LONDON (AP) — Queen Elizabeth II remembered the past and sought to cement the future of the monarchy Sunday as the United Kingdom marked the 70th anniversary of her rule.
Britain’s longest-serving monarch, the only sovereign most Britons have ever known, Queen Elizabeth II has been a constant presence as Britain navigated the end of empire, the labor strife of the 1980s, international terrorism, Brexit, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
In her statement Sunday, the monarch remembered the death of her father, King George VI, which elevated her to the throne, and recalled the seven decades of “extraordinary progress” that her reign has spanned. The queen, now 95, also renewed the pledge she made on her 21st birthday to devote her entire life to the service of the U.K. and the Commonwealth.
On Sunday, Buckingham Palace released a photo of the monarch sitting in front of her official red dispatch box with government papers spread out before her.
The monarch spent the day at Sandringham, the country estate in eastern England where her father died on Feb. 6, 1952.
“It is a sad day and one that reminds her of the close relationship she had with him,” Lacey, the historical consultant to the Netflix series “The Crown,’’ told The Associated Press. “He liked to consider himself the Squire of Sandringham, not King of Britain. He’d go out and walk the fields, shoot the game. That’s what she remembers.’’
While Sunday’s anniversary was low-key, public celebrations of the platinum jubilee are scheduled for June, when the weather is usually sunnier. The festivities will include a military parade, neighborhood parties and a competition to create a new dessert — a mini extravaganza over a four-day weekend June 2-5.
The national reminiscing got underway Sunday, with newspapers and TV reports full of black-and-white images of a young Elizabeth, the glittering new face of the House of Windsor.
Behind her was World War II and the years of rationing that followed. In front of her were the glimmers of a brighter future.
“One of the reasons why Elizabeth II is greeted with such enthusiasm in 1952 on her accession is because her reign symbolizes new hope and opportunity for renaissance, a new beginning,” said historian Ed Owens, author of “The Family Firm: Monarchy, Mass Media and the British Public 1932-1953.'' “She embodies a completely new style of monarchy, something that is much more fairytale than what had come before.”
And this weekend, the sovereign made clear it’s not over.
On Saturday, she made an appearance at a tea party in her honor, the largest public gathering since her health scare last year. Guests reported her wit to be as sharp as ever, though she carried a cane and seemed a bit thinner than usual. Still, she stabbed a massive knife into an anniversary cake, much to the delight of onlookers.
She also promised to keep working.
“It gives me pleasure,” she wrote, “to renew to you the pledge I gave in 1947: that my life will always be devoted to your service.’’