Queen Elizabeth and the Mission of Leadership in a Changing World

The greatest achievement of Queen Elizabeth, who passed away on September 8 after 70 years of reign, was to maintain the role of the royal family through decades of countless political, social and cultural changes that threatened to make the monarchy obsolete.

Queen Elizabeth II passed away on September 8.

The dignified, trustworthy Queen has reigned longer than any other monarch. She has kept the monarchy firmly in the modern world, stripping away court ritual and making it more open and personal, away from the often hostile scrutiny of the media.

“I think she has put her whole life, her energy and her passion into her work, and she has modernised and developed the monarchy like no other,” Prince William said.

Although the country she ruled sometimes struggled to maintain its place in the new world order and the royal family sometimes fell short of public expectations, the Queen herself was seen as a symbol of stability. She also managed to transcend class barriers and gain the respect of the government and public.

To the world, she was the embodiment of Britain, but also an enigma, never giving interviews and rarely expressing her feelings or opinions publicly. As a result, she was recognised by millions but understood by almost no one.

“I think she has put her whole life, her energy and her passion into her work, and she has modernized and developed the monarchy like no other,” Prince William, Queen Elizabeth’s grandson and heir to the throne, said in a 2012 documentary.

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born on April 21, 1926 at 17 Bruton Street, London.

The young princess never considered succession to the throne until her uncle, King Edward VIII, abdicated in 1936 because of his love for Wallis Simpson, an American divorcee. The throne therefore passed to Elizabeth’s father. King George V ascended the throne when Princess Elizabeth was 10 years old.

Her father died when she was 25, so she became Queen Elizabeth II on February 6, 1952, while she was on a trip to Kenya with her husband, Prince Philip. Winston Churchill was the first of 15 British prime ministers during her reign.

“I had no education. My father died very young, so everything happened very suddenly. I just tried to do the best I could,” she said in the 1992 documentary.

“It’s a matter of maturity to get used to something and accept the fact that you have to be here and that this is your destiny. It’s a lifelong job,” she said.

Labour and Conservative governments came and went, feminism changed attitudes towards women, and Britain became more multi-ethnic and international.

During her 70-year reign, Britain underwent profound changes.

The austere post-war 1950s gave way to the swinging 1960s, a divided nation under the leadership of the “Iron Lady” Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s, the three-term Labour era of Tony Blair, the return of economic austerity and then the COVID-19 pandemic.

Labour and Conservative governments came and went, feminism changed attitudes towards women, and Britain became more multi-ethnic and international.

Queen Elizabeth reigned for most of the Cold War, from the death of Soviet leader Josef Stalin. During her reign, 14 US presidents, from Harry S. Truman to Joe Biden, met with her.

The 2016 referendum to leave the EU exposed deep divisions in British society.