This line, delivered on Elizabeth II’s 21st birthday, defines her career like few others. Within five years, she would become Queen – and go on to be the longest-serving monarch in British history. Elizabeth II dedicated herself to lifelong service. This explains why she never resigned, as many of her younger contemporaries did. Between February 2013 and 19 June 2014, four European monarchs abdicated: Pope Benedict XVI of Vatican City; Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. King Albert II of Belgium; and King Juan Carlos I of Spain. Elizabeth, a devout Christian who rarely missed a Sunday in church, resisted the exodus because of the promise she made not only to her subjects but also to God. There is an indication of this at the end of her 21st birthday speech: “I shall not have the power to carry this resolution alone unless you join in it with me, as I now invite you to do: I know that the support you will be an uninterrupted given. God help me to fulfill my vow and God bless all of you who are willing to participate in it.” Even after her husband, Prince Philip, retired in 2017, Elizabeth continued with public duties and brought other family members to accompany her as needed. Days after Philip’s death in 2021, she resumed her official duties by appointing new ambassadors to the UK. Elizabeth understood the power of the media from a young age, and harnessing it was to become another key theme of her reign. This speech on her 21st birthday was recorded not only for radio but also for the emerging medium of television. At her coronation in 1953, she personally requested that cameras be allowed into Westminster Abbey to broadcast the ceremony live. People went out of their way to buy televisions so they could watch. It was a sacred moment that the public never got to see. they remembered where they were and who they were watching with. The Queen had inadvertently invented event television. All he wanted was for as many people as possible to feel a part of him. A quote often attributed to Elizabeth was that “you have to be seen to be believed.” He understood that it was not enough to go out in public, but he had to see her there. Television gave her a larger audience and when color was introduced, she wore brighter shades to stand out. Read more about the modernizing monarch here:
