LONDON (HRNW) – The last year will go down as one of the most seismic in the history of the British royal family with the death of Queen Elizabeth months after she celebrated her record seventh decade as monarch, but 2023 could prove almost as momentous.
In February, Elizabeth, who broke pretty much every record for a monarch in a dynasty stretching back 1,000 years to the Norman invasion of England, marked 70 years on the throne, with four days of national celebrations following in early summer.
But there were already signs the 96-year-old’s health was failing. Her public appearances became rare and she only appeared for a couple of her Platinum Jubilee events.
On Sept. 8, just two days after she was pictured appointing her 15th prime minister, the only monarch most Britons had ever known – and who much of the rest of the world also regarded as “the Queen” – died at her Scottish home. The cause of death was old age, the official certificate said.
In the modern world, Elizabeth had been without compare – a leader who had met almost every major global figure since World War Two, and whose longevity as head of a major state was only bettered by France’s King Louis XIV who died in 1715.
It was an end of an era not just for her nation but for her family. Her son automatically became King Charles III, and in accordance with one of Elizabeth’s final wishes, his second wife Camilla became queen consort.