Britain’s Queen Elizabeth has died ‘peacefully’ at the age of 96, Buckingham Palace reports. The king breathed his last in the Scottish castle of Balmoral in front of family members. Elizabeth was on the throne for 70 years, making her the longest-reigning monarch in British history.

When Elizabeth was born in 1926, it looked like she would never ascend the throne, her uncle Albert being first in line to the throne. When Edward stepped down after just one year at the end of 1936 due to his divorced relationship with American Wallis Simpson, Elizabeth’s father George VI became king and she became crown princess.

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In 1953 her father, whom she loved very much, died and twenty-five year old Lillibet – as her family called her – became Queen Elizabeth II. His early tenure was marked by the breakup of England Kingdom. One by one the colonies around the world gained their independence from Britain.

Commonwealth – country family

Despite more and more independent countries, relations with Britain remained strong. It Commonwealth being the organization that connected countless former colonies, this was seen as one of Elizabeth’s strengths.

Moreover, when he died, he was the head of state in fourteen other countries besides England. Namely Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu. In many of these countries, discussions are underway to sever this latter relationship with Britain after Elizabeth’s death.

Never explain, never complain

In her seventy years on the throne, she’s seen 15 prime ministers go by, starting with Winston Churchill to her final appointment as Liz Truss this week. Meanwhile, without exception, he refrained from commenting on the political situation, which made him a unifying and admired figure.

Elizabeth’s saying is ‘never complain; never explain’ (never complain, never explain). He perpetuated the mystique of the ancient British royal family by ignoring controversy and persevering. It came under heavy criticism when Princess Diana died in 1997, when people saw the iron fence cold.

The scandal over Meghan and Andrew

In recent years, the royal family has been in the public eye, among other things, in the hands of Prince Andrew, the king’s son. She was discredited for her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, a controversial multimillionaire who was arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing minors. The separation between Prince Harry and the royal family is also a concern of many parties. Charles and Diana’s son moved to the United States with his wife Meghan.

Despite her advanced age, Elizabeth remained very active for a long time, but that changed in the period before her death. Due to his health, he no longer appears in public often and also leaves various official duties. This year, for example, Elizabeth handed over the Queen’s Speech, part of the traditional opening of the British parliamentary year, to her son Charles.