It has been 60 years since Queen Elizabeth II assumed control of the British monarchy as a 25-year-old woman grieving the loss of her father. According to the Boston Globe, Queen Elizabeth marked her Diamond Jubilee Monday with a series of regional, national and international events that will continue throughout 2012.
Princess Elizabeth became queen after her father, King George VI, died of a fatal blood clot at the age of 56. She was staying at the Treetops resort in Kenya at the time with her husband, Prince Philip. She was not able to travel home until midnight the following day, and had to stop in North Africa to get a black mourning dress. She arrived in London the following day.
“By the sudden death of my dear father I am called to assume the duties and responsibilities of sovereignty,” Elizabeth said at her formal Accession ceremony on February 8, 1952. “My heart is too full for me to say more to you today than I shall always work, as my father did throughout his reign, to advance the happiness and prosperity of my peoples, spread as they are all the world over.”
Queen Elizabeth began the 6-month-long celebrations Monday, thanking Prince Philip for his “wonderful support and encouragement.” She also thanked the public, and said she planned to “dedicate myself anew to your service.”
She called on the British public to “give thanks for the great advances that have been made since 1952 and to look forward to the future with clear head and warm heart.”
Queen Elizabeth II is the second-longest serving monarch in British history, after Queen Victoria who reigned for more than 63 years.
