Elizabeth II is dead: the United Kingdom mourns its beloved sovereign

The United Kingdom mourns its queen and its subjects find themselves incredulous as they utter the code words they never hoped to have to pronounce: “London bridge is fallen” . London Bridge has fallen.

Elizabeth II died , in her Scottish residence in Balmoral , where she had stayed in recent days due to a worsening of her health conditions and where family members reached her in a hurry for the last, poignant farewell. He was 96 years old, 70 of which he spent on the throne.

A record of longevity in power, surpassed in history only by Louis XIV of France, the Sun King.

Ascended to the throne in 1952 , on the death of her father George VI and five years after her wedding with Filippo Mountbatten , her beloved wife who died last year , with whom she had four children (Carlo, Anna, Andrea and Edorardo), Elisabetta - born Elizabeth Alexandra Mary - was the guide and reference point of the British people in the long series of events - shocking, revolutionary, difficult - that have followed one another since the end of the Second World War.

The post-war reconstruction, the Cold War, the sixties of the protest (at the beginning of which a visit to Sardinia was granted ), the crisis of the Falklands with Argentina, the social conflicts of the Thatcher era, the fall of the Wall of Berlin. And then the threat of jihadist terrorism, the wars in Afghanistan and the Middle East, Brexit, the Covid pandemic and, in recent months, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

Over the decades, under his reign, 15 premieres have succeeded one another in Downing Street, the latest Liz Truss, nominated at Balmoral, earlier this week . She, on the other hand, has always remained firmly on the throne.

The scepter held in his hands, despite everything. Including the scandals , which have always stirred the waters of the Windsor house. From the tumultuous marriage of Charles , his eldest son, with Lady Diana to their divorce, until her tragic death, in Paris in 1996.

From the involvement of his second son Andrea in the Epstein scandal to the rebellion of his nephew Harry , who "fled" to the United States after his wedding with Meghan Markle .

Elizabeth, as mentioned, was the oak , of the dynasty and of the nation. The strong woman who has never abandoned either her loved ones or her subjects. The sovereign who has been able to instill strength and courage even in the most difficult moments, with her gestures, her messages, the words spoken and those instead only whispered by the tabloids. A teacher of government - but also of style - who with her death now leaves the United Kingdom heartbroken, astonished, shocked .

Because the time has come: “London bridge is fallen”. The sovereign, who between the serious and the facetious in many defined immortal, has finally proved to be mortal.

Now it will be up to Carlo, who is 74 years old, to ascend the throne . But there is also William , second son of Carlo himself and of Lady D, second in line of succession. Elizabeth's favorite nephew. For many - very many - the most worthy heir to collect , together with his wife Kate and their three children, the future of the dynasty and, with it, the fate of the English monarchy .

(Unioneonline / lf)

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