WATCH LIVE: Ontario Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell speaks following the death of Queen Elizabeth II
As the daughter and granddaughter of men who were not first in line to the throne, Elizabeth was once destined for a life of relative regal obscurity.
“We want Elizabeth and her sister Margaret to have happy childhoods, which they can always look back upon,” said her mother. The two girls frolicked happily together, Elizabeth's seriousness and sense of appropriateness an engaging contrast with Margaret's ingrained mischief. The year that followed was busy. She opened Parliament, presided over state functions at Buckingham Palace and signed up to 100 documents a day.
For many, it was reminiscent of a ceremony six years before when a slim, grave-faced girl in white stood in the sanctuary of the abbey with a handsome sailor bridegroom, Philip Mountbatten. His red sports car was increasingly seen parked outside the palace and it was said that when he first asked the King for Elizabeth's hand, the couple was advised to wait.
“I think the main lesson that we have learnt is that tolerance is the one essential ingredient in any happy marriage,” he said. “You can take it from me that the Queen has the quality of tolerance in abundance.” Diana's death in 1997 was a tragedy that marked another period of strain for the Royal Family as even the Queen's perceived lack of public grief was vexing to some of her subjects.
The prince was front and centre throughout the festivities as he stood in for his mother and demonstrated he was ready to take on her mantle. Her visits usually attracted big, admiring crowds - with the exception of a tour in Quebec City in 1964. Noisy knots of demonstrators, mostly college-aged youths, chanted and sang demands for independence as the Queen and her husband rode through the streets. Police compounded the turmoil by charging the crowd, truncheons swinging. Thirty-two people were arrested.
Many of the Queen's visits coincided with major national events: in 1967, for the country's Centennial and Expo 67; in 1976, for the Montreal Olympics; in 1982, for the signing of the Constitution; and in 1992, briefly, for Canada's 125th anniversary. “The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning,” the palace said in a statement in March 2021. “While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.”
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