Dean of the crowned heads of Europe, the sovereign died Thursday at the age of 96, crowned with immense popularity.

She lived through the Second World War, saw the dissolution of the British Empire and known 15 Prime Ministers, while embodying the stability of the State during her seven decades of reign.

The last photo of Elizabeth II showed her in a gray waistcoat and tartan skirt on Tuesday at her Scottish residence in Balmoral. She received Boris Johnson, who came to present his resignation, then Liz Truss, whom she officially appointed Prime Minister. She then appeared smiling, but very fragile, leaning on her cane.

From the former British colonies to Russia or China, where she was the first British monarch to have set foot, Elizabeth II has traveled a world subject to the upheavals of History, always dressed in colorful outfits, matching hat and handbag on the elbow, a uniform which allowed her to be seen by all despite her size (1m63). She was head of 15 states when she died.

If she stopped traveling abroad at the end of her reign, she tirelessly carried out her ceremonial duties in her kingdom, including in the days following the funeral of her husband Philip in April 2021. Without complaining about the task, very rarely revealing his emotions, and never his opinions.

– Queen by accident –

Born Elizabeth Alexandra Mary on April 21, 1926 in London, Princess “Lilibet”, blonde curls and cherub face, was not destined for the throne.

But at the end of 1936, her uncle Edward VIII abdicated, preferring to marry Wallis Simpson, a twice-divorced American. Elizabeth’s father, a shy and stuttering man, then becomes George VI.

Innocence is over. The little girl moves into the austere Buckingham Palace.

She is home schooled with her sister Margaret and will be ingesting an accelerated program in history and constitutional law. She is also learning French, a language she will speak fluently. Then, towards the end of the Second World War, she joined the reserve army, at 19, as a driver.

At the age of 21, she married the dashing officer Philip Mountbatten, son of Prince Andrew of Greece, in a ceremony that would make post-war Britain dream, still marked by deprivation.

On February 6, 1952, while on a trip to Kenya, she learned of her father’s death. Her life as a newlywed takes a completely different turn.

She immediately returned to the United Kingdom and was crowned on June 2, 1953, 40th monarch since William the Conqueror in 1066.

– Tireless –

Having become sovereign of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) at the age of 25, she promised her subjects “to be worthy of their trust throughout (his) life”.

Tireless, Elizabeth II honored at the age of 90 hundreds of commitments each year: inaugurations of all kinds, receptions at Buckingham, presentations of decorations or awards, each time showing a polite interest. But since October 2021, she had greatly reduced her activities after a very brief hospitalization.

With her four children, Charles, born in 1948, Anne, in 1950, Andrew, in 1960 and Edward, born in 1964, she is distant, in public at least.

This very religious and economical woman despite her immense fortune, embodies the stability within a family regularly mocked by the press.

She had to face many family crises, such as in 1992, which she nicknamed “Annus Horribilis”, when Charles, Anne and Andrew saw their respective couples explode and her Windsor Castle was engulfed in flames.

But her phlegm is also at the origin of the grievance that was made to her, when in 1997, at the death of Diana, she remained silent in her castle of Balmoral while the whole country cried.

– Politically neutral –

This misunderstanding between the public and the queen, for whom Diana is no longer part of the royal family since her divorce, constituted one of the most important crises for the monarchy.

The queen was able to make some concessions, finally delivering a televised address in memory of the Princess of Wales and accepting the remarriage of her son Charles with Camilla, even if she did not attend the ceremony.

In 2019, Andrew, often considered his favorite son, embarrassed the royal family because of his past friendship with American financier Jeffrey Epstein, which earned him particularly serious charges since the latter, suspected of having sexually exploited minors, committed suicide in prison. Andrew is forced to retire from public life and avoids a trial in the United States for sexual assault thanks to an amicable agreement.

Elizabeth II shows more affection for her eight grandchildren, including Charles and Diana’s sons, William and Harry. But in 2020, Harry distances himself from the royal family, leaving to live in California and accusing “the Firm”, nickname of royalty, of having lacked support and showed racism towards his wife Meghan, mixed race.

In 2021, the death of Philip, her “rock” and husband of seven decades, is one more ordeal for the queen, isolated in her Windsor castle where she lives for long months confined, in the midst of a coronavirus pandemic.

In October of the same year, she spent a night in the hospital and her doctors advised her to slow down. On their advice, the 95-year-old sovereign finally agrees to lighten her schedule. She resumes her commitments in early 2022 but tests positive for Covid-19 on February 20.

At the beginning of June, the British had celebrated for four days the 70 years of reign of Elizabeth II. She remained almost absent from this platinum jubilee, showing herself only twice briefly on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in front of tens of thousands of people.

– Familiar figure –

All these years, she keeps her opinions to herself, never giving an interview. No one knows, for example, what she thought of the choice of the British to vote for Brexit in 2016.

Receiving a weekly audience with the head of government, the queen observes strict political neutrality as it should. His Majesty – or “Ma’am” – reigns but does not rule.

His only displayed passions are horses and dogs, especially his dear corgis. Nonagenarian, she still rode on horseback, without a bomb but with a scarf protecting her gray hair.

His image is ubiquitous in the UK, from coins displaying his profile to figurines of him waving a gloved hand.

Not without humor, the queen knew how to play with this image as when she participated in a video with James Bond – interpreted by Daniel Craig -, on the occasion of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Or in a video featuring her drinking tea with Paddington Bear in June during the Jubilee.

Many Britons have known her all their lives and appreciated this familiar and reassuring figure. In the twilight of her reign, Elizabeth II was still at the top of the popularity polls of members of the royal family, clearly surpassing her eldest son and successor Charles.