British Monarchs 1,000 Years Ago Queen Elizabeth II Couldn’t Do This

The 95-year-old queen will celebrate 70 years of reign on February 6, marking a record-breaking length of reign that no British monarch has achieved in nearly 1,000 years, according to Reuters.

Queen Elizabeth II looks at her great-grandmother Victoria’s fan used during the 50th anniversary celebrations in 1887. The fan is signed by relatives, friends and contemporary politicians – Photo: AFP

Queen Elizabeth II will not celebrate in a grand manner on February 6, the day she officially became the head of the United Kingdom but also the day her father, King George VI, passed away.

“Although this is a moment of national celebration, it will be a day of mixed emotions for the Queen as it also marks the 70th anniversary of the death of her beloved father George VI,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said of the event.

There will be four national holidays in June to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s 70th year on the throne. Few monarchs in the world have maintained power for so long, both past and present, according to Reuters.

The video released by Buckingham Palace on February 4 shows the Queen still lucid and celebrating the 70th anniversary in her own way, without fuss or reminiscing.

She viewed royal items from her ancestors’ celebrations, such as her great-grandmother Queen Victoria’s fan from her 50th anniversary celebration in 1887.

In 2015, Queen Elizabeth II surpassed her great-grandmother Victoria to become Britain’s longest-reigning monarch since the Norman King William I and the conquest of England in 1066.

Queen Elizabeth II became the head of the United Kingdom on February 6, 1952, after her father King George VI died on the same day. Her coronation was held in June 1953, more than a year after King George VI’s death.

Because of this, there are usually two anniversaries associated with the queen’s accession to the throne, according to The Guardian .

Queen Elizabeth II often celebrates her first anniversary with family members at Sandringham, a British royal estate where her grandfather, King George V, died. It is also where King George VI was born and died in 1952.

The celebrations for the Queen’s accession to the throne began in 1977, marking 25 years of her reign, first known as the Silver Jubilee. The ruby, gold, diamond and most recently sapphire jubilees have taken place on the 40th, 50th, 60th and 65th anniversary of her reign respectively.

While public sentiment towards Queen Elizabeth II remains strong, with around four-fifths of Britons holding a favourable view, the monarchy itself has come under some criticism in recent times.

Only a handful of monarchs are known to have reigned longer than Queen Elizabeth II. King Louis XIV of France, who built the palace of Versailles, ruled for 72 years. Sobhuza II was king of Swaziland for nearly 83 years until his death in 1982.