"Diversity is a strength not a threat." Elizabeth II
QUEEN PLATINUM JUBILEE
Celebrations are ahead for what is one of the most remarkable Reigns in history.
The 70th years of Reign of Queen Elizabeth II.
Queen Elizabeth II Reign was fostered by diversity within her own family and all over the world over the years. To embrace it was not always a welcomed path but was rather followed by an epic trail of 'semi - silent - revolution - like - moments' in which she was always placed in the centre or as one of the family members or as a sole individual future-ruler embracing those moments that would shape the future for millions of people, specially woman. At home and around the world. In the history of her own family, country and Reign. She ruled and she served during all these incredible and challenging years.
Queen Elizabeth II Reign was followed by a world where most of the times, laws and future was shaped and pre-determined majorly by man as rulers, until this very day. And she was always the future. One step ahead.
The Royal Family also had its tribulations, like on any other family, with the difference, these families and branches of the Royal Family belonged to rulers of the land and many other parts of the world, which included beyond the Commonwealth. The Royal Family is not only the story of one family in the United Kingdom that happened to be destined to become Royal. Elizabeth II is not just one girl who became a Queen, that emerged from a family disagreement between brothers, and tradition, which happened to change the fate of these individuals in the blink of an eye and their consecutively future generations forever. When Queen Elizabeth II uncle renounced the throne, eighty six years ago, placing her own father as the next king. It was King George VI courage, determination and strength that came to shape, Elizabeth Alexander Mary's future as a Queen, including her courage, fairness, strength and determination as a ruler. Her Reign was the future and Today is the reality for millions of people for more than seventy years.
The Royal Family always had a motto to work and reward the very best talent, regardless of gender, race, ethnic or national origin, disability, religion, sexual orientation or age. And that's how they always seek out future potential too. when recruiting from the "wildest available pool" as it's stated on their own website Today. They truly embraced these family mottos by putting themselves in taking responsibility as rulers. Regardless of the politics of the era.
In December 1936, King George VI, took the British throne following his older brother Edward VIII's abdication. George VI when taking the throne had a stutter that made hard for him to give speeches to the British public. The King ended up attending speech therapy lessons before turning his personal milestone and giving an iconic live radio broadcast in 1939 declaring the outbreak of the war with Germany and the second greatest war the world would be facing at the time. It was the beginning of the second world war.
"In this grave hour, perhaps the most fateful in our history, I send to every household of my peoples, both at home and overseas, this message, spoken with the same depth of feeling for each one of you as if I were able to cross your threshold and speak to you myself.
For the second time in the lives of most of us we are at war.
Over and over again we have tried to find a peaceful way out of the differences between ourselves and those who are now our enemies. But it has been in vain.
We have been forced into a conflict. For we are called, with our allies, to meet the change of a principle which, if it were to prevail, would be fatal to any civilised order in the world.
It is the principle which permits a state, in the selfish pursuit of power, to disregard its treaties and its solemn pledges; with sanctions the use of force, or threat of force, against the sovereignty and independence of other states." - King George VI
Queen Elizabeth II herself, quite too many often saw the world in dangerous situations from a very early age. By watching her own father as a king, she could see how her own fate wouldn't be far from facing challenging situations at her own reign herself. She was then prepared, while growing up during the second world war.
Queen Elizabeth II, embraced technology since a very young age, she made her own radio broadcast in 1940 when aged 14.
She recorded a message of support for young people affected by the war in Europe, particularly those being evacuated from their homes, on the BBC's Children's Hour.
"I can truthfully say to you all that we children at home are full of cheerfulness and courage," she said. "We are trying , too, to bear our own share of the danger and sadness of war."
On her 21st Birthday, she again sent a message to the whole world:
"There's a motto which has been borne by many of my ancestors - a noble motto, 'I serve'.
Those words were an inspiration to many bygone heirs to the throne when they made their knightly dedication as they came to manhood, I cannot do quite as they did.
But through the inventions of science I can do what was not possible for any of them. I can make my solemn act of dedication with a whole Empire listening. I should like to make that dedication now. It is very simple.
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."
Today at the year of 2022 we can read at The Royal Family website a clear message:
"We would never want a certain type (to work with). The key is to be different and individual" -
The Royal Family
When world war II began, Queen Elizabeth II was just a teenage princess.
Back then, her mother, also named Elizabeth, was known as The Queen consort and the Queen was princess Elizabeth.
Though many urged the Queen consort to evacuate her children, Elizabeth and Margaret, to Canada, she refused.
"The children won't go without me, I won't leave without the King and the King will never leave." - she said.
The family, like their country, endured hardship. Buckingham Palace was reportedly bombed nine times throughout the war. One of the worst bombings was in 1944, this is when Queen Elizabeth II insisted upon joining the Army, were she trained as a truck driver and mechanic. She remains the only female member of the Royal Family to have served in the Army. It can be said she 'fought' for her place not as a Queen but as a citizen and earned it as a women and pioneer.
She was known as truck mechanic number 230873 in the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service, and was based at the Mechanical Transport training Section in Camberley, Surrey.
Although it is well know Today that The Queen is the only person in the United Kingdom who is allowed to drive without a driver's license, as part of the "royal prerogative" - powers and rights - exclusive to the country's monarch. By the end of the war, the then princess completed her course at the No.1 Mechanical Training Center of the ARS, and became a fully qualified driver herself, by merit not by granted power.
On May 8, 1945, the war in Europe ended. In London, thousands of people took to the streets to celebrate, flooding Trafalgar Square and the Mall leading up to Buckingham Palace where the King and Queen greeted them from the balcony. As the light began to fade and the celebrations looked to continue into the night, Princess Elizabeth, dressed in her ATS uniform, slipped into the crowds with her sister to enjoy the festivities. In 1985, the now Queen spoke to the BBC about how she tried to avoid being spotted, "I remember we were terrified of being recognised so I pulled my uniform cap well down over my eyes". She described the "lines of unknown people linking arms and walking down Whitehall, and all of us were swept along by tides of happiness and relief." There are even reports that the princesses joined a conga dance through the Ritz Hotel as they celebrated with the crowds. "I think it was one of the most memorable night of my life." She recalled. (It was the end of the second world war - on May 8th 1945 - Nazi Germany surrounded to the Allies and fascism was finally defeated in Europe).
On February 6, 1952, Princess Elizabeth was in Kenya when King George VI after a long battle against lung cancer at the age of 56 dies in his sleep at the royal estate of Sandringham, she was then 25-year-old when she became the sixth woman in history to ascend to the British throne. Her formal coronation as Queen Elizabeth II took place on June 2, 1953 in Westminster Abbey.
Queen Elizabeth II, is the 40th British Monarch since William the Conqueror, she has worked all her life since at her Royal duties. From the start of her Reign , Queen Elizabeth understood the value of public relations, advances on science and technology. She allowed her 1953 coronation to be televised, despite objections from Prime Minister Winston Churchill and others who felt it would cheapen the ceremony. Queen Elizabeth disagreed.
When Queen Elizabeth became The Queen she always shown how she embraced technology and diversity, during her period as a monarch. She travelled in land, air and sea. She then was also the first Head of Estate to sent an email in 1976. Using then what we call Today - The Internet, made it to a telecommunications research centre called Royal Signals and Radar Establishment in England. Peter Kirsten, who helped her sent the message, told that the username he set up for her was HME2, for "Her Majesty, ElizabethII".
On 7th March 2019 The Queen used her Instagram account to social network with her base: "Today as I visit the Science Museum I was interested to discover a letter from the Royal Archives, written in 1843 to my great-great-grandfather Prince Albert.
Charles Babbage, credited as the world's first computer pioneer, designed the "Difference Engine", of which Prince Albert had the opportunity to see a prototype in July 1843.
In the letter, Babbage told Queen Victoria and Prince Albert about his invention the "Analytical Engine" upon which the first computer programmes were created by Ada Lovelace, a daughter of Lord Byron.
Today I had the pleasure of learning about children's computer coding initiatives and it seems fitting to me that I publish this Instagram post, at the Science Museum which has long championed technology, innovation and inspired the next generation of inventors." - Elizabeth R
On 9th September 2015 The Queen Elizabeth II surpassed Queen Victoria as the longest-reigning British Monarch in history. She surpassed her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria, who spent 63 years and 216 days on the throne.
The longest monarch to ever lived on the throne was King Louis XIV of France, he ruled for 72 years and 110 days. From 14th May 1643 to 1st September 1715. He was the 17x great-grandson of William the Conqueror. William was the first Norman King of England, he was the illegitimate son of Duke Robert I of Normandy.
In the middle ages, the Duke of Normandy was the ruler of the Duchy of Normandy in North-Western France.
The Duchy arose out of a grant of land to the Viking leader Rollo by the French King Charles III in 911. The French Revolution later brought an end to the Duchy of Normandy as a political entity, by then a province of France, and it was replaced by several dèpartements.
In the Channel Islands, the British Monarch is known as the "Duke of Normandy", notwithstanding the fact that the current monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, is a woman.
The Chanel Islands are the last remaining part of the former Duchy of Normandy to remain under the rule of the British monarch. Although the English monarchy relinquished claims to continental Normandy and other French claims in 1259 (in the Treaty of Paris), the Chanel Islands (except for Chausey under French sovereignty) remain Crown dependencies under the British throne. The British historian Ben Pimlott noted that while Queen Elizabeth II was on a visit to mainland Normandy in May 1967, French locals began to doff their hats and shout "Vive la Duchesse", to which the Queen supposedly replied "Well, I am The Duke of Normandy!". Both Chanel Islands Legislatures refer to Elizabeth II in writing as "The Queen in the right of Jersey" or "The Queen in the right of Guernsey" respectively. However The Queen is referred to as "The Duke of Normandy", the title used by the islanders, especially during their loyal toast, were they say " The Duke of Normandy, our Queen", or "The Queen, our Duke" or, in French "La Reine, Notre Duc", rather than simply "The Queen", as is the practice in the United Kingdom.
William The Conqueror was eight years old when he became Duke of Normandy and later King of England. After the Battle of Hastings, in 1066, he was crowned King of England. He never spoke English and was a illiterate, but he had more influence on the evolution of the English language and kingdoms then anyone before or ever since. William ruled England until his death, on September 9, 1087, from Ruen, Normandy, France.
Every English Monarch followed by William The Conqueror, including Queen Elizabeth II, is considered a descendant of the Norman-born king. According to some genealogists, more than 25 percent of the English population is also distantly related to him, as are countless Americans.
Else Churchill, a genealogist at the Society of Genealogists in London says that a genealogy studies suggested that a child born in the middle of 20th Century, who could trace their ancestry back to England in the early 13th Century, would have 80% of the population of the time in their family tree. And if someone has such a pathway, she said it is "fairly likely" they will bump into a royal relative. And the most common is King Richard III, which will give pathway to William the Conqueror ancestry, even without proper documentation, or certificates following all relatives until date, such as marriages, deaths or births. DNA tests Today, make it undeniable that history still making possible to families to be traceable to Normandy and consecutively to the Viking age and Scandinavian countries and kings.
"We are all part of a giant family", says professor Turi King, professor of genetics at the University of Leicester, who researched Richard III ancestry and says there are "literally millions" of people alive Today who are related to the immediate family of this 15th - Century sovereign." And consecutively will be related to the Queen of England, including respectively ancestors of this same line of ancestors going back to William The Conqueror himself."
"I know of no single formula for success, but over the years I have observed that some attributes of leadership are universal and are often about finding ways of encouraging people to combine their efforts, their talents, their enthusiasm and their inspiration to work together." - Queen Elizabeth II
From serving as a mechanic and truck driver in World War II, to making a cameo in a James Bond movie, Queen Elizabeth II have been driving over the years from turbulent waters to rewarding ones. She rode an elephant howdah (throne) during her visit in Meghauli in 1961, she traveled more than any monarch before her, and as her ancestors she also mastered to ride on horseback, living through turbulent years of war to global pandemic and new political conflicts in 2022. The monarch established herself as one of the most diverse rulers in the world.
Although politicians in the United Kingdom tend to ignore what much of their immigrant ancestors accomplished in Britain since 1066, or much of the African-British and Indian ancestors did during first and second world wars. Culture, Arts, Music, Education, And Society. And despite wars and battlefields, it was indeed integration and international affairs, something Queen Elizabeth II knew and mastered very well, that indeed promoted integration and the merging of cultures that built England and the United Kingdom as we know it.
The Queen as a ruler was not only an observer of the kingdom but someone who always very much lived that social transformation throughout the years herself.
Queen Elizabeth II travelled worldwide more than any British monarch before her, taking influence from each country and welcoming minority groups to Britain, she expressed her sympathy and generosity throughout the years over and over during her reign, reinforcing her devotion to her own family, country and many other individuals and families oversees beyond the Commonwealth. Embracing woman's rights and social development all over the world. Although is known that The Queen doesn't express her political views in public it is also known that she for many times publicly showed to have different opinions of those of the politicians of the times. As a strong ruler, she established herself as a reliable monarch, that embraced more than science and technology, but showed respect and humbleness, serenity as much as firmness when needed most, throughout the 70th years of her own reign, as the ultimate Queen of the United Kingdom and fourteen other Commonwealth Realms.
"Diversity is a strength, not a threat." - Elizabeth R
Comments