I will always remember where I was when I heard the sad news of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. At 96 years of age, it’s not like we didn’t know it was coming but it still took me by surprise.
For my entire life Queen Elizabeth has been our reigning monarch and whether you are a fan of the royals or not, you cannot help but admire the Queen’s dedication and work ethic. She’s a role model, who constantly put service over self for seventy years.
One of her last formal duties in the week before she died was to swear in Liz Truss as Britain’s new Prime Minister. Ms. Truss is the 15th UK Prime Minister elected during Her Majesty’s reign.
The Queen was third in line to the British throne behind her uncle Edward and her father. Even though her birth garnered plenty of publicity and public interest, she was actually never expected to become queen.
When her grandfather died in 1936 her uncle became King Edward VIII, and Princess Elizabeth, as she was known back then, became second in line after her father. Later that same year King Edward created a constitutional crisis when he abdicated to marry divorced socialite Wallis Simpson. That meant her father became king and since Princess Elizabeth had no brothers, she became heir presumptive from the tender age of ten.
However, if her parents had gone on to have a son, he would have been heir apparent and above her in the line of succession. This draconian act of 1772 was eventually repealed in 2011, which means now the eldest child, regardless of gender, would always precede his or her siblings as King or Queen.
The Queen and her sister Margaret grew up in a very male dominated era but that didn’t seem to faze the Queen, who always held her own when interacting and entertaining world leaders and diplomats.
What you may not know about the Queen, is that in her late teens she was appointed as an honorary junior officer in the Auxiliary Territorial Service (the Women’s branch of the Army Corp.) where she trained and worked as a driver and mechanic and was given the rank of honorary junior commander (female equivalent of captain at the time) five months later.
I was interested to learn that at the end of World War II Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret were allowed to mingle incognito with the celebrating crowds in the streets of London. Queen Elizabeth revealed later a rare interview that they asked their parents if they could go out and see it for themselves. She recalled they were terrified of being recognised but fondly remembered the lines of unknown people linking arms and walking down Whitehall. She described them all as being swept along on a tide of happiness and relief.
Her Majesty visited Australia sixteen times and during her 1973 trip down under I was supposed to meet her. I was only 18 and had become the youngest Miss NSW in Miss Australia Quest’s history.
The most exciting invitation I received that year and in my entire life for that matter, was to officially open the Sydney Opera House with The Queen. Many letters were sent back and forth from Kensington Palace, over several months via snail mail as there were no faxes or emails back then.
It was quite a logistical exercise with Palace protocols and security checks. I was so excited, but I wasn’t allowed to tell a soul. I was sworn to secrecy until it was to be formally announced and that was one of the hardest secrets I’ve ever had to keep.
While it was all systems go from their end and mine, alas, other forces outside of my control would thwart me making it into the history books.
Due to design disagreements, extensive union strikes and other issues during the construction, the opening of the Sydney Opera House was repeatedly delayed and finally opened on 20th October 1973.
Unfortunately for me, my year’s reign had come to an end and I had handed over my title to Lynne Gilmour less than two weeks beforehand.
In the end, The Queen accompanied by Prince Phillip, opened the Opera House without me.
While I didn’t get to meet the Queen, I did get to meet and chat with her son King Charles (when he was still a prince).
It was in the old Wollongong Town Hall in the 1980s and I was standing next to my friend and colleague Ethel Hoskins-Hayton MBE. Ethel was a revered local journalist, who had received an MBE – Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1979 and she was proudly wearing her big medal.
Before King Charles arrived, we were briefed on all the protocols we needed to follow and we were told not to call out or try and get him to come over as he would be the one to decide to whom he wanted to engage.
His Majesty moved comfortably through the crowd with his arms draped behind his back and his fingers loosely interlocked. He easily engaged with one person after another putting at ease everyone with whom he came in contact.
When he looked over our way, I’m not sure if it was Ethel’s shining MBE medal that caught his eye, but he came over and started chatting with us. The interaction only lasted a couple of minutes, but King Charles has the ability to make you feel like you have his undivided attention.
I do have a confession to make, and I mean no disrespect to our now reigning monarch but being that close to him my first thought was how handsome he would have been if his mum had pinned back his ears.
I’ve also met and worked with Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York but I’ll save that story for another time.
Queen Elizabeth II, who will be the last queen the UK and the Commonwealth will see for generations to come, holds the distinction of being the longest reigning monarch in British history and the longest serving female monarch in the world. A role she undertook tirelessly every day for seven decades with class, dignity and dedication.
Her funeral was a fitting farewell bringing together the largest gathering of world leaders in living memory. A great testament to Her Majesty was seeing the streets of the funeral procession lined with millions of her subjects, while billions of people around the world watched the telecast.
King Charles has huge shoes to fill but I’m sure he’ll carry on his mother’s legacy while ensuring Prince William and Prince George are both prepared and ready to continue after him.
God Save the King.
Cheers Susie
Susie Elelman AM JP
Author, TV & Radio Broadcaster
About The Author - Susie Elelman
Susie Elelman is an Australian television presenter, radio broadcaster, and author, most famous for her appearances on daytime television in Australia. She has been an ambassador of the Australian Menopause Centre since 2016 and it is a pleasure to have such an influential figure support our work.