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Queen Elizabeth II, Still Going Strong at 90 Queen Elizabeth II, Still Going Strong at 90
(about 1 hour later)
“Her Majesty’s a pretty nice girl, but she doesn’t have a lot to say.” So went a Beatles song back in 1969, and in its inimitable way, the ditty — mildly disrespectful and yet “almost like a love song to the queen,” as Paul McCartney described his lyrics — seems to echo what many Britons, and many people around the world, feel about the stoic, steadfast, kindly, hard-working and very British woman who has been queen since most of them can remember, and who turned 90 on Thursday.“Her Majesty’s a pretty nice girl, but she doesn’t have a lot to say.” So went a Beatles song back in 1969, and in its inimitable way, the ditty — mildly disrespectful and yet “almost like a love song to the queen,” as Paul McCartney described his lyrics — seems to echo what many Britons, and many people around the world, feel about the stoic, steadfast, kindly, hard-working and very British woman who has been queen since most of them can remember, and who turned 90 on Thursday.
“Elizabeth II, by the grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of her other realms and territories queen, head of the Commonwealth, defender of the faith,” to recite her full title, is not the only monarch in Europe (there are 11 others) and not even the only reigning queen (Margrethe II has held that job in Denmark for just over 44 years. ). But while it may be hard to fathom why ultra-progressive Scandinavian countries like Norway cling to vestiges of a feudal order, it is still harder to imagine Britain without a crowned monarch — and for anybody under 64, without THE queen.“Elizabeth II, by the grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of her other realms and territories queen, head of the Commonwealth, defender of the faith,” to recite her full title, is not the only monarch in Europe (there are 11 others) and not even the only reigning queen (Margrethe II has held that job in Denmark for just over 44 years. ). But while it may be hard to fathom why ultra-progressive Scandinavian countries like Norway cling to vestiges of a feudal order, it is still harder to imagine Britain without a crowned monarch — and for anybody under 64, without THE queen.
Her longevity is remarkable. She is the longest-reigning monarch in British history and the longest-reigning queen in world history; since ascending to the throne she has known 12 prime ministers, starting with Winston Churchill, and 12 American presidents.Her longevity is remarkable. She is the longest-reigning monarch in British history and the longest-reigning queen in world history; since ascending to the throne she has known 12 prime ministers, starting with Winston Churchill, and 12 American presidents.
It has not been an easy reign. The queen once described 1992, a year of tawdry divorces and revelations in the royal family, as an “annus horribilis”; the death of Prince Charles’s first wife, Princess Diana, in 1997 provided more trials. Throughout it all, the queen maintained the celebrated British tradition of the stiff upper lip, a feat chronicled in Helen Mirren’s 2006 Oscar-winning performance in “The Queen.” “If you were designing someone to be monarch here in Britain, I think you would design someone exactly like Elizabeth II,” said John Major, one of the prime ministers who has served during Elizabeth’s reign, in one of the many tributes on her birthday.It has not been an easy reign. The queen once described 1992, a year of tawdry divorces and revelations in the royal family, as an “annus horribilis”; the death of Prince Charles’s first wife, Princess Diana, in 1997 provided more trials. Throughout it all, the queen maintained the celebrated British tradition of the stiff upper lip, a feat chronicled in Helen Mirren’s 2006 Oscar-winning performance in “The Queen.” “If you were designing someone to be monarch here in Britain, I think you would design someone exactly like Elizabeth II,” said John Major, one of the prime ministers who has served during Elizabeth’s reign, in one of the many tributes on her birthday.
Typically, the queen spent her birthday working. Not many people live to 90, and those who do have long retired, but the queen had 341 official engagements last year and has given no hint of stepping down. On Friday, she and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, received President Barack and Michelle Obama at Windsor Castle. Unlike Sir Paul (McCartney) in his song to her majesty, Mr. Obama — born when Elizabeth II had already been queen for nine years — will not need a “bellyful of wine” to wish her a very happy birthday. Typically, the queen spent her birthday working. Not many people live to 90, and those who do have long retired, but the queen had 341 official engagements last year and has given no hint of stepping down. On Friday, she and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, receives President Barack and Michelle Obama at Windsor Castle. Unlike Sir Paul (McCartney) in his song to her majesty, Mr. Obama — born when Elizabeth II had already been queen for nine years — will not need a “bellyful of wine” to wish her a very happy birthday.