But despite an unprecedented seven decades of service, we won’t see the usual fanfare just yet.
The most we might anticipate is a new image or message to mark the significance of this particular milestone. Formal military salutes are slated for the following day — Monday — as is traditional.
This weekend’s landmark moment emphasizes a familiar dilemma for the monarchy: commemorating the unwavering commitment of the sovereign but recognizing the personal loss. It’s something in which the institution is well practiced, but which remains as sensitive as ever.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson summed it up this week, saying in the House of Commons that “while it is a moment for national celebration, it will be a day of mixed emotions for Her Majesty,” before expressing his gratitude for her “tireless service.”
The last time Elizabeth saw her father was as she and Philip set off for a Commonwealth tour in 1952.
Her family had turned up at the airport to see the couple off, with the King cheering her on from the tarmac. Days later, while the pair were in Kenya, she received devastating news — her father, who was only 56, had died in his sleep from a coronary thrombosis.
“Significantly, we do have to remember that when she came to the throne in 1952, it was really not a very enlightened time in terms of working women,” said CNN historian and royal expert Kate Williams. “A lot of people thought that a woman wasn’t up to the job despite the fact that Queen Victoria and all the queens before had been great queens on the throne.”
Williams added that she “really has proved, over and over again, that a woman can do the job of a constitutional monarch, just as well as, if not better than, a man.”
This weekend, the Queen will probably be reflecting on her father’s legacy and how his reign helped define her own.
Like her, Albert Frederick Arthur George — or Bertie, as he was known to the family — was not born to be monarch. That was the job of his older brother, who became King Edward VIII when their father died in 1936.
But that all changed when Bertie stepped up to take his sibling’s place, after Edward abdicated so that he could marry Wallis Simpson. It’s a part of royal history we all know well, having been immortalized for the screen in movies like “The King’s Speech” and shows like “The Crown.”
Inheriting a monarchy in crisis, Bertie opted for the regal name George VI in a nod to his father and to establish continuity between their reigns. As historian Jane Ridley said in CNN original series “The Windsors: Inside the Royal Dynasty,” George’s challenge was “to restore the monarchy to something like the stability that it had before his brother sat on the throne.”
And despite reportedly never wanting the top job, George VI upheld the crown through scandal and war. Upon news of his death, US President Harry Truman said George VI had “shared to the end of his reign all the hardships and austerities which evil days imposed on the brave British people. In return, he received from the people of the whole Commonwealth a love and devotion which went beyond the usual relationship of a King and his subjects.”
The Queen is known to have been particularly close to her father, and she may have inherited her indefatigable work ethic and practice of putting duty before self from him.
The unwavering and revered figurehead of the House of Windsor will want to put the family’s recent rifts and scandals aside.
“There’s going to be some surprises up their sleeve, really the palace are aware just as much as everybody, as this has been a long time coming, no one’s really been able to party for quite a long time, so hopefully there’s going to be a big party. Covid will be behind us and people can celebrate outdoors and indoors in the way they like,” Williams said.
Prince Charles will probably play a major role during the nationwide festivities, as will Camilla, William and Kate. As the future of the monarchy, they will be front and center alongside the Queen — a show of renewed strength from the institution.
And if all goes well, perhaps we’ll soon be looking to her next milestone, when the Queen would surpass France’s Louis XIV to become the longest-reigning monarch in world history.
(With reporting from CNN’s Robert Iddiols)
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PHOTOS OF THE WEEK
Huge crowds of royal fans lined the streets of Chinatown in London on Tuesday as Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall dropped by to celebrate the Lunar New Year. The pair were greeted with a display of dancing lions before embarking on a walkabout, visiting local shops and organizations. They also tried their hand at calligraphy after a demonstration from an expert, writing the Chinese symbol for “harmony.”
Later, the Prince of Wales joined a roundtable conversation with members of the local community on the impact of rising hate crime directed at the Chinese and wider East and Southeast Asian communities amid the pandemic. Separately, Charles released a message to those marking the new lunar year, saying, “As we enter the Year of The Tiger, known for courageous action and rising to challenge and adventure, I hope the whole world will make this a year of action.”
IN THE ROYAL DIARY
Charles to honor medieval Jewish figure.
The heir to the throne will next week unveil a statue in Winchester, the former ancient capital of England, Clarence House has announced. The new effigy is of Licoricia, a prominent businesswoman in the city’s Jewish community in the 13th century. Following the death of her second husband, David, she continued his business dealings and became a major financier to Henry III and his wife, Eleanor. She also used her substantial wealth to contribute to the construction of Westminster Abbey. Tragically, her life was cut short in 1277 when she was murdered under mysterious circumstances.
The new statue by renowned British sculptor Ian Rank-Broadley depicts the local personality holding her son’s hand. It will be installed on Jewry Street, where Licoricia is believed to have lived. The project hopes to educate people about Winchester’s royal medieval past and its little-known but important Jewish community, as well as to promote tolerance and diversity, which Licoricia is seen to symbolize.
FROM THE ROYAL VAULT
This week we’re dipping into the CNN archive to bring you this video segment from CNN’s David McKenzie. He spoke to Nahashon Muriithi, a retired porter from Kenya, who recalled his encounter with then-Princess Elizabeth shortly before she found out she would be queen. Have a watch…
DON’T MISS
As Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, the Queen is both a cherished and consistent part of public life — and her image is synonymous with stability and tradition to the British people. While her love of color and pops of pattern in her outfits is well known, there are much deeper reasons for why she dons such fabulously vibrant hues.
For example, did you know that the vivid color blocks for which she is famous are a deliberate choice, to help those of us who line the streets to see her? “She needs to stand out for people to be able to say ‘I saw the Queen,'” according to the Countess of Wessex in the 2016 documentary “The Queen at 90.” But don’t just take Sophie’s word — even the Queen once reportedly said: “I can never wear beige because nobody will know who I am.”
There is an art to dressing one of the most photographed women in history. Over her 70-year reign the Queen has amassed an army of staffers, but few have been trusted with the task of royal dressmaker.
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