Reign of a matriarch: Queen Elizabeth presided over grudging decolonisation
A painting of Queen Elizabeth visiting Enniskillen by Hector McDonnell.
The passing of Queen Elizabeth II even at the advanced age of 96 comes as a shock. She was the personification of constitutional monarchy — working right up to two days before her death when she received Liz Truss as her 15th prime minister.
Her devotion to duty as a public servant in this regard during her 70-year reign was nothing less than incredible. Reading the state papers in the famous red box relating not only to the United Kingdom but also to the 14 other countries of which she was head of state must have been a painstaking and often lonely job. Sifting advice from various politicians, officials and flunkies must have been trying at times as well.
