The passing of Queen Elizabeth II marks the end of any number of eras — as someone whose long reign and unique style placed her as a quietly dominant figure for nearly a third of American history, though all or parts of 14 presidencies.
Elizabeth wasn’t born to be queen. She only became the heir to the throne when she was 10 years old, in 1936, because her uncle Edward VIII abdicated to marry American divorcée Wallis Simpson, and Elizabeth’s father, George VI, took his place.
During World War II, the young Princess Elizabeth not only worked to raise the country’s morale, appealing to her fellow Britons on public radio to “make the world of tomorrow a better and happier place,” she also served as a volunteer in the war effort â training as a mechanic in the women’s auxiliary service; volunteer No. 230873.
With her father’s health in rapid decline, Elizabeth began accepting more official duties, taking his place at the annual “Trooping the Colour” military parade in 1949. In 1952, while Elizabeth and Philip were on an official trip to Kenya, news came of her father’s death.
She was now Queen and would be so for 70 years.
MILITARY HISTORY SOCIETY OF ROCHESTER
ROCHESTERMILITARY.COM
