The end of an era – President Ali on Queen Elizabeth’s passing

After reigning for 70 years, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II – the United Kingdom’s longest-serving monarch – died on Thursday afternoon at age 96.
Buckingham Palace, in a statement, said The Queen died peacefully at her Scottish estate, Balmoral Castle, where she had spent much of the summer.
At the moment the Queen died, the throne passed immediately and without ceremony to the heir, Charles, the former Prince of Wales. He will now be known as King Charles III. On Saturday, Charles will be officially proclaimed King.
The end of an era.

The Queen’s passing marks the end of an era, Guyana’s President Dr Irfaan Ali said in a statement following news of her demise.
“I join all Guyanese in expressing our profound and deepest sorrow at the death of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. Her passing marks the end of an era in the history of the British Monarchy, the United Kingdom, and the Commonwealth of Nations,” the Guyanese Head of State said.

“Queen Elizabeth’s place in history is assured, and her legacy is intact. Her long and impactful reign has helped to shape the post-World War II world. Her Majesty has been a source of stability for her country. She will be long remembered for her sterling leadership of the Commonwealth of Nations,” he added.
President Ali noted too that Queen Elizabeth II visits to Guyana are recalled “with great fondness”. The Queen’s last tour to Guyana was in 1994 as Head of the Commonwealth.
Prior to that, she had visited in 1966, four months prior to Guyana gaining independence after over 100 years of colonial rule as British Guiana.
Grace, Dignity, Dedication
The United Nations Secretary General António Guterres, also issued a statement, extending his condolences on the passing of The Queen.

“As the United Kingdom’s longest-lived and longest-reigning Head of State, Queen Elizabeth II was widely admired for her grace, dignity, and dedication around the world. She was a reassuring presence throughout decades of sweeping change, including the decolonization of Africa and Asia and the evolution of the Commonwealth,” he expressed.
The SG also noted that Queen Elizabeth II was a good friend of the United Nations, having visited its New York Headquarters twice, more than fifty years apart.

“She was deeply committed to many charitable and environmental causes and spoke movingly to delegates at the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow. I would like to pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II for her unwavering, lifelong dedication to serving her people. The world will long remember her devotion and leadership.”
The Commonwealth Secretary General Patricia Scotland, QC also issued a statement in tribute to The Queen on her passing.
“After a long life of faith, duty and service, a great light has gone out,” she expressed.
“Her Majesty was an extraordinary person, who lived an extraordinary life: a constant presence and example for each of us, guiding and serving us all for as long as any of us can remember. Throughout her reign, and seven decades of extraordinary change and challenge, Her Majesty was the epitome of duty, stability, wisdom and grace.”

During her reign, The Queen travelled more than any monarch in history, visiting every part of the Commonwealth family of nations. The CW SG recalled that between 1971 and 2018, she missed only one Heads of Government Meeting. “Her devotion to duty was only matched by her skill as Head of the Commonwealth of Nations, always a generous host and consummate diplomat,” she noted.
“I will miss her greatly, the Commonwealth will miss her greatly, and the world will miss her greatly. We will never see her like again…Hers was a life of service which will echo through the ages. We will be forever grateful,” the CW SG said.

Life of Service
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born on 21 April 1926, in a house just off Berkeley Square in London, the first child of Albert, Duke of York.
The young Elizabeth had little prospect of acceding to the throne until her uncle, Edward VIII (afterward duke of Windsor), abdicated in her father’s favour on December 11, 1936, at which time her father became King George VI and she became heir presumptive.
Upon The King’s death February 6, 1952, Elizabeth become Queen. The first three months of her reign, the period of full mourning for her father, were passed in comparative seclusion. But in the summer, after she had moved from Clarence House to Buckingham Palace, she undertook the routine duties of the sovereign and carried out her first state opening of Parliament on November 4, 1952. Her coronation was held at Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953, at the age of 27, in front of a then-record TV audience estimated at more than 20 million people.
Subsequent decades would see great change, with the end of the British Empire overseas and the swinging ’60s sweeping away social norms at home.
Queen Elizabeth reformed the monarchy for this less deferential age, engaging with the public through walkabouts, royal visits and attendance at public events.
On September 9, 2015 she became the longest reigning monarch in British history, surpassing the reign of her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria. (G11)