Why Britain loved Queen Elizabeth more than any other monarch
She was the longest reigning monarch in modern history and ruled England as Queen since 1952. But, as Queen Elizabeth II passes away at 96, many of us outside the UK are wondering, what made her so unique from any other British monarch.
Queen Elizabeth II took the throne of the United Kingdom and the Other Commonwealth Realms on June 2nd 1953, and Wikipedia tells us that there was actually no climactic battle for the throne of England and she simply assumed the throne after the death of her father.
Ascending to the throne at age 25, Queen Elizabeth faced an empire in serious decline and a crown which faced ever-increasing irrelevancy. While the power of British monarchs has been in flux over the last few centuries, it was in the 20th century that Britain decided to remove all power from the crown.
The Parliament Act of 1911 stripped much power from the vaunted House of Lords and accelerated the decline of political power amongst British royalty and nobility. By the time that Elizabeth took the throne, the title Queen of the United Kingdom and Other Commonwealth Realms was really more of a formality than any kind of position of real authority.
The Queen had several ceremonial duties and no real political power to enact change or policy. She opened each session of Parliament and granted Royal Assent to new legislation, meaning that she formally approves the signing of new bills into law. But the act is completely ceremonial and unnecessary for the functioning of the UK government, as no monarch has refused to give royal assent since Queen Anne refused to assent the Scottish Militia Bill in 1707.
So why does she bear so much significance to the British people?
Well, the passing of the Queen will have a substantial effect on the British psyche, as she represented a period known in modern British history as the ‘great decline’. Since even before her birth in 1926, Britain’s former power as the greatest empire in the world was already in decline, but the process only accelerated with the dawning of World War II.
For many British people, Queen Elizabeth was the only link between the modern world and the former glory of the UK, and with her death so too continues the decline in power that the nation has so far been unable to abate. While a completely symbolic position, the British crown is still a symbol of great significance to many and a hope that one day England can become as great as it once was.
