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Elizabeth II died in September 2022, at the age of 96.
She came to the throne
in 1952 when she was just 25 years old. She was queen for over seventy
years, and only the oldest people in Britain can remember life without
her. It was Britain's New
Elizabethan age, and it's now over.
She was born before the age of television. When she was young, few people had cars, very few people had flown in an aeroplane, few people had telephones, and nobody had a computer. It was a different age.
Elizabeth II was the older daughter of King George VI. As a teenager she lived through the Second World War, when she trained as a nurse and as a mechanic.
Her father died suddenly at a young age in 1952. At the time Princess Elizabeth (as she was called) was on a trip to Africa. She was just 25 and had two young children, Charles and Anne.
Her coronation took place in Westminster Abbey, London, on 2nd June 1953. It was the first big event to be shown live on television to viewers around Britain, and live on radio around the world.
When she became Queen in 1952, her first prime minister was Winston Churchill. For over 70 years, she was Britain's head of state. She was also head of the Commonwealth, and the head of state of several Commonwealth countries, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand and other smaller nations.
As head of state, she took an active part in life, meeting with her prime ministers every week, and undertaking thousands of official functions. She was head of state, but she played no part in politics, and had to remain strictly neutral in all circumstances. It was not an easy life, but she did not think of retiring when she reached the age of 65. She continued with her official business until two days before her death.
For most of her life she was very popular with people in Britain and around the world. There was a period in the 1990s, after the death of Princess Diana, when she lost some of her popularity, but her difficult years did not last long
In 2002 she celebrated her Golden Jubilee, marking 50 years on the throne. After that, she remained popular, indeed very popular, for the rest of her life. She was like a national figurehead, the nation's grandmother. People liked her, and more importantly they respected her. As head of state, she was so much better than any politician!
Even though she has now left us, she will continue to be present in British life for many years to come. Her head is on banknotes and coins, her initials E II R are on red letterboxes all over the country, her name has been given to London's newest underground railway line, and her image is in millions of photos taken over the past 96 years.
Elizabeth II marked an age in Britain, just as her great-grandmother Queen Victoria did in the 19th century. Only a few kings and queens have ever done that, in Britain or anywhere else.
century: period of 100 years - flown : from to fly, to go through the sky - nurse: person who helps sick people - coronation: official ceremony when a new monarch is officially appointed - event: occasion - viewer: spectator - several: a number of - remain: stay, be - neutral: without expressing an opinion - retire: stop working - Jubilee: festival - throne: the official seat of the king or queen.
This article, and exercises to accompany it are now included in the new Linguapress paperback collection of B1-B2 intermediate reading texts, A Background to English, available from Amazon worldwide and leading bookstores, including Barnes & Noble and Waterstones.
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Worksheet
Verbs : most of the verbs have been omitted from this extract from the article. Replace them from memory if you can.
Queen Elizabeth II,
who in September 2022, one
of the best-known people in the world. She a life
that
almost a century, and a
century of enormous change.
She was before the age of television. When she young, few people cars, very few people had in an aeroplane, few people telephones, and nobody had a computer. It a different age.
Elizabeth II was the older daughter of King George VI. As a teenager she through the Second World War, when she as a nurse and as a mechanic.
Her father suddenly at a young age in 1952. At the time Princess Elizabeth (as she was ) was on a trip to Africa. She was just 25 and two young children, Charles and Anne.
Her coronation place in Westminster Abbey, London, on 2nd June 1953. It was the first big event to be live on television to viewers around Britain, and live on radio around the world.
When she Queen in 1952, her first prime minister Winston Churchill.
She was before the age of television. When she young, few people cars, very few people had in an aeroplane, few people telephones, and nobody had a computer. It a different age.
Elizabeth II was the older daughter of King George VI. As a teenager she through the Second World War, when she as a nurse and as a mechanic.
Her father suddenly at a young age in 1952. At the time Princess Elizabeth (as she was ) was on a trip to Africa. She was just 25 and two young children, Charles and Anne.
Her coronation place in Westminster Abbey, London, on 2nd June 1953. It was the first big event to be live on television to viewers around Britain, and live on radio around the world.
When she Queen in 1952, her first prime minister Winston Churchill.
For Teachers
Verbs: Note the number of irregular verbs that are used in this article.Note also that most of the verbs in this text are in the simple past tense. Now that the Queen has died, her life is no longer part of present time, so instead of writing "Elizabeth II is the elder daughter...", as we could have done until September 2022, we now have to write "Elizabeth II was..." Until she died, we would have written "Elizabeth II has been queen of England..."; from now on we have to write "Elizabeth II was queen of England"
Note: there is a tradition of saying "Queen of England"; this is an abbreviation; Elizabeth II was really "Queen of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland...." and a lot more too. It is unusual to write "The Queen of Britain", though it is not unusual to find the expression "the British monarch".
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