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Churchill. The Queen was known for taking a serious interest mourners and allowed the Union Jack to fly at half-mast above
in government and political affairs, apart from the ceremonial Buckingham Palace.
duties, and was credited with modernizing many aspects of the
monarchy. Later on, Elizabeth and Philip had two more children, The Queen’s popularity rebounded during the first decade of
Andrew (born 1960) and Edward (born 1964). In1968,Charles was the 21st century. Though 2002 marked Queen Elizabeth’s golden
formally invested as the Prince of Wales, marking his coming of jubilee, the death of her mother and her sister early that year cast
age and the beginning of what would be a long period as king-in- a pall on all the celebrations. She enjoyed support from the public
waiting in 2005 when she gave her assent to Prince Charles’ marriage to
his long-time love Camilla Parker Bowles. In April 2011, Elizabeth
Queen Elizabeth’s Silver Jubilee in 1977, marked her 25 years on was able to witness another royal marriage at Westminster Abbey,
the throne, proved a bright spot in an era of economic struggles. that of Prince William to Catherine Middleton; they had three
Always a vigorous traveller, she kept a punishing schedule to mark children: Prince George (born 2013), Princess Charlotte (born
the occasion, travelled 56.000 miles around the Commonwealth, 2015), Prince Louis (born 2018).
including the island nations Fiji and Tonga, New Zealand, Australia,
Papua New Guinea, the British West Indies and Canada. In 2017, Prince Philip stepped down from his royal duties, at
In 1981, another important wedding took place at the Royal the age of 96. The same year was Elizabeth’s and Philip’s 70th
Family: Prince Charles wed Lady Diana Spender at Saint Paul’s anniversary. Rumours swirled at various times that Queen
Cathedral in London. This wedding was nicknamed “the wedding Elizabeth would step aside and let Prince Charles take the throne.
of the century”. Diana was the first British citizen to marry an heir In 2017, she delegated some of her royal obligations, such as the
to the throne in over 300 years. Even though the couple soon official Remembrance Day ceremony, to him, fuelling speculation
welcomed two sons, William and Harry, their marriage wasn’t that she was preparing to bequeath the throne to her eldest son.
at its best. It caused considerable public embarrassment for the She remained stable, instead.
Queen and the entire royal family.
In May 2018, Prince Harry wed the American actor Meghan
In 1992, Elizabeth’s 40th year on the throne and her family’s Markle. The couple had a son, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, in
“annus horribilis” (which means bad year in Latin). Prince Charles 2019.On 8 January 2020, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan,
and Diana separated. Prince Andrew and his wife Sarah Ferguson Duchess of Sussex, announced on social medias their decision to
separated. Princess Anne and her husband Mark Philips divorced. “step back as ‘senior’ members” of the British royal family, split
The same year a fire also broke out at Windsor Castle, and public their time between the United Kingdom and North America, and
protest over the use of government funds to restore the royal became financially independent. They had a daughter, Lilibet
residence. Queen Elizabeth agreed to pay taxes on her private Diana Mountbatten-Windsor in 2021.On April 9 2021,Prince Philip
income. This was not required by British Law, although some died at the age of 99 at Windsor Castle.
earlier monarchs had done so as well. At the time, her personal
fortune was estimated at $11.7 billion. In another modernizing In February 2022, she celebrated her platinum jubilee which
measure, she also agreed to open the state rooms at Buckingham marked seven decades of her service to the Commonwealth. Her
Palace to the public for an admission fee when she wasn’t in the Majesty the Queen died peacefully on September 8 2022 at the
residence. Balmoral Castle, at the age of 96. During the final years of her reign,
she continued many of her official duties, public appearances and
After Charles and Diana divorce in 1996, Diana remained spent plenty of time outside with her beloved corgis and horses.
incredibly popular all around the world. In the early hours of Two days before her death, she officially appointed a new prime
August 31 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales, died from injuries minister, Liz Truss. She was the queen of the United Kingdom for
sustained earlier that day in a car crash in the Pont de l’Alma 70 years and 214.She owned more than 30 corgis over the course
tunnel in Paris, France. Diana’s partner Dodi Fayed, and the driver of her reign. May she rest in peace.
Henri Paul were pronounced dead at the scene. She became “the
people’s princess”. Her death was very tragic and everybody was Azra Zeynep Aktuğ
sad about it. Even though Queen Elizabeth initially kept the family
out of the public eye, Balmoral including William and Harry. The
unprecedented public response to Diana’s death convinced her to
return to London, made a televised speech about Diana, greeted

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