Elizabeth II has been cautiously holding her crown and the entire monarchy

for seven decades

How has he managed to reign for so long in the midst of questioning at
different times? Expert professors explain it here

Por:
Lizeth Escobar

6 de febrero, 2022 - 05h10

At the age of 25, Elizabeth II began a reign that is seven decades old
today and is the longest that a British monarch has achieved in the United
Kingdom. During these seventy years on the throne, the queen has been the
protagonist and witness of events that have marked the history of her
country and the world. From the media impact of her coronation to the death
of her husband, Prince Philip of Edinburgh, after 74 years of marriage,
going through the wars in the Falklands, Iraq and Afghanistan, the death of
Diana of Wales or Brexit, her reign It has been full of moments of great
personal, social and political transcendence.
For the queen, this date represents a double memory: the death of her
father, King George VI, in 1952, and his accession to the throne; although
the official celebrations, with street parties or the traditional mass in
London, will take place between June 2 and 5.
“Despite the various scandals that have plagued her family over the years,
the latest being the sexual abuse allegations against Prince Andrew, Queen
Elizabeth has managed to sustain the monarchy thanks in large part to her
high approval ratings. and admiration among the British”, says Rhys Davies,
British academic and coordinator of the Cocisoh English Department at the
Universidad San Francisco de Quito.
Davies mentions that people in Britain, at least the majority, have a
special respect and affection for the monarch due to her skillful handling
of her role and her drive to put duty above personal matters.

“The queen, with her example of dedication and service to the country,
represents values to which the British attach great importance: continuity,
national unity, caution and political stability. And I suspect that it is
because of Queen Elizabeth's leadership for nearly 70 years that the
monarchy remains popular with the vast majority in the UK."
The queen, mother of four children -Carlos, Ana, Andrés and Eduardo-, with
eight grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren, has seen fourteen
British prime ministers -from Winston Churchill to Boris Johnson- and has
met twelve US presidents of the last thirteen that the country has had.
Óscar Recio Morales, historian, professor at the Complutense University of
Madrid and expert on the British crown, comments that Elizabeth II has
experienced crucial moments in her long reign, which can be classified as
professional (her work as monarch) and personal.
La reina Isabel II, cuando aún era princesa, en 1947.
“Elizabeth II came to the throne in 1952, with little or no political
experience, and had to confront the likes of Winston Churchill and Margaret
Thatcher. (...) He has followed his constitutional position in the Kingdom
to the letter. This position of neutrality is very important in one of the
oldest parliamentary monarchies in the world”, he says.
And from a personal point of view, "the recent death of her husband,
Felipe, has been a great emotional blow, much more than the scandals
amplified by the yellow press." "The queen served as a young man in World
War II and Buckingham Palace was bombed more than seven times by German
aircraft, with Elizabeth's parents inside. Her son Charles, Prince of
Wales, was born in 1948, when food was still rationed in Britain, and
butter, oil, meat, sugar, margarine and eggs could only be bought with
ration cards. , so he says that you must imagine that the queen has seen
almost everything, and that her most important moments are many and very
different

La reina Isabel II junto a su esposo, el principe Felipe, y sus hijos Anna y Carlos en 1951.
Foto: ARCHIVO

His role and his family have not been exempt from controversy and
criticism. For example, the finances of the royal house are a subject of
controversy, since, by law, they cannot be audited nor are they available
to the public. And although the queen is not obliged to pay taxes, she has
been doing so voluntarily since 1993 on her private income.
However, British sympathy for the queen remains very high. His presence and
longevity at the head of the United Kingdom have helped to ward off
Republican leanings.
Recio mentions another point of the crown: it is a machine to generate
money for the British taxpayer. In 2017 an outside consultant estimated the
monarchy's value at more than £67 billion; this includes the 25,000 million
pounds that add the royal palaces and the crown jewels. The rest (42,000
million) would be the "intangible" value of the monarchy. In that year, the
monarchy cost British taxpayers almost £5 a year each, but the crown
generated £1,766 million in direct revenue for the state, or a taxpayer
surplus of £1,474 million. This includes, for example, the 50 million
pounds generated by the media and film industry that have the royal family
as the protagonist, or the more than 500 million pounds generated by
tourism that the institution is capable of to attract the UK from all over
the world. "Let's remember that the British are very pragmatic: the
monarchy exists in Britain because it is useful."

The queen, who also holds the title of Defender of the Faith, which
registers her as head of the Anglican Church, from the day of her
coronation, she is also the head of state of 16 Commonwealth countries, but
in a nominal capacity. .
The same happens in the United Kingdom, where it is the highest authority,
although with nominal powers that are also exercised through the Government
and its ministers, subject to the laws of the two houses of Parliament,
since the country does not have a codified constitution. Its functions are
limited to investing honors, dissolving Parliament and appointing the prime
minister.
However, the sovereign is still interested in political affairs. All of his
prime ministers have praised his preparation and mastery of political
issues, both domestic and international, as well as the sharpness of his
observations.
She is also the head of state who has visited the most countries. He has
traveled more than a million miles (1.6 million kilometers) on official
travel and has visited 106 of the 194 United Nations countries.
However, in failing health with advancing age, the queen has cut back on
her public engagements since late 2021. And a future without her is cause
for concern.

Prince Andrew faces big decisions with few good options.

Davies points out that Prince Charles is not as popular or loved by the
British as his mother. “He is a divisive and controversial figure, who, I
believe, would be incapable of maintaining impartiality and neutrality on
political issues as his mother has done. Many commentators on British
royalty also believe that Charles is too old-fashioned in his ways to lead
the modernization process that the monarchy must face in the coming
decades. Prince Charles, and then William, will have to make a lot of
merits in their reigns to maintain the relevance of the role of the
monarchy and, thus, guarantee its continuity. I believe that this
institution will endure after the death of Elizabeth II, but the threat of
a referendum on the future of the monarchy, at some point, cannot be
completely ruled out."
While Recio sees a problem if he comes to the throne: “Over the years,
Carlos has given his opinion on some issues that have caused great
controversy. As is known, he has spent years writing letters to members of
the Government and Parliament known as 'the black spider memos'. In them he
has written about environmental problems or even about the poor equipment
of British soldiers in Iraq