End of an Era: Queen Elizabeth II

This is the point in time when history pauses, whether it be for a split second, an hour, a day, or a week. Two incidents from two very different times shed light on the thread that connected the several decades over the course of a life and a reign. A desk, chair, microphone, and speaker are located at each. Each time, she exhibited the same high pitch voice, clipped vowels, and some trepidation when speaking in front of an audience.

Even though the British people were going through a horrible post-war winter, one moment is sun-dappled. A young woman, who is really not much older than a girl, sits with her back straight, her dark hair pulled up, and two strings of pearls around her neck. She is stunning and has lovely, young skin. A life begins to unfold before her.

She promises her international audience that life. She pleads for their assistance in the upcoming years, saying, “I shall not have the strength to carry out this resolution alone.”

The other discourse has a formaler tone. She is seated at a desk, a portrait of her late father, the late King, in uniform, to her right, on the 75th anniversary of the day the war in Europe ended, more than seven decades later.

Her hair is now white and is still pushed up. She is decked up in a blue dress, two brooches, and three pearl necklaces. Although the many years have left their mark, her voice is still crystal clear and her eyes still sparkle. With the exception of the picture and a dark khaki cap with a badge on the front, the desk is essentially barren.

In a long-ago war, she claims that “everyone had a role to perform.”

The young Princess Elizabeth begged her beloved father to let her join so she could serve in uniform, even as the war that defined her — and for many years, her country — drew to a close. The cap belonged to Second Subaltern Windsor of the Auxiliary Territorial Service. Now, 75 years later, the headgear occupies a prominent position as she addresses the nation on the occasion of a significant and valiant triumph.