We Mourn A Monarch Who Transformed Our Nation

Elizabeth II bequeaths a monarchy and a nation transformed from those she inherited as a young princess in 1952 – and transformed for the better.

She saw more than a dozen prime ministers, from Churchill to Boris Johnson – and most recently, Liz Truss – come into power, as well as a similar number of US presidents and countless other heads of state.

Her rule falls easily into the line of historic reigns that includes those of the first Elizabeth and Victoria, and into a tradition of selfless service epitomised by her father – George VI – and grandfather – George V. Indeed, in the long and not always glittering pantheon of the monarchy, she ranks highly indeed.

Not least among her achievements was to act as a unifying symbol to a nation that has faced its share of trauma and terror. Seven decades ago and more, Britain was a white, deferential, class-ridden society embarking upon a long, genteel journey of relative economic and diplomatic decline. Many Britons, interviewed for Mass Observation in 1953, believed that the new Queen had not even been born as normal humans are. Today we know rather more about the royal family than we might care to – and that they are all too human.

The “New Elizabethan age” fancied by many in 1953, with pioneering developments in air transport, space exploration and science and technology to rival the achievements of Drake and Raleigh, quickly soured. Economic failure at home and military failures abroad, with a sometimes chaotic and bloody retreat from empire, were difficult to adjust to.

By the time of Elizabeth’s silver jubilee in 1977, her realm had become the economic sick man of Europe. Her image was defaced with a safety pin on a Sex Pistols record cover. The age of deference had truly expired.