Before her death on September 8, 2022, Queen Elizabeth II was the epitome of “soft power ‘’.The queen’s position, which she inherited in 1952 was extremely reduced in terms of power and authority, meaning she didn’t have as much power.
In spite of most of the queen’s achievements being behind the scenes, most of them were significant considering that she managed to do all the accomplishments without direct authority.
Some of Queen Elizabeth II’s most notable accomplishments are;
THE QUEEN’S SERVICE IN WORLD WAR II
When World War II broke out in 1939, Princess Elizabeth was only 13 years old. When Buckingham Palace was bombed during the Blitz in 1940, her father King George VI and his wife, Elizabeth, remained with the rest of the population, but the princesses Elizabeth and Margaret were evacuated to Windsor Castle.
In 1945, when she was 18, Elizabeth was given permission to join the military effort. She joined the Women’s Auxiliary Territory Service (ATS), and trained for six weeks as an auto mechanic. The war came with several risks with at least 335 members of the ATS being killed.
The young princess gained popularity from her dedication and willingness to serve her nation.
HER EFFORTLESS CHARITY WORK
One of Queen Elizabeth’s greatest achievements was the amount of effort she put into supporting various charities, with the Guardian arguing that she did more for charity than any other monarch in history.
According to Borgen Magazine, the queen supported more than 600 charities in Britain. She made it a special focus of her life to help reduce poverty. Acting as a royal patron to charities helps focus public attention, and allows the monarch and her family members to host fundraisers.
Queen Elizabeth was careful to pass her patronage on to other family members to ensure that these charities always have the backing of the monarchy.
PROVIDING FOR A STABLE MONARCH
One of Queen Elizabeth’s greatest achievements was providing a stable monarch after the long period of uncertainty during King George VI’s reign.
As reported by CBS News, her uncle King Edward VIII abdicated when she was just 10 years old, throwing the crown into shambles.
While George VI solved the immediate crisis of confidence by taking the crown, his kingdom was quickly sucked into World War II. London was bombed, and according to Britannica, there were real fears that the island might be invaded by Germany.
Just as the country was rebounding from the war, King George VI died, leaving 25-year-old Elizabeth to take the crown.
GUIDING THE COMMONWEALTH TRANSFORMATION
By the time Elizabeth ascended to the throne in 1952, the British Empire was already in rapid decline. As explained by The Imperial War Museums, prior to World War II, Britain had maintained a vast empire of colonial holdings and a reputation as a world power.
As noted by Politico, at its height, the British Empire held 57 colonies or other territories comprising about a quarter of the land mass of the world. But after teetering on the verge of total defeat and emerging into a new world dominated by the United States, Britain found its empire too expensive and difficult.
A rapid list of former colonies began breaking away and declaring themselves independent states, beginning with India in 1947. Although the process of establishing what’s known as the Commonwealth began in the late 19th century, according to Britannica, it fell to Queen Elizabeth II to guide the country through a rapid acceleration of the process. When she was crowned, the Commonwealth had eight member states. Today there are 54.
MODERNIZATION OF THE MONARCHY
When Queen Elizabeth’s father, King George VI, took the throne after her uncle’s abdication, there was no certainty that the monarchy would survive.
In the early 20th century, it seemed like the British monarchy would be swept away like so many others. While King George VI provided a period of stability that forestalled any thought of abolishing the monarchy, Queen Elizabeth was the one who saved it.
Britannica explains that she stabilized the royal family’s position with her willingness to modernize and embrace change. After coming to a realization that her subjects needed to see the royal family as approachable, she appeared on television regularly and spoke directly to the people.
She also embraced new technology and sent out the first royal tweet in 2014, making her the first monarch to record her annual Christmas message on film
SHE MADE THE SUCCESSION MORE EQUITABLE
Although it’s true that the queen didn’t introduce or vote on legislation and is expected to be very politically neutral, her influence was still undeniable.
Not only did she have to confer her ceremonial approval of all new laws, but she also represented a continuous line of experience stretching back to the 1950s.
That’s a significant achievement, as it ended centuries of English history of the eldest son of a monarch being heir to the throne even if he had an older sister.
As noted by BBC News, It also allowed the monarch to marry a Roman Catholic if they absolutely must even though the monarch is still not allowed to actually be a Roman Catholic.
SHE WAS THE FIRST BRITISH MONARCH TO ADDRESS CONGRESS
Considering the close history of the U.S. and U.K. Queen Elizabeth II’s greatest achievements came in 1991, more than two centuries after the U.S. won independence from the British Empire.
According to the Los Angeles Times, that year she became the first British monarch to address a joint session of the United States Congress. As noted by The New York Times, her speech was a huge success — from a joke about her height to the three standing ovations she received, she charmed the American politicians.
The two countries share a language and a great deal of history and culture, and the Queen’s speech centered on continuing cooperation and a unity of interests.
HER VISIT TO THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND IN 2011
The Queen was the first monarch to make an official visit to the island since its independence. As noted by Yahoo! News, her somber appearance at the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin was a sensation in Ireland.
She placed a wreath at the monument to those who died fighting the U.K. for Irish freedom and bowed her head respectfully. Many Irish took this as a subtle signal that the Queen acknowledged her own country’s misdeeds.
According to The Guardian, the trip and the gesture made Queen Elizabeth II incredibly popular in a country that typically despised the monarchy as a former oppressor.
THE 1969 TELEVISION DOCUMENTARY
Town and Country reports that in 1968, Queen Elizabeth II made the remarkable decision to allow a documentary film crew to follow her and her family around for over two months.
The filmmakers had unprecedented access to the private family life of the queen, and produced an infamous two-hour documentary called “The Royal Family” which is History records that it aired in England on June 21, 1969.
In an effort to change the royal family’s bad image and humanize it, the queen so it thoughtful to film the documentary which was an absolute success.
SHE REFORMED THE MONARCHY’S FINANCE
One of the main reasons that would make one want to do away with the monarchy is the fact that it’s expensive. BBC news reports that the government of the United Kingdom pays the royal family about £86 million every year for its upkeep and the expenses.
One reason for Queen Elizabeth’s popularity was how she adapted to the will of the people. One of her great achievements was the quiet way she reformed the monarchy’s finances to deal with criticism.
SUPPORTING RACIAL JUSTICE IN THE COMMONWEALTH
One of the great and often overlooked achievements of the queen was the quiet work she did over the years to support racial equality and advancement in the world.
In 1961, she danced with the president of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah, a Black man. This outraged many racists both in her kingdom and the larger Commonwealth, but the queen was resolute in her support of equality. And she worked behind the scenes to get the Commonwealth to condemn South Africa’s apartheid system, only to be stymied by her prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, who opposed the statement for reasons both personal and political.
According to The Washington Post, the queen also supported the Black Lives Matter movement. While the royal family as a whole has been accused of holding racist attitudes — including by Prince Harry and the Duchess of Sussex, as reported by CNBC — some have noted that these criticisms often seem not to include the queen herself.
SERVING THE LONGEST IN ENGLISH MONARCH HISTORY
When the queen died on 8thSeptember, 2022, she had served for 70 years, making her the longest serving English monarch in history.
Not only did Elizabeth’s long reign translate to tremendous stability for the United Kingdom but also made Elizabeth II the second-longest reigning monarch in the world’s history after King Louis –a.k.a the Sun King.
Unlike the queen who took the crown when she was only 25 and was firmly in control, King Louis XIV ascended to the throne when he was only 4 years old. Britannica reports that King Louis XIV was 76 when he died .He spent much of his early reign as a neglected child and an impoverished king whose crown was under assault by rebellious nobles.
BY STACY ODHIAMBO