A national mourning is underway. This September 8, 2022, Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as well as sovereign of the Commonwealth realms, has just died at the age of 96. The one who acceded to the throne at the age of 25 was the longest reigning British sovereign to date, surpassing the reign of her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria.
This Thursday, the queen’s doctors had announced the “worrying” state of health, as reported by AFP. “After the family were informed of the Queen’s condition, her heir Charles, 73, and her grandson William are traveling to Balmoral, their respective departments said,” it read.
For several months, the health of Elizabeth II has always been at the heart of all concerns. The monarch, who was to travel to Northern Ireland accompanied by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in October 2021, had to cancel her visit for health reasons. “The Queen has reluctantly accepted medical advice requiring her to rest for the next few days,” the palace said in a statement and continued: “Her Majesty remains in good spirits and is disappointed to no longer be able to visit Ireland. of the North, where she was to take part in a series of engagements”. The monarch said she was “looking forward to being able to go there in the future”. It was enough for the media around the world to take a closer look at the wife of Prince Philip. According to The Mirror, Elizabeth II would have “shown slight signs of a seasonal cold”.
During her lifetime, the sovereign had never wished to abdicate despite her advanced age, as Dick Arbiter, a former press officer at Buckingham Palace between 1988 and 2000, had confided. “To suggest that she could retire is condescending and it is also taking the risk of fighting a blazing fire. The queen will probably rather ask for a change in the pace of her commitments”, he confided during his appearance on the program Good Morning Britain and to add in a documentary dedicated to the Queen: “She was sworn in 1947, she was sworn in 1953 at her coronation. She is very pious, she is the supreme authority of the Anglican Church, and she is committed to God for every day of his life, that means until his last breath”.
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The one who celebrated her diamond jubilee in 2012, marking the 60th anniversary of her reign, has always remained modern and lively, constantly adapting to the times. In 2012, she even agreed to shoot a short video clip alongside the James Bond, Daniel Craig, on the occasion of the Olympic Games taking place that year in London. The (false) sequence where the monarch parachuted had surprised everyone. Proof that the mother of Prince Charles still knew how to surprise his subjects. “The Queen has made herself more accessible than ever,” said the interpreter of spy 007 at the time.
More recently in October 2021, the grandmother of princes William and Harry had refused to receive the award “The Oldie od Year” (the Elder of the year). Her Deputy Private Secretary then wrote a letter to The Oldie magazine which said: “Her Majesty thinks you are of the age you feel, therefore the Queen does not think she meets the relevant criteria to be able to accept and, hope you find a more worthy recipient”.
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At over 90, Queen Elizabeth II retained a few rituals that, for some, would be disreputable at her age. According to information from the magazine Vanity Fair, the mother of prince Charles agreed every evening a small glass … of Dry Martini. A little guilty pleasure that his doctors would have advised against, as revealed by a relative to our colleagues.
‘The Queen has been advised to stop drinking her evening martini. It’s not much for her, she doesn’t drink heavily, but it seems a bit unfair that at this point in her life she is being forced to give up one of her little pleasures” and another source of add: “Alcohol is prohibited, her doctors want to make sure she is fit and healthy”.
