On September 8th, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom died at the age of 96. The queen was beloved by many all across the world. Grazia states “The UK will partake in a 10-day mourning period and only the day of the Queen’s funeral will be considered a national holiday.” Queen Elizabeth reigned for 70 years and was the only ruler most people of the United Kingdom have ever had. However, what some people may not know is that she wasn’t originally supposed to be queen.

According to Britannica, Elizabeth’s uncle, King Charles VII, renounced the throne in order to marry Wallis Simpson whom he was in love with. The throne then fell to Elizabeth’s father, King George VI, who ruled for 16 years until he died after failing to recover from a lung operation. At age 25, Elizabeth assumed the throne. 

The queen was always trying to bring people together. In fact, according to History.com, she visited Germany and was the “first official visit from British royalty since 1913”. Her visit helped to reunite Germany and England after World War II. 

Her Majesty was also a queen of the people. In 1970, Queen Elizabeth decided to go against royal tradition and walked near her people, instead of waving from a car or building. This became known as the first “walkabout” which is now a popular practice among British royalty. 

Now Queen Elizabeth’s son, Charles has been appointed to the throne and is king. Even though Elizabeth has passed away, there are still many people who carry on her legacy.