Doha, September 08 (QNA) - With the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday, the curtain comes down on the longest reign of a queen, who broke all records when she dedicated her life to performing her royal duties and serving her people since she sworn in at the age of 25.

The Queen, Britain's longest-reigning monarch and the oldest of the world's monarchs, has suffered from what Buckingham Palace recently described as occasional problems in the movement since the end of 2021.

The Queen, who celebrated her 96th birthday in April, was forced since October of 2021 to reduce her public engagements. On Wednesday, she canceled a scheduled virtual meeting with senior ministers after doctors advised her to rest.

In her last public appearance, the Queen officially approved Tuesday the appointment of Liz Truss as Prime Minister, becoming the 15th Prime Minister in the 70 years of the Queen's accession to the throne. The Queen had decided to stay in Balmoral instead of returning to London, where usually organizes the hand-over ceremony between the two prime ministers, due to her health problems.

In early June, the British celebrated for four days the 70th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II to the throne, no British monarch has ever sat on the throne for such a long period, and it is unlikely that any other king will achieve this. Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, is 73 years old, and his son William will celebrate his 40th birthday soon.

In May, Prince Charles gave on her behalf for the first time the throne speech before Parliament, one of her most prominent constitutional duties. During these celebrations she appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to greet tens of thousands. Weeks later, she went out in public several times in Scotland and appeared smiling while using a stick during a parade of the armed forces in Edinburgh at the end of June. The health of very popular Queen has caused concern in the recent period.

Today, strong indications of the Queen's death appeared before the official announcement, reflected in the news that the British Crown Prince Charles, 73, with his wife Camilla, arrived in Balmoral, where the Queen spends annually the end of the summer, her grandson, Prince William, second in line to the throne, also arrived at the same place.

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan also went to Scotland after Queen Elizabeth II's doctors expressed concern about her health. They were supposed to attend a charity event in London but decided to cancel their participation to go to Scotland, where the Queen is. 

Elizabeth II or Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, Young Duchess of York was born on April 21, 1926, at 17 House on Bruton Street in the affluent Mayfair district, becoming third in the line of succession to David, Prince of Wales, and his brother Albert.

Queen Elizabeth grew up between London and Windsor Castle. In the capital, the family moved to 145 Piccadilly Street, an area inhabited by the English aristocracy near Hyde Park Corner near Buckingham Palace.

Despite strict formal etiquette and rules, Elizabeth lived a balanced and routine life away from protocols, her mother took the direct assistance of the teachers to her and her sister's education and spent much time in their suite overlooking Hyde Park.

After the death of George V on Jan. 20, 1936, his son David succeeded him, taking the title of Edward VIII, and thus Elizabeth moved to the second in line for succession because the new king had no children, but Edward VIII decided to abdicate the throne to marry Wallis Simpson on Dec. 11, 1936.

Albert ascended the throne after him and received the title of George VI, so Elizabeth II became the heir to the throne. In September 1939, the UK declared war on Germany and the king and queen refused to leave the country.

At the age of 18, Elizabeth became one of the 400 members of the Privy Council, a grouping of advisors responsible for supporting the king. A few months later, when she was 19 and after obtaining a driver's license, Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, service number 230,873 from the auxiliary transportation services mechanical transportation training center, joined the army reserve as a truck driver.

Elizabeth was traveling with her parents on their trips to the provinces as well as in the Commonwealth countries. In South Africa, she gave a historic speech on the occasion of her 21st birthday broadcast by international channels, during which she promised to dedicate her life to duty.

On July 10, 1947, the crown princess was officially associated with Greek Lieutenant Philip, a trainer in the Royal Navy, and due to the austerity measures in force, the heads of state associated with one of the spouses were invited only to attend the wedding on Nov. 20, 1947, at St Peter's Abbey in Westminster.

It should be noted that the first duty of the heir to the throne is to ensure the succession as soon as possible, which is what happened as Elizabeth and Philip announced 3 months after their marriage that she was pregnant with Prince Charles, who was born on Nov. 14, 1948, and less than two years later his sister Anne was born.

Elizabeth took on a greater acting role when the health of George VI, who was suffering from cancer, deteriorated. On Feb. 6, 1952, Elizabeth learned of the king's death, on her way back from Kenya, she kept hiding her grief and was crying heartily in her private cabin, out of sight. At London airport, political leaders headed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill waited to welcome the new queen on the black-carpeted runway.

On Feb. 8, 1952, Elizabeth II was proclaimed head of the Anglican Church and the Commonwealth, and she was crowned in a solemn ceremony at Westminster Abbey more than a year later. Against Churchill's advice, the new Queen requested that the event be televised.

But this does not negate the fact that Churchill directed her first steps well until she gained confidence in herself 3 years after her accession to the throne.

From 1956 until 1992, the number of affiliated kingdoms ranged, as some lands gained their independence, and some of the kingdoms turned into republics. Today, besides the first four countries on the list, she became queen of Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda and Saint Kitts and Nevis.

Queen Elizabeth II is the longest-lived British monarch, and the longest-serving British monarch on the throne after overcoming the six-decade period in which her great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, ruled the country.

Among the many historical visits and meetings, Elizabeth held an official visit to the Republic of Ireland, the first official visit of an Irish president to Great Britain, and mutual visits to and from the Pope of the Vatican.

Also, she underwent major constitutional changes, such as the transfer of power in the United Kingdom, Canadian settlement, and decolonization in Africa and Elizabeth also ruled through wars and internal strife in many of her kingdoms.

(QNA)