Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II [antikvár]

INTRODUCTION 'By the sudden death of my dear father I am called upon to assume the duties and responsibility of sovereignty.' T ihese were the words of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in her simple yet moving Accession Speech of 8 February 1952, just 36 hours after she had learnt that her father King George VI had died in his sleep. So, at the age of 25, Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, the first child of Prince Albert and Elizabeth, Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth) became the forty-second sovereign of England since William the Conqueror, yet only its sixth Queen Regnant. Elizabeth II is now the longest-reigning British monarch since Queen Victoria (the last Queen Regnant), who occupied the throne for over 63 years, while their ancestor Elizabeth I reigned for 44 years. Born on 21 April 1926, she is also the first female sovereign to bear the family name of Windsor, adopted by her grandfather King George V in 1917 for himself and his descendants. Since 1960, the name Mountbatten has also been incorporated into the royal surname. At her coronation in Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953, Her Majesty's full titles were revealed as: Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and of her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith. The Queen is an affectionate wife, loving mother and doting grandparent but the quality she possesses above all others is her devotion to duty. Her Majesty is also a realist who is determined that the monarchy will enter the twenty-first century as a modern, democratic institution, hence her decision to pay taxes in the same way as all her people. In allowing Buckingham Palace to be opened to visitors for the first dme, she is fulfilling a long-standing desire to share with a wider public the treasures of her London home.