When Princess Diana died, amid the public mourning and the private grief of the family, Elizabeth broke protocol, recognising that the country, and the world, needed to hear from the royal family. Princess Diana and the Queen were initially close, and Diana even called her 'mama'. But, over time, the relationship became, at best, strained. Diana regularly broke royal protocol, and aired the dirty laundry of her and Charles' personal lives. The Queen, a stoic monarch from a different generation did not understand Diana's desire to be involved with AIDs charities or her willingness to talk publicly about the disintegration of her marriage. To this day, there are people like Diana's lover, Dodi Fayed's father who blame the Queen and the royal family for the car crash that killed Diana and his son. When Queen Elizabeth and her family did not immediately express their grief publicly, the press and the people of the world were outraged.

Eventually though, Queen Elizabeth did give a live address speaking about Diana and the tragedy of her death. The Queen spoke of Diana in the way most of the world viewed her: "First, I want to pay tribute to Diana myself. She was an exceptional and gifted human being. In good times and bad, she never lost her capacity to smile and laugh, nor to inspire others with her warmth and kindness. I admired and respected her -- for her energy and commitment to others, and especially for her devotion to her two boys." While public opinion didn't immediately fully rebound in the Queen's favor, the address was helpful in stemming the tide of criticism.

Later Life

Unlike her children, Queen Elizabeth has had a long marriage. She and Philip have the longest marriage of anyone in the royal family. 2017 marking their seventieth wedding anniversary. Their major wedding anniversaries have long been celebrated in England, with their twenty-fifth marked by a party that included other couples from around England who were also married on November 20th, 1947. In 2007, the couple sentimentally returned to their honeymoon site in the Hampshire region of England. There, like any commoner couple might do, they recreated their honeymoon photos. At their fiftieth anniversary, Queen Elizabeth, in what is regarded as an emotional expression for a member of the British Monarchy, said this of her husband and her marriage: "He is someone who doesn't take easily to compliments but he has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years, and I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim, or we shall ever know."

Queen Elizabeth's reign has also been punctuated by celebrations of milestones not just in her marriage, but also in the number of her reigning years. Her silver jubilee, celebrating 25 years of her reign in 1977, was a nationwide party, marked by sporting events, carnivals, concerts and general festivities. Twenty-five years later, in 2002, her golden jubilee was just as merry an affair, even though both her mother and sister had died earlier in the year. To mark this jubilee, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip travelled around the world. In June, a jubilee weekend was held to mark the fifty years. One event, called "The Party at the Palace," particularly stood out. Paul McCartney and Eric Clapton performed, and Brian May played a version of God Save the Queen. It was a raucous celebration, filled with some of Britain's most recognizable celebrities, and it was watched around the world. Thousands crowded London's parks and streets to see their favorite performers, sing along with their favorite songs, and most of all to cheer for their Queen.

Though stoic and dutiful, Queen Elizabeth II has set herself apart as a modern monarch. She is well-known to be an animal lover, and her corgis just a recognizable part of the royal family (perhaps as much as its human members). During her reign, she has had over thirty corgis as pets, and they have even been involved in public affairs such as the opening ceremonies for the London Olympics. The corgis haven't always been as cute and cuddly as they look, though. At one point the royal family reportedly had to bring in an animal psychologist to help improve the dogs' behavior when they started nipping at the many people who were around the royal residences. The Queen herself was even injured once when she found herself in the midst of ten fighting corgis! These incidents did nothing to temper her love for the animals though, and the Queen's corgis will forever be remembered, as they are included with Elizabeth's image on such items as the golden jubilee commemorative coins. Apart from owning and pampering corgis, Queen Elizabeth has shown herself to be an animal lover through her support of charities. Among the charities she supports are over four dozen that support animals in need.

She is also generous in her donations to medical charities, giving to nearly 100 of them. She also donates money to her church. Interestingly, she takes the money to church in her purse, making Sunday the only day of the week when she carries money. Overall, it's estimated that Queen Elizabeth's charitable actions have resulted in over one billion dollars being donated to charity... Queen Elizabeth II has been in the public eye since childhood. Now in her nineties, and her sixty-fifth year as Queen, she was a world leader for much of the 20th Century and has helped usher in the 21st. Her reign has spanned that of twelve U.S. Presidents, twelve U.K. Prime Ministers, seven Popes, and six Archbishops of Canterbury. She has replied to more than 3.5 million pieces of correspondence, and received thousands of birthday greetings throughout her lifetime. She has met with leaders from all corners of the world, and surpassed longevity records of both British and foreign monarchs.

She is one of only five British monarchs who have ruled for more than fifty years, and in 2015 she became the longest-ever reigning British monarch. Previously, that title had been held by Queen Victoria, Elizabeth's great-great-grandmother, who reigned for sixty-three years. Queen Elizabeth II is an icon of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. A strong female leader, who retains a love of her people and a strong standing in the international community. She helped bring the monarchy into the modern world, and remained stoic and dutiful through even the most trying of times. God Save the Queen. So I really hope you enjoyed the video. If you did, please do hit that thumbs up button below and don't forget to subscribe. We put out brand new videos twice a week and as always thank you for watching.