Seventy years of reign. Queen Elisabeth II is passing a historic milestone this Sunday that few kings have achieved so far, apart from Louis XIV, King of France (72 years and 110 days) and King of Thailand Bhumibol Adulyadej (70 years and 126 days from 1946 to 2016). Four days of festivities were announced across the country to celebrate its Platinum Jubilee. The opportunity to review the successes and failures of the 95-year-old Queen, still hugely popular after a life entirely devoted to the Crown.
Thomas Pernette, author of Elizabeth II, The Hats of the Crown (EPA, 2021), returns for 20 minutes on this extraordinary reign.
The Elizabeth-mania of the beginnings
“In the winter of 1953-1954, Queen Elisabeth and Prince Philip embarked on a six-month tour which took them to Bermuda, Jamaica, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, Uganda, Malta , in Gibraltar. It was an incredible communication operation. A million people came out to greet them on the streets of Sydney [en
Australie]. In 1953-1954, this 25-year-old young queen who had just been crowned was almost a Hollywood star. She goes to meet her people, it’s incredible. His father King George VI or his grandfather King George V never went to Australia as kings, until then only a prince made the trip. It should be remembered that Elizabeth II is queen of 15 countries. There is a whole Elizabeth-mania at that time that is hard to remember. This tour launches the reign all over the world a few months after the formidable operation that was its coronation, broadcast live on television. This first major royal tour is historic. »
Hits of the 1970s
“The investiture of Charles as Prince of Wales has an incredible impact. The ceremony is grand. It should be remembered that the climate is tense with the Welsh separatists. The same morning, a homemade bomb intended for the royal family exploded and killed two of them. Elizabeth II places the crown on her son’s head, a way of showing that the heir to the crown is ready. It’s important for a king to prepare his heir and Prince Charles is rising to the occasion.
His reign is crowned with several other successes. For example, in 1976 she went to Zambia which I would describe as a high risk mission. A civil war shook Southern Rhodesia – future Zimbabwe – and Zambia at that time. The queen, who is also the head of the Commonwealth, must go to the summit of Lusaka. Planes are shot down a few weeks before his arrival, some of his advisers advise him not to go there. As head of the Commonwealth, she does not imagine trembling before the risk. The atmosphere is electric, the security forces are on their toes. And it’s a huge success. She does not allow herself to be intimidated, she is not sealed off in her Buckingham Palace. »
1990, the decade of unpopularity
“Elizabeth II suffered her greatest failures in the 1990s. 1992 was the worst year for the queen. You have the divorce of Princess Anne, her daughter, with her first husband, Mark Philips. You have the scandal of Prince Andrew and his wife, Sarah Ferguson. Photos come out in the press where we see her having her toes licked by her financial adviser. The scandal is all the greater because when the headlines appear, Sarah Ferguson is with the royal family at Balmoral. In the same year, the biography written by Andrew Morton, Diana her true story, appears. The world is discovering that the marriage of the century between Diana and Prince Charles in 1981 is not magical, that Diana is unhappy, that she suffers from eating disorders, that she tried to commit suicide… It is also the year of the fire at Windsor Castle. And the decade ends in silence after Diana’s death. It is an indelible mark on this long reign. The morning of the accident on the Pont de l’Alma, the world discovers the death of Lady Diana and the Windsors wait five days to return from Balmoral where they are on vacation. The silence is incomprehensible to the British. Already the flags have not been lowered. From a protocol point of view, Diana is no longer a royal highness, except that the Windsors do not realize that in the eyes of the British and the world, she is still a princess. The priority of the Queen and Prince Charles is to protect William and Harry in the privacy of Balmoral, but for public opinion, it is disastrous. »
The comeback of the 2000s
“Since the 2000s, Elisabeth II has made an incredible comeback. She regained the popularity of the beginning of her reign. She succeeded with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren where she failed with her children. She welcomed Meghan Markle with open arms. Meghan and Harry have never criticized her. She has not lost a point of popularity since the departure of Meghan and Harry who are at their lowest. The monarchy was aware that this young American woman was an incredible asset to the monarchy. Meghan Markle brought young people to Elizabeth II who were not interested in the Windsors. She brought the sympathy of Australians, Canadians, Americans. It is certainly a failure to have succeeded in keeping talents like Meghan and Harry in the fold of the monarchy.
Elizabeth II enjoys great popularity because she is seen as a rock in this changing world. What woman has known more French presidents, American presidents, popes than her? She’s still there and it’s incredibly reassuring. Elisabeth II is the grandmother we all want. And it embodies a philosophy of life: despite the storms, we batten down the hatches, we let things through. Never complain, never explain yourself is also a philosophy of life in the age of Instagram. »