a reign of superlatives

She was the grandmother of the British and the oldest serving head of state. Queen Elizabeth II, who died on Thursday September 8 at the age of 96, reigned over the United Kingdom since February 6, 1952. A reign of more than 70 years, the longest of the British crown, ahead of that of her great-grandmother, Queen Victoria. The sovereign, who acceded to the throne at the age of 26, after the death of his father George VI, also accomplished one of the longest reigns in history. En Europe, it is notably preceded by Louis XIV and his 72 years of reign in France, and by Bernard VII, who ruled the principality of Lippe, a German state, for more than 81 years in the 15th century.

“It’s a page of history that is turning. It’s even beyond, it’s a world that is swallowed up, that disappears. It’s the Elizabethan era that disappears. This woman was a living myth”reacted on franceinfo Stéphane Bernjournalist and animator specializing in royalty.

How can we measure the footprint that Queen Elizabeth II will leave? Perhaps to the countless tributes that have been pouring in since Thursday night, from his own people and from around the world. Flags at half mast at the White House, Eiffel Tower plunged into darkness, three-day national mourning decreed in Brazil… Almost everywhere on the planet, his memory is honored.

>> INFOGRAPHICS. Seven decades of reign in seven maps and charts

Xi Jinping, Joe Biden, Justin Trudeau, Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz… All the greats of this world paid tribute to Elizabeth II, who had known them all, them and especially their predecessors, over several generations. A universal icon and symbol of stability, Queen Elizabeth II has known all the great leaders of the 20th and 21st centuries.

As queen, “Her Majesty”, has seen the last ten French presidents, fourteen American presidents, but also seven popes. In his country, fifteen British Prime Ministers served under his reign. The most famous of which, Winston Churchill, “his mentor, the one who made his political education”, according to Stéphane Bern. Elizabeth II will also have attended the long term of Margaret Thatcher, the first woman to lead a government in Europe, and with whom she had a cold relationship. It was another Prime Minister, Liz Truss, who was the last personality to meet the sovereign at Balmoral Castlein Scotland, two days before his death.

In seventy years, Elizabeth II has made 89 state visits. But she will have visited a total of 117 countries, first and foremost those of the Commonwealth (170 trips), of which she was the sovereign. Canada was his favorite destination, with no less than 27 visits, followed by Australia (18 visits) and New Zealand (10 visits). She visited France five times (1957, 1972, 1992, 2004 and 2014), notably maintaining very good ties with former President François Mitterrand.

Beyond her political influence, Elizabeth II was the symbol and the embodiment of an entire people. “A few years ago a poll asked what the recurring dream of Britons is. And one in three answered: ‘It’s that I wake up in the middle of the night, the doorbell rings and I’m in my pyjamas. ‘is the Queen of England ringing the doorbell’, explains Stéphane Bern on franceinfo. She’s a bit like the mother of the nation, the one we turn to for things to go well.”

The sovereign saw the birth of nearly 87% of the current population of her country, and no Britons under 70 have known no other monarch on the throne. According to a survey by YouGov This year75% of Britons said they had a favorable opinion of Elizabeth II. “She was also greatly admired in countries that were republicans, such as France, which still admires the Queen of England, and also in the United States”says historian Patrick Martin-Genier.

She who reigned over 141 million subjects worldwide (with Commonwealth countries) was an icon. Sixty billion coins were minted with his likeness during his reign, in five versions. She has posed for more than 200 official portraits. At the head of a personal fortune estimated according to the Sunday Times at 370 million pounds sterling, she was also the godmother of more than 600 organizations (associations, military regiments, charities).