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Queen Elizabeth II Dies at Age 96

By: Jessica Scroppo Assistant Editor

Queen Elizabeth II, the reigning Queen of the United Kingdom passed away on September 8, 2022 at the age of 96.

Queen Elizabeth II was officially laid to rest on Monday, September 19, 2022 in London. The Queen was laid to rest in the royal vault at Windsor Castle. Her service took place at St. George’s Chapel, where the Queen often worshiped.

According to www.washingtonpost. com, “More than 90 world leaders, representatives from dozens of royal families, and members of the House of Windsor. There were 2,000 guests were in attendance for the Queen’s funeral including United States President Joe Biden.

According to www.news.yahoo.com, “The queen’s coffin was draped with the royal standard — a flag that represents all nations in the U.K.: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Colorful wreaths were also placed on the coffin along with a goodbye note from the queen’s eldest son and heir, King Charles III.”

The Queen’s reign was not exclusive to Europe and the United Kingdom. Her influence affected both Americans and their overseas counterparts over the course of her 70 year and 214 day reign. Queen Elizabeth II has been the longest-reigning British monarch, and second-longest-reigning monarch of all time, according to www.gq.com.

One of the longest-reigning leaders of the world was never supposed to rule at all. According to www.history. com, Queen Elizabeth II’s uncle, King Edward VIII, abdicated the throne, giving it up because of his marriage to a divorcee.

Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the throne in 1953. Her father, King George VI, died on February 6, 1952.

Queen Elizabeth II was just 25 when she was crowned. According to www. news.vcu.edu, Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953 was the first ever to be televised.

According to www.cfr.org, Queen Elizabeth II’s commonwealth, or the countries under the British monarchy, is made up of 150 million people across 14 countries and the UK.

However, Queen Elizabeth II’s powers, now King Charles’, were mostly symbolic. Elected parliament and prime ministers are all allocated to govern their appropriate countries under the Queen (and now King).

For the past 70 years, Queen Elizabeth has had to endure countless historical events—both momentous and tragic.

Since Queen Elizabeth II became Queen of England, the Polio vaccine was declared safe (1955), the birth control pill was approved for use in the U.S. (1960), Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated (1968), Apollo 11 landed on the moon (1969), AIDS was reported (1981), the 9/11 tragedy occurred in America (2001) and of course, COVID-19 took over the world (2020) according to www. abc11.com.

Pictured below: King Charles attends his mother, Queen Elizabeth II's, funeral service on Monday, September 20, 2022.

Photo: www.tmz.com