Page 12 - Issue 72 Online

SOME OF THE MANY HIGHLIGHTS DURING 70 YEARS OF THE QUEEN’S REIGN

The marriage of Prince Charles to The Death of Princess Diana 1997
Lady Diana Spencer 1981 Charles and Diana divorced in 1996 and
The wedding took place on 29th July1981 Princess Diana was tragically killed in a car
in St Paul’s Cathedral. An estimated 750 crash in Paris on 31st August 1997. The
million people in 74 countries around the Queen initially remained at Balmoral in
world tuned in to watch Prince Charles, Scotland and refused to allow the flag to
Elizabeth’s eldest son, marry Lady Diana fly at half-mast over Buckingham Palace
Spencer. Their romance had attracted huge or address the grieving nation. There was
media attention and it was considered to public outcry and, upon advice from her
be the ‘wedding of the century’. advisors, she reversed her stance on the
flag and returned to London to meet the
State Visit to China 1986 crowds of mourners outside Buckingham
Palace.
In late 1984 Margaret Thatcher’s
government agreed to return sovereignty The Queen’s Golden Jubilee 2002
over Hong Kong to China, to begin on 1st
July 1997. Two years later, in 1986. the The Queen celebrated 50 years on the
Queen became the first British monarch throne on 6th February 2002. She was the
to visit the Chinese mainland. Together first British monarch since Queen Victoria
with Prince Philip she visited the Terracotta to celebrate a Golden Jubilee. During the
Army soldier statues at the Qin Shi Huang's course of the year she travelled over 40,000
Museum of The Terracotta Warriors and miles; including visits to the Caribbean,
Horses, Shaanxi Province, the Great Wall of Australia, New Zealand and Canada. She
China and Beijing as well as other notable also visited 70 cities and towns in 50
sites. counties in the United Kingdom.

Annus Horribilis 1992
1992 marked the 40th year of the Queen’s
reign. However, it was marked by the
following events:
• Charles and Diana announced their
decision to separate.
• Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson also
separated.
• Princess Anne divorced Mark Phillips.
• Fire broke out at Windsor Castle,
destroying more than 100 rooms.
In a speech, to mark the 40th anniversary
of her succession, the Queen referred to
the year as her ‘Annus Horribilis’ – Latin for
‘horrible year’!

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