeth made a speech and praised Philip for his role as consort, referring to him as "my strength and stay".[169]
Golden Jubilee dinner with living British prime ministers, 2002: (left to right) Tony Blair, Margaret Thatcher, Edward Heath, Elizabeth, James Callaghan, John Major
On the eve of the new millennium, Elizabeth and Philip boarded a vessel from Southwark, bound for the Millennium Dome. Before passing under Tower Bridge, she lit the National Millennium Beacon in the Pool of London using a laser torch.[172] Shortly before midnight, she officially opened the Dome.[173] During the singing of Auld Lang Syne, Elizabeth held hands with Philip and British prime minister Tony Blair.[174] Following the 9/11 attacks in the United States, Elizabeth, breaking with tradition, ordered the American national anthem to be played during the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace to express her solidarity with the country.[175][176]
In 2002, Elizabeth marked her Golden Jubilee, the 50th anniversary of her accession. Her sister died in February and her mother in March, and the media speculated on whether the Jubilee would be a success or a failure.[177] Princess Margaret's death shook Elizabeth; her funeral was one of the rare occasions where Elizabeth openly cried.[178] Elizabeth again undertook an extensive tour of her realms, beginning in Jamaica in February, where she called the farewell banquet "memorable" after a power cut plunged King's House, the official residence of the governor-general, into darkness.[179] As in 1977, there were street parties and commemorative events, and monuments were named to honour the occasion. One million people attended each day of the three-day main Jubilee celebration in London,[180] and the enthusiasm shown for Elizabeth by the public was greater than many journalists had anticipated.[181]
In 2003, Elizabeth sued the Daily Mirror for breach of confidence and obtained an injunction which prevented the outlet from publishing information gathered by a reporter who posed as a footman at Buckingham Palace.[182] The newspaper also paid £25,000 towards her legal costs.[183] Though generally healthy throughout her life, in 2003 she had keyhole surgery on both knees. In October 2006, she missed the opening of the new Emirates Stadium because of a strained back muscle that had been troubling her since the summer.[184]
In May 2007, citing unnamed sources, The Daily Telegraph reported that Elizabeth was "exasperated and frustrated" by the policies of Tony Blair, that she was concerned the British Armed Forces were overstretched in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that she had raised concerns over rural and countryside issues with Blair.[185] She was, however, said to admire Blair's efforts to achieve peace in Northern Ireland.[186] She became the first British monarch to celebrate a diamond wedding anniversary in November 2007.[187] On 20 March 2008, at the Church of IrelandSt Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh, Elizabeth attended the first Maundy service held outside England and Wales.[188]
Visiting Birmingham in July 2012 as part of the Diamond Jubilee tour
The 2012 Diamond Jubilee marked 60 years since Elizabeth's accession, and celebrations were held throughout her realms, the wider Commonwealth, and beyond. She and Philip undertook an extensive tour of the United Kingdom, while their children and grandchildren embarked on royal tours of other Commonwealth states on her behalf.[193] On 4 June, Jubilee beacons were lit around the world.[194] On 18 December, the Queen became the first British sovereign to attend a peacetime Cabinet meeting since George III in 1781.[195]
Opening the Borders Railway on the day she became the longest-reigning British monarch, 2015. In her speech, she said she had never aspired to achieve that milestone.[199]
In March 2013, the Queen stayed overnight at King Edward VII's Hospital as a precaution after developing symptoms of gastroenteritis.[200] A week later, she signed the new Charter of the Commonwealth.[201] That year, because of her age and the need for her to limit travelling, she chose not to attend the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting for the first time in 40 years. She was represented at the summit in Sri Lanka by Prince Charles.[202] On 20 April 2018, the Commonwealth heads of government announced that Charles would succeed her as Head of the Commonwealth, which the Queen stated as her "sincere wish".[203] She underwent cataract surgery in May 2018.[204] In March 2019, she gave up driving on public roads, largely as a consequence of a car accident involving her husband two months earlier.[205]
On 19 March 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United Kingdom, Elizabeth moved to Windsor Castle and sequestered there as a precaution.[213] Public engagements were cancelled and Windsor Castle followed a strict sanitary protocol nicknamed "HMS Bubble".[214]
On 5 April, in a televised broadcast watched by an estimated 24 million viewers in the United Kingdom,[215] Elizabeth asked people to "take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return: we will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again."[216] On 8 May, the 75th anniversary of VE Day, in a television broadcast at 9 pm—the exact time at which her father had broadcast to the nation on the same day in 1945—she asked people to "never give up, never despair".[217] In 2021, she received her first and second COVID-19 vaccinations in January and April respectively.[218]
Prince Philip died on 9 April 2021, after 73 years of marriage, making Elizabeth the first British monarch to reign as a widow or widower since Queen Victoria.[219] She was reportedly at her husband's bedside when he died,[220] and remarked in private that his death had "left a huge void".[221] Due to the COVID-19 restrictions in place in England at the time, Elizabeth sat alone at Philip's funeral service, which evoked sympathy from people around the world.[222] It was later reported in the press that Elizabeth had rejected a government offer to relax the rules.[223] In her Christmas broadcast that year, which was ultimately her last, she paid a personal tribute to her "beloved Philip", saying, "That mischievous, inquiring twinkle was as bright at the end as when I first set eyes on him."[224]
Despite the pandemic, Elizabeth attended the 2021 State Opening of Parliament in May,[225] the 47th G7 summit in June,[226] and hosted US president Joe Biden at Windsor Castle. Biden was the 14th US president that the Queen had met.[227] In October 2021, Elizabeth cancelled a planned trip to Northern Ireland and stayed overnight at King Edward VII's Hospital for "preliminary investigations".[228] On Christmas Day 2021, while she was staying at Windsor Castle, 19-year-old Jaswant Singh Chail broke into the gardens using a rope ladder and carrying a crossbow with the aim of assassinating Elizabeth in revenge for the Amritsar massacre. Before he could enter any buildings, he was arrested and detained under the Mental Health Act. In February 2023, Chail pleaded guilty to attempting to injure or alarm the sovereign,[229] and was sentenced in October to a nine-year custodial sentence plus an additional five years on extended licence. The sentencing judge also placed Chail under a hybrid order under section 45A of the Mental Health Act 1983, ordering that he remain at Broadmoor Hospital to be transferred into custody only after receiving psychiatric treatment.[230]
Platinum Jubilee and beyond
With the royal family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace following the Platinum Jubilee Pageant, June 2022
Later that month, Elizabeth fell ill with COVID-19 along with several family members, but she only exhibited "mild cold-like symptoms" and recovered by the end of the month.[233][234] She was present at the service of thanksgiving for her husband at Westminster Abbey on 29 March,[235] but was unable to attend both the annual Commonwealth Day service that month[236] and the Royal Maundy service in April, because of "episodic mobility problems".[237] In May, she missed the State Opening of Parliament for the first time in 59 years. (She did not attend the state openings in 1959 and 1963 as she was pregnant with Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, respectively.)[238] Later that month she made a surprise visit to Paddington Station and officially opened the Elizabeth line, named in her honour.[239]
The Queen was largely confined to balcony appearances during the public jubilee celebrations, and she missed the National Service of Thanksgiving on 3 June.[240] On 13 June, she became the second-longest reigning monarch in history (among those whose exact dates of reign are known), with 70 years and 127 days on the throne—surpassing King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand.[241] On 6 September, she appointed her 15th British prime minister, Liz Truss, at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. This was the only occasion on which Elizabeth received a new prime minister at a location other than Buckingham Palace.[242] No other British monarch appointed as many prime ministers.[243] The Queen's last public message was issued on 7 September, in which she expressed her sympathy for those affected by the Saskatchewan stabbings.[244]
Elizabeth did not plan to abdicate,[245] though she took on fewer public engagements in her later years and Prince Charles performed more of her duties.[246] She told Canadian governor-general Adrienne Clarkson in a meeting in 2002 that she would never abdicate, saying, "It is not our tradition. Although, I suppose if I became completely gaga, one would have to do something."[247] In June 2022, Elizabeth met the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, who "came away thinking there is someone who has no fear of death, has hope in the future, knows the rock on which she stands and that gives her strength."[248]
On 12 September, Elizabeth's coffin was carried up the Royal Mile in a procession to St Giles' Cathedral, where the Crown of Scotland was placed on it.[264] Her coffin lay at rest at the cathedral for 24 hours, guarded by the Royal Company of Archers, during which around 33,000 people filed past it.[265] On 13 September, the coffin was flown to RAF Northolt in west London, before continuing its journey by road to Buckingham Palace.[266] On 14 September, her coffin was taken in a military procession to Westminster Hall, where Elizabeth's body lay in state for four days. The coffin was guarded by members of both the Sovereign's Bodyguard and the Household Division. An estimated 250,000 members of the public filed past the coffin, as did politicians and other public figures.[267][268] On 16 September, Elizabeth's children held a vigil around her coffin, and the next day her eight grandchildren did the same.[269][270]
Elizabeth's state funeral was held at Westminster Abbey on 19 September, which marked the first time a monarch's funeral service was held at the Abbey since George II in 1760.[271] More than a million people lined the streets of central London,[272] and the day was declared a holiday in several Commonwealth countries. In Windsor, a final procession involving 1,000 military personnel took place, which 97,000 people witnessed.[273][272] Elizabeth's fell pony and two royal corgis stood at the side of the procession.[274] After a committal service at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, Elizabeth's body was interred with her husband Philip's in the King George VI Memorial Chapel later the same day, in a private ceremony attended by her closest family members.[275][273][276][277]
Elizabeth rarely gave interviews, and little was known of her political opinions, which she did not express explicitly in public. It is against convention to ask or reveal the monarch's views. When Times journalist Paul Routledge asked her about the miners' strike of 1984–85 during a royal tour of the newspaper's offices, she replied that it was "all about one man" (a reference to Arthur Scargill),[278] with which Routledge disagreed.[279] Routledge was widely criticised in the media for asking the question and claimed that he was unaware of the protocols.[279] After the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, Prime Minister David Cameron was overheard saying that Elizabeth was pleased with the outcome.[280] She had arguably issued a public coded statement about the referendum by telling one woman outside Balmoral Kirk that she hoped people would think "very carefully" about the outcome. It emerged later that Cameron had specifically requested that she register her concern.[281]
To many of us, our beliefs are of fundamental importance. For me the teachings of Christ and my own personal accountability before God provide a framework in which I try to lead my life. I, like so many of you, have drawn great comfort in difficult times from Christ's words and example.
Elizabeth was patron of more than 600 organisations and charities.[286] The Charities Aid Foundation estimated that Elizabeth helped raise over £1.4 billion for her patronages during her reign.[287] Her main leisure interests included equestrianism and dogs, especially her Pembroke Welsh Corgis.[288] Her lifelong love of corgis began in 1933 with Dookie, the first of many royal corgis.[289] Scenes of a relaxed, informal home life were occasionally witnessed; she and her family, from time to time, prepared a meal together and washed the dishes afterwards.[290]
Media depiction and public opinion
In the 1950s, as a young woman at the start of her reign, Elizabeth was depicted as a glamorous "fairytale Queen".[291] After the trauma of the Second World War, it was a time of hope, a period of progress and achievement heralding a "new Elizabethan age".[292] Lord Altrincham's accusation in 1957 that her speeches sounded like those of a "priggish schoolgirl" was an extremely rare criticism.[293] In the late 1960s, attempts to portray a more modern image of the monarchy were made in the television documentary Royal Family and by televising Prince Charles's investiture as Prince of Wales.[294] Elizabeth also instituted other new practices; her first royal walkabout, meeting ordinary members of the public, took place during a tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1970.[295] Her wardrobe developed a recognisable, signature style driven more by function than fashion.[296] In public, she took to wearing mostly solid-colour overcoats and decorative hats, allowing her to be seen easily in a crowd.[297] By the end of her reign, nearly one third of Britons had seen or met Elizabeth in person.[298]
At Elizabeth's Silver Jubilee in 1977, the crowds and celebrations were genuinely enthusiastic;[299] but, in the 1980s, public criticism of the royal family increased, as the personal and working lives of Elizabeth's children came under media scrutiny.[300] Her popularity sank to a low point in the 1990s. Under pressure from public opinion, she began to pay income tax for the first time, and Buckingham Palace was opened to the public.[301] Although support for republicanism in Britain seemed higher than at any time in living memory, republican ideology was still a minority viewpoint, and Elizabeth herself had high approval ratings.[302] Criticism was focused on the institution of the monarchy itself, and the conduct of Elizabeth's wider family, rather than her own behaviour and actions.[303] Discontent with the monarchy reached its peak on the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, although Elizabeth's personal popularity—as well as general support for the monarchy—rebounded after her live television broadcast to the world five days after Diana's death.[304]
In November 1999, a referendum in Australia on the future of the Australian monarchy favoured its retention in preference to an indirectly elected head of state.[305] Many republicans credited Elizabeth's personal popularity with the survival of the monarchy in Australia. In 2010, Prime Minister Julia Gillard noted that there was a "deep affection" for Elizabeth in Australia and that another referendum on the monarchy should wait until after her reign.[306] Gillard's successor, Malcolm Turnbull, who led the republican campaign in 1999, similarly believed that Australians would not vote to become a republic in her lifetime.[307] "She's been an extraordinary head of state", Turnbull said in 2021, "and I think frankly, in Australia, there are more Elizabethans than there are monarchists."[308] Similarly, referendums in both Tuvalu in 2008 and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in 2009 saw voters reject proposals to become republics.[309]
Polls in Britain in 2006 and 2007 revealed strong support for the monarchy,[310] and in 2012, Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee year, her approval ratings hit 90 per cent.[311] Her family came under scrutiny again in the last few years of her life due to her son Andrew's association with convicted sex offenders Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, his lawsuit with Virginia Giuffre amidst accusations of sexual impropriety, and her grandson Harry and his wife Meghan's exit from the working royal family and subsequent move to the United States.[312] Polling in Great Britain during the Platinum Jubilee, however, showed support for maintaining the monarchy[313] and Elizabeth's personal popularity remained strong.[314] As of 2021 she remained the third most admired woman in the world according to the annual Gallup poll, her 52 appearances on the list meaning she had been in the top ten more than any other woman in the poll's history.[315]
Elizabeth held many titles and honorary military positions throughout the Commonwealth, was sovereign of many orders in her own countries and received honours and awards from around the world. In each of her realms, she had a distinct title that follows a similar formula: Queen of Saint Lucia and of Her other Realms and Territories in Saint Lucia, Queen of Australia and Her other Realms and Territories in Australia, etc. She was also styled Defender of the Faith.
^Television coverage of the coronation was instrumental in boosting the medium's popularity; the number of television licences in the United Kingdom doubled to 3million,[74] and many of the more than 20million British viewers watched television for the first time in the homes of their friends or neighbours.[75] In North America, almost 100million viewers watched recorded broadcasts.[76]
^The Sunday Times Rich List 1989 put her number one on the list with a reported wealth of £5.2 billion (approximately £12.6 billion in 2023's value),[141] but it included state assets like the Royal Collection that were not hers personally.[142] In 1993, Buckingham Palace called estimates of £100 million "grossly overstated".[143] In 1971, Jock Colville, her former private secretary and a director of her bank, Coutts, estimated her wealth at £2 million (equivalent to about £15 million in 1993[141]).[144]
^The only previous state visit by a British monarch to Russia was made by King Edward VII in 1908. The King never stepped ashore, and met Nicholas II on royal yachts off the Baltic port of what is now Tallinn, Estonia.[155][156] During the four-day visit, which was considered to be one of the most important foreign trips of Elizabeth's reign,[157] she and Philip attended events in Moscow and Saint Petersburg.[158]
^Goodey, Emma (21 December 2015), "Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother", The Royal Family, The Royal Household, archived from the original on 7 May 2016, retrieved 18 April 2016
"Australia: Royal visits", The Royal Family, The Royal Household, 13 October 2015, archived from the original on 1 February 2019, retrieved 18 April 2016;
Vallance, Adam (22 December 2015), "New Zealand: Royal visits", The Royal Family, The Royal Household, archived from the original on 22 March 2019, retrieved 18 April 2016;
^"British queen in Moscow", United Press International, Moscow, 17 October 1994, archived from the original on 12 March 2022, retrieved 8 September 2022
^de Waal, Thomas (15 October 1994), "Queen's Visit: Lifting the Clouds of the Past", The Moscow Times
^Gibbs, Geoffrey (27 May 1999), "Welsh crown day with a song", The Guardian, archived from the original on 20 September 2022, retrieved 16 September 2022
^Goodey, Emma (5 February 2022), "Accession Day 2022", The Royal Family, The Royal Household, archived from the original on 20 February 2022, retrieved 8 September 2022
^Kottasová, Ivana; Picheta, Rob; Foster, Max; Said-Moorhouse, Lauren (8 September 2022), "Queen Elizabeth II dies at 96", CNN, archived from the original on 8 September 2022, retrieved 8 September 2022
Fisher, Connie (25 December 2000), "Christmas Broadcast 2000", The Royal Family, The Royal Household, archived from the original on 7 May 2016, retrieved 18 April 2016;
^Smith, Matthew (14 December 2021), "World's most admired 2021", YouGov America, archived from the original on 18 April 2022, retrieved 14 December 2021
^Berry, Ciara (15 January 2016), "Personal Flags", The Royal Family, The Royal Household, archived from the original on 7 May 2016, retrieved 18 April 2016
Mitchell, James (2003), "Scotland: Cultural Base and Economic Catalysts", in Hollowell, Jonathan (ed.), Britain Since 1945, Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 109–125, doi:10.1002/9780470758328.ch5, ISBN978-0-6312-0967-6
The generations indicate descent from George I, who formalised the use of the titles prince and princess for members of the British royal family. Where a princess may have been or is descended from George I more than once, her most senior descent, by which she bore or bears her title, is used.
Limitée dans ses goûts musicaux (Abba, Elton John, Shirley Bassey...), elle fut source d'inspiration pour les compositeurs et musiciens du monde entier. Tentative d'assemblage.
Démarrage par l’écoute ci-dessous du somptueux petit motet que Ralph Vaughan Williams avait composé pour son couronnement.
Plus tard, la matriarche se fait gentiment tacler dans Her Majesty, une ritournelle des Beatles. Jolie mais pas grand chose à dire :)
Her Majesty is a pretty nice girl
But she doesn't have a lot to say
Her Majesty is a pretty nice girl
But she changes from day to day (...)
Celle qui fêtait en juin dernier la soixante-dixième année de son règne a entretenu des liens avec la musique tout au long de sa vie publique. En 1930, Edward Elgar était compositeur officiel du Roi George V. Il compose alors la Nursery suite en cinq mouvements et une coda, dédiée à Elizabeth sa mère la Duchesse de York et sa petite sœur Margaret, âgée de quelques semaines à peine.
Vingt-deux ans plus tard, le Roi George VI meurt précocement et laisse à la jeune Elizabeth la responsabilité du trône.
Le 2 juin 1953, Elizabeth II est couronnée reine du Royaume-Uni. L'événement national est également un événement musical.
Pour cette occasion, le compositeur William Walton compose une Marche du couronnement, Orb and Sceptre.
Plus connu pour sa contribution au succès du Pont sur la rivière Kwaï (1957), Malcolm Arnold a également aiguisé son crayon pour l'événement et créé ce 2 juin à Covent Garden un ballet intitulé Homage to The Queen.
Quelques jours plus tard, en ces mêmes lieux, un ouvrage lyrique est présenté devant la souveraine.
L'opéra en trois actes Gloriana (surnom de la Reine Elizabeth I), dont la première représentation a lieu le 8 juin 1953, reçoit un accueil glacé du public londonien et le livret est jugé inapproprié (une histoire d'amour entre la Reine Elizabeth et le comte d'Essex...)
Rare échec critique du compositeur, il ne sera pas enregistré de son vivant.
Cérémonie oblige, Purcell, Haendel, Elgar ou encore Holst sont mis à l'honneur à l'abbaye de Westminster, qui détaille sur son site le programme musical de cette journée.
Le nom d'Elizabeth II est donc associé à de nombreux ouvrages de la musique classique - et non des moindres... et pourtant, lorsqu'on parlait des goûts musicaux à la Reine, celle-ci évoquait plus volontiers d'Abba ou d'Elton John, anobli de sa main en 1998.
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