The Queen’s later years were partly dominated by royal matters, from State Openings of Parliament to greeting heads of state, royal visits and the inevitable Red Boxes of papers, but more so by family.
Some family events were gloriously happy, some worrying, some sad, some terrible. Throughout, the Queen took it in her stride.
In 1996, she turned 70. It was low-key, even if special commemorative coins were issued. Charles and Diana, plus Andrew and Sarah, had divorced, and the royals were keeping their heads down.
A year later, turmoil erupted when Princess Diana was tragically killed in a car crash in Paris. Initially insisting on the family staying at Balmoral, the Queen and her advisors badly misjudged the mood of large sections of the British public. She was effectively forced to return to London, fly the Buckingham Palace flag at half-mast and make an extraordinary TV appearance praising the “People’s Princess”.
Popular pressure also forced Princes William and Harry to make their grief public by walking behind their mother’s funeral hearse. Some argue that Harry never got over the trauma and this led him to rejecting his role decades later.
Heartbreaking tragedy: Grieving young princes William and Harry, alongside their dad Charles, following the coffin en route to their mother Diana’s funeral on September 6, 1997.
The Queen shed a tear later that year when her beloved Royal Yacht Britannia was decommissioned. And there was physical pain in 1998 when she had to have her left hip replaced.
For Her Majesty, 2002 was a bittersweet year of both loss and joy. On February 9, her sister Princess Margaret died. Weeks later, on March 30, the Queen Mother sadly passed. But it was also the year of her Golden Jubilee, with celebrations across the Commonwealth culminating in a pop concert at Buckingham Palace. The band Queen played on the rooftop. She and Philip donned earplugs.
Seen here at Trooping the Colour in June 1995, Her Majesty’s sister Margaret and the Queen Mother both died in 2002.
That year also saw Her Majesty strangely involved in the trial of Paul Burrell, Diana’s former butler, who had been accused of stealing thousands of items from Diana’s old lodgings. Halfway through, the Queen remembered Paul saying he would place the pieces into safe-keeping. The trial promptly collapsed.
Three years later, the monarch chose not to attend Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles‘ wedding but offered her support by going to the church blessing and paying for the wedding breakfast. Years later, Camilla would be one of her closest advisors, becoming a member of the Privy Council, and last year announced she would be Queen Consort.
Charles and Camilla tying the knot at Windsor Castle on April 9, 2005.
In 2006, the Queen turned 80 and, a year later, she became the Commonwealth’s longest-lived monarch – breaking Victoria’s record – and the first British monarch to celebrate a diamond wedding.
In 2011, Her Majesty set other records. As well as the first UK Sovereign to visit Ireland in more than 100 years, she was the first to meet a former IRA commander – laying Mountbatten’s memory to rest – and the first to visit the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.
It was also a year of personal happiness, the highlight being William marrying Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey. The new Duchess of Cambridge went on to give birth to Prince George in 2013, Princess Charlotte (2015) and Prince Louis (2018). The succession is assured.
Also in 2011, there was more joy for the Queen as Zara Phillips, Princess Anne‘s daughter, married rugby player Mike Tindall. Zara gave birth to Mia in 2014, Lena (2018) and Lucas (2021).
The Queen celebrated her Diamond Jubilee in 2012, the huge success of which was only marred by Philip being hospitalised with a bladder infection. The monarch even found time for a 007 film cameo at that year’s London Olympic Games. “Good evening, Mr Bond,” she said, before appearing to parachute into the stadium!
Diamond Jubilee joy: Celebrating 60 years on the throne at Buckingham Palace in 2012, the Queen gave a hint of the monarchy to come, appearing on the balcony with (from left) Camilla, Charles, William, Kate and Harry, instead of the entire family.
On September 9, 2015, the Queen overtook Victoria to become the longest-reigning British monarch, although she said the record was “not one to which I have ever aspired.”
Turning 90 in 2016, Her Majesty became the world’s longest-reigning living monarch and a year later, the first British monarch to mark 65 years on the throne. Soon after, Philip announced his surprise retirement at 96.
The Queen and Philip travel down The Mall in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach after attending the State Opening of Parliament on May 27, 2015 in London.
He was persuaded by the Queen in give up driving three years later, aged 97, after being blinded by sunlight and crashing his Land Rover into a car near the Sandringham estate. Two women in the other vehicle received minor injuries. Philip was shaken but unhurt.
There were many happy family occasions over the next few years, including the weddings of grandchildren Prince Harry, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, and the births of their children.
But in the Queen’s last years, she had to contend with the deeply upsetting scandal surrounding Andrew, forcing him to step back from all royal duties and give up his HRH status and military affiliations.
At the same time, she was negotiating a deal with Harry and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, after they left their senior royal roles and moved to the US. The whole family was shaken by the interview the couple gave to Oprah Winfrey, but the Queen made time to see the pair on a brief visit to the UK in June.
The last two years of her life were largely spent at Windsor Castle, where she moved to isolate with Philip after the pandemic broke out in 2020. The televised speech she gave encouraging Brits to stay strong was regarded as one of the most crucial moments of her reign.
The official Canadian portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was taken at Windsor Castle in 2019.
Earlier this year, it was revealed the Queen had Covid, but she seemed to make a full recovery. However, increasing health concerns made it clear that her age was starting to catch up with her.
