During her seven decades of service to her country as head of state, Isabel II He has been a key figure in the history of the United Kingdom, Europe and the world of the last century and this. This week he received in the traditional besamanos the new prime minister, Liz Truss. Before the premiere, the sovereign presided over the hearings of 14 leaders; and she met with 13 US presidents.
The Queen came to the throne 70 years ago, in 1952, following the death of her father, King George VI, from lung cancer. Elizabeth II’s proclamation ceremony took place a year later, in 1953, in Westminster Abbey, with the presence of three million people packed in the surrounding area.
Recognized as sovereign in Australia, Canada and head of the Commonwealth of Nations, Elizabeth II is history. She has dispatched with 15 British Prime Ministers, from Winston Churchillwith whom he maintained friendship and admiration, until Boris Johnson and the recent Truss. 12 men and 3 women, one of them, Margaret Thatcher (from 1979 to 1990).
The strictly professional relationship between the monarch and the almighty Iron Lady was marked by a lack of tuning and zero chemistry. They tolerated each other. The strict social policies of the conservative made Isabel II’s hair stand on end, enemy of altercations and revolts. The serious mining strikes of 1984 marked some very convulsive years in a country that was torn apart by what was the longest industrial conflict in trade unionism.
Despite her lack of harmony, the sovereign presided over Thatcher’s funeral in 2013. It was the first time she had attended the funeral of a prime minister since Churchill’s death in 1965.
The daughter of George VI adds another equally impressive milestone: since her coronation, the monarch has spoken with 13 US presidents, from Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton o Barack Obama until Joe Biden. Including, of course, the charismatic John Kennedy. The president and his wife Jackie shared a historic dinner in Buckingham in June 1961.
The surprising kiss on the lips that he gave her remains to be remembered. Jimmy Carter in 1977; the baseball game he watched with H.W. Bush in 1991; or the emotional photo album that she gave him Obama with portraits of his father, George VI, on his visit to the US. To forget, the huge protocol error of Donald Trump in Windsor, who was 12 minutes late to meet the Queen on a state visit in 2018. She, 92, was unfazed. She waited standing and in the sun. The disastrous image of Trump walking, indolent, in front of the Queen, as if ignoring her, while they reviewed the Honor Guard, went around the world (bottom photo).
The sovereign has also met with the president Biden. The first meeting took place in June 2021. Joe Biden and the first lady, Jill BidenThey met at Windsor Castle.
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