Queen Elizabeth ll of England, one year on

By Dr. Nana Sifa Twum| Media and Corporate Communications Consultant

It is exactly a year today September 8, 2022, when Queen Elizabeth ll of England passed on with the world witnessing the end of an era to the world’s longest Monarch of over 70 years.

She died at the age of 96.

The first British Monarch to reign for 70 years, with tenacity during patchy years in the 80s and 90s solidifies her claim as one of the greatest British Monarchs in history.

Queen Elizabeth II steered the British Monarchy into a path of continuous relevance and impact at a time when monarchies across the world seemed to be losing steam and public appeal.

Her commitment, zeal, and fortitude for her job were so intense that she had one time declared, “I declare before you all that my life whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the services of our great imperial family to which we all belong”.

The late Queen’s determination to work beyond her territory into the global space saw her making history as the first British monarch to address the joint session of the United States Congress on Thursday, 16th May 1991.

A true matriarch of the royal family, Elizabeth II was responsible for making the monarchy once again relevant to the ideals and aspirations of the newer generations.

The Queen indeed paid her dues in serving humanity and it is refreshing to note that, for a befitting memorial in her honour, an independent body has been unveiled to plan for a permanent memorial to the late Britain’s Queen Elizabeth in 2026, to mark what would have been the late monarch’s 100th birthday.

On the first anniversary of her passing today, members of the royal family are gathering to mourn a great Queen by all standards. Even though there is no public appearance to mark the bittersweet occasion. Earlier today, the whole nation was paused, to reflect and remember a truly amazing reign, but not in a formal way. There were no public events planned.

The first anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s death on September 8 last year, also marks one year since King Charles ascended the throne.

Although Charles automatically became King after the death of her mother the Queen, his coronation took weeks to be held. Now King Charles 111, assumed the leadership role held competently and confidently by his mother and predecessor.

Despite expectation of reform, he has not yet made sweeping changes to the monarchy, fuelling perceptions that his is a caretaker role before his eldest son and heir Prince William takes over.

Charles remains behind his late mother and 41-year-old William in the popularity stakes, but his approval rating has received a significant boost since his accession.

His reign so far is deemed by the British as normal even though they were expecting some drastic changes to the protocols of the monarchy. Nothing has changed much apart from the insignificant rise in expenditure, which according to analysts is normal due to the global economic trend.

“The cost of Britain’s royal family to the UK taxpayer rose by five percent over the past year, the annual financial report of King Charles III’s household showed on Thursday.”

Royal aides put the rise in expenditure partly down to the change of monarchs following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022 and the succession of her son Charles.

YouGov polling suggested 55 percent of Britons have a positive opinion of their new head of state, compared to 44 percent a year ago.

On the international front, the king, who is also head of state of 14 Commonwealth countries outside the UK, including Canada, Australia and New Zealand, has made only one state visit, to Germany.

Reports indicate a major overseas tour is in the works to improve relations with the Commonwealth.

Charles has however received foreign leaders, including US President Joe Biden, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

While Elizabeth II was seen as especially dedicated to the Commonwealth — the 56-nation grouping of mostly former British colonies — for Charles “the emphasis is global.

Technically, the British Monarch is not automatically Head of the Commonwealth, though Queen Elizabeth II succeeded her father and Charles III has now succeeded her. Thus, following the Queen’s death, only a fraction of the Commonwealth—fourteen member nations, referred to as Commonwealth realms, who still recognised the British Monarch as their head of state needed to issue proclamations declaring loyalty to King Charles lll.

Expectations are that with the withdrawal from the European Union, Britain was going to take great advantage to develop and sustain prudent trade and economic ties with the Commonwealth, but, much has not been seen.

Is King Charles interested and anxious in this regard? Time will tell.

Read More Here