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15 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 14 SEPTEMBER 2022 WORLD a changing world Bond film became the highlight of the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympic Games. In the short sequence she greet- ed Bond actor Daniel Craig at Buckingham Palace, uttering just four words before visual effects showed her apparently joining him on a helicopter and para- chuting into the stadium. A decade later at the start of a Platinum Jubilee pop concert, she again won huge plaudits for a pre-recorded comic sketch with Paddington Bear, in which she told the famous fictional character that she always kept his favourite snack - a marmalade sandwich - in her ever-present handbag. The queen was said by her aides to crack jokes with world lead- ers, enjoy an easy familiarity with long-serving Commonwealth heads of government, and relish a wager on race horses. Racing was an enduring passion. She was also accompanied for most of her reign by her corgi dogs, which earned a reputation for snapping at the heels of roy- al retainers and were descended from the dog called Susan she received as an 18th birthday gift from her parents. "What we actually know about the queen is remarkably little," said Matthew Dennison, a biog- rapher of Elizabeth. "We know that she enjoys rac- ing. We know that she likes cor- gis. We know that she prefers blankets and sheets to duvets. But beyond that, we know almost nothing about her." During World War Two she learned to be a driver and a me- chanic while serving in the wom- en's Auxiliary Territorial Service. Her love of the outdoors and of animals was well documented and commentators said she came across as more at home in tweeds than tiaras. "I do rather begrudge some of the hours that I have to do instead of being outdoors," she once said. Prince William's wife Kate said that behind closed doors, the queen eschewed royal pomp. "You would expect a lot of gran- deur and a lot of fuss... but actu- ally what really resonates with me is her love for simple things, the lack of fuss and I think that's a special quality to have," Kate told a TV documentary to mark Eliza- beth's 90th birthday. Coronation Elizabeth became queen in 1952 and was crowned on June 2, 1953 in a televised ceremony in West- minster Abbey, becoming the first queen in her own right since Queen Victoria and the 40th monarch in a royal line that trac- es its origin back to William the Conqueror in 1066. In September 2015, she over- took Victoria to become the country's longest ever reign- ing monarch, an achievement to which she said she had never aspired, and the following year there were more celebrations for her 90th birthday. She ascended the throne at the same age as Elizabeth I, but while the first Elizabeth saw her coun- try attain the status of an impor- tant trading nation in the 16th century, her namesake presided over a Britain slipping from its position as a world leader in in- dustry and technology. As Britain's place shifted, so the queen came to stand for unity, and the pomp around her family - with gilded carriages and spec- tacular royal weddings - a source of national pride for many. Prince William's marriage in 2011 to commoner Kate Mid- dleton, which saw more than a million people throng London's streets and drew an estimated two billion global viewers, was testament to that. Opinion polls showed the coun- try still largely believed in the he- reditary monarch as head of state. However, with her death, the monarchy's future is set to face scrutiny like never before. Some commentators say the British public, which had a strong attachment to the long-serving queen, may not feel the same to- ward Charles and polls suggest he is far less popular. The decision of Prince Harry, William's younger brother, and his American wife Meghan, a for- mer actress, to give up their royal roles has also robbed the institu- tion of two of its most popular global figures, while their accusa- tions of racism against the insti- tution linger. The U.S. sex abuse civil lawsuit against second son Prince An- drew, which he paid to settle, has also inflicted damage on the fam- ily's reputation. Andrew denied any wrongdoing in the case brought by Virginia Giuffre, who accused him of sex- ually assaulting and battering her when she was a teenage victim of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The prince was not accused of crimi- nal wrongdoing. Family life and public duty At her side for nearly all her reign was her husband, who she credited with being her "strength and stay". "I was blessed that in Prince Philip I had a partner willing to carry out the role of consort and unselfishly make the sacrifices that go with it," she said in Feb- ruary 2022 when she marked 70 years on the throne. The couple had four children: Charles born in 1948, Anne in 1950, Andrew in 1960 and Ed- ward in 1964. She had eight grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. During much of her reign she was often upstaged for attention by three flamboyant women - her popular mother, Elizabeth the Queen Mother, her younger sis- ter Margaret and later Princess Diana. But the personal sorrow of los- ing her mother and sister - who died within weeks of each oth- er in her Golden Jubilee year of 2002 - helped the queen establish her own position, leaving her the undisputed matriarchal figure of the nation. Her working life included thou- sands of official engagements, varying from trips to schools and hospitals, to the grand ceremo- nies of state visits and national occasions. She was famous for wearing brightly coloured outfits with a matching hat on royal engage- ments, to ensure she stood out from the crowds on her many "walkabouts". "I have to be seen to be believed," she is said to have quipped. When she was hospitalised in March 2013 with symptoms of gastroenteritis, it was the first time she had needed hospital treatment in a decade. It was not until October 2021 that she next spent a night in hos- pital, and she doggedly carried on with light duties even after test- ing positive for COVID in Febru- ary the following year. Her enduring importance was demonstrated at the start of the pandemic in 2020. With an anxious nation under a rigorous lockdown, the gov- ernment turned to the queen to provide reassurance in a televised broadcast. Usually she gave such addresses only in her annual Christmas broadcast. The queen had a few notable security scares. In 1981, a Brit- ish youth fired blank shots near her during the military Trooping the Colour ceremony. Her horse shied but she was unhurt. The same year, a "severely dis- turbed" teenager tried to assassi- nate the monarch while she was on a visit to New Zealand but he missed with his rifle shot. In July 1982, an unemployed labourer called Michael Fagan made his way into her Bucking- ham Palace bedroom. He spoke briefly to Elizabeth, who was in her nightclothes, be- fore being hauled off by security guards. The future "It has been said that 'the art of progress is to preserve order amid change and change amid order', and in this the queen is unparalleled," then-Prime Min- ister David Cameron said in a speech to parliament in 2012. "She has never shut the door on the future; instead, she has led the way through it." The queen's family and Britain's political elite spoke in admiration of her ability to adapt without losing any of the dignity of her role. The future success of the mon- archy could depend on how much Britons admire the next person on the throne. "Monarchy is only as good as the people doing the job," said royal biographer Robert Lacey, who was historical consultant to the Netflix drama "The Crown". "We are essentially, when you look at the structure and the way the country runs, a republic with this glorious bauble that we all enjoy on top. And we can always unscrew the bauble any time we want." Elizabeth herself set out her life's goal at an early age. "I declare before you all," she said in a 21st birthday broadcast, "that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family." Britain's King Charles III and his three siblings stood vigil over their mother's coffin at St Giles' Cathedral, in Edinburgh