Queen Elizabeth II, who died this Thursday in Balmoral (Scotland), the British throne was 70 yearswhich made her the longest serving monarch as head of state in UK history.
(Read here: Queen Elizabeth II of England dies at 96; live)
From 1952 to 2022, the monarch experienced the most relevant historical events throughout the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st.
(See also: What would happen after the death of Queen Elizabeth ll in the United Kingdom?)
He was a witness and participant in the most important political and economic decisions not only in his country, but also in international geopolitics, after World War II.
Fifteen British prime ministers passed through Elizabeth II’s office at Buckingham Palace, from Winston Churchillthe man who led the triumph in the war, passing through Margaret Thatcher, the famous ‘iron lady’.
Of all, Elizabeth II herself showed a fascination with Churchill, whom she regarded as her mentor and friend during her early years running the British.
The queen participated in more than 21,000 official engagementswhile visiting more than 100 countries as head of state.
In addition, he met with four popes: John XXIII (1961), John Paul II (1980, 1982 and 2000), Benedict XVI (2010) and Francis (2014). Also, he received 112 state visits to the United Kingdom, among the last that of the King Philip VI from Spain in June 2017.
Dead other universal names like Nelson Mandela, John Paul II, or recently Mikhail GorbachevElizabeth II, queen among kings, passed away this Thursday after 96 years of life.
For millions of people she was the Queen. To dry. The only one that most people had ever known, not just in the UK, but all over the world.
His transcendence was more symbolic than political: it was his silence and his ability to hide his opinions or emotions that earned him his reputation.
At a time when certainties are disappearing and everything seems less solid, Elizabeth II embodied -as Prime Minister Liz Truss described in her farewell speech- to the “rock” on which the modern UK was built.
Below, we recount the key historical moments that marked his reign.
From East to West
Since his accession to the throne in 1952the queen met with all sitting American presidents except Lyndon Johnson and Joe Bidenthat is 12 from Dwight Eisenhower to Donald Trump.
During the Cold War, relations with the leaders of the Soviet bloc and its allies were few. Nikita Khrushchev was received at Windsor Palace in 1956. Then it was not until 1989 and perestroika that a distant successor, Mikhail Gorbachev, had that honor.
For her part, Elizabeth II was the first British monarch in history to set foot on Russian soil, invited by Boris Yeltsin in 1994. Russian President Vladimir Putin made a state visit to the UK in 2003.
War and peace
From Mother Teresa of Calcutta to the young Malala Yusafzai, Elizabeth II welcomed the commitment of numerous Nobel Peace Prizes.
He had a particularly close relationship with Nelson Mandelaone of the few who called her by name.
But the British head of state also received with honors representatives of the worst authoritarian regimes, such as the president of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) Mobutu Sese Seko, on an official visit to London in 1973. Or the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in 1978.
Historic moment
On June 27, 2012, there was a historic handshake between the monarch and Martin McGuinnessformer commander of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) armed group turned number two in the Sinn Féin party, which does not recognize the queen’s sovereignty in the British region of Northern Ireland.
The photo of this moment 14 years after the Good Friday Peace Accords, which put an end to the conflict between Protestant Unionists and Catholic Republicans, went around the world. –
From the Falklands to Afghanistan: two princes at war
During his reign, also the United Kingdom made part of a series of armed conflicts. Even members of his royal house participated in those episodes.
Prince Henry, grandson of Elizabeth II and second son of Charles and Dianefought in 2008 against the Taliban in Afghanistan as a second lieutenant in the Household Cavalry regiment.
He was the second of the queen’s descendants to actively participate in a war after his uncle Prince Andrew did in the Falklands War in 1982.
Henry of England He returned to Afghanistan in 2012 to fight the Taliban as a helicopter gunship pilot.
INTERNATIONAL WRITING
*With agencies
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