Her Majesty was 101 years of age and had been suffering from a cough and a chest infection since Christmas. Her health had been diminishing over that period of time although her passing on was unexpected.
Her Majesty was arguably the most loved member of our royal family. Although her death was inevitable, especially due to her advanced age of 101, it is shocking to learn of her death as her energy, even at her age, appeared to mean a practically endless life. She will be missed in Canada as in the rest of the Commonwealth over which she reigned as Queen Consort to her husband from 1936 to 1952.
Her life is one of mystique and of fantasy: the life of a commoner who became Queen of the United Kingdom, much by accident.
She was born during the end of the Victorian era, on August 4, 1900. She was born Elizabeth Angela-Marguerite Bowes-Lyon, a commoner despite roots to the Royal House of Scotland. Her father was Lord Glamis, and she was born at Glamis Castle in Scotland, once the home of Macbeth. She was the ninth child of ten.
On April 26, 1923, she wed the second son of King George V and Queen Mary: His Royal Highness Prince Albert, the Duke of York, at Westminster Abbey. In 1926, she gave birth to a daughter who inherited her name, Princess Elizabeth, and she bore a second child in 1930, Princess Margaret. Her life seemed unrelated to the Crown at that point but two events shocked Britain in the year 1936 that would change her life and the course of history.
In January of 1936, the King died. Then soon after, her brother-in-law, now King Edward VIII, abdicated to wed an American divorcee, Wallis Simpson. This event shocked the world and stained the reputation and credibility of the royal family. It was up to the Duke of York and Elizabeth to rebuild trust in the monarchy. They were crowned as King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in May of 1937.
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