65 Years Strong Her Majesty & The Monarchy

The Queen Has Been Quietly Letting Go of a Number of Her Duties

- Judy Kean

It’s yet another remarkable milestone in the record-breaking reign of Her Majesty the Queen. Last week marked the 65th anniversary of her coronation in June 1953, but it passed without any major celebrations.

The Queen, whose investiture as monarch was held 16 months after succeeding her father, King George VI on his death, is said to prefer to remember such events with some “quiet reflection” at home.

But what the anniversary has done is raise speculation yet again that she may not be sovereign for much longer. There’s been so much talk about the Queen stepping down from her role that bookies in the UK have slashed the odds on her abdicating from 5-1 to 2-1.

Harry Aitkenhead from betting agency Corals says, “This year has been, and will continue to be, a monumental year for the royal family and while the Queen shows no signs of slowing down at the moment, there is every chance she may choose to step down and spend more time with her family.”

Her Majesty’s husband Prince Philip, who has just turned 97, is getting increasingly frail, and it would come as no surprise if she wanted to spend more time with him. He retired from public duties last year and seeing him leading a more relaxed life may be tempting her to do the same.

Many people insist the 92-year-old monarch will never abdicate, but she could apply a “get-out” clause that would enable her heir Prince Charles (69) to reign while she is still alive, so she could effectively retire. The Regency Act of 1937 has a section that says someone else can take over “in the event of incapacity of the sovereign through illness, and for the performance of certain royal functions in the name and on behalf of the sovereign in certain other events”.