TODAY, the people of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland celebrate Queen’s Day to commemorate the official observance of the 78th birth anniversary of their Queen, Elizabeth II.
As Head of State, the Queen maintains close contact with the Prime Minister, with whom she has a weekly audience when she is in London, and with other Ministers of the Crown. She sees all Cabinet papers and the records of Cabinet and Cabinet Committee meetings. She receives important Foreign Office telegrams and a daily summary of events in Parliament.
As well as carrying out significant constitutional functions, the Queen also acts as a focus for national unity. She presides at ceremonial occasions, visits local communities, and represents Britain around the world. The Queen is also Head of the Commonwealth. Since her coronation, the Queen has been visiting nearly every county in Britain, seeing new developments and achievements in industry, agriculture, education, the arts, medicine, sport, and many other aspects of national life.
Elizabeth II was born in London, the elder daughter of King George VI and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. In 1944, she served as a Councillor of State while her father was on the war front in Italy. She married Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, on November 20, 1947, and a year later gave birth to a son, Charles. The Royal Couple have four children and seven grandchildren.
Queen Elizabeth has managed to maintain a division between her public and private life. She is the first monarch to send her children to boarding schools. She has a strong sense of duty and diligence and dispatches her official business with great candor, efficiency and dignity. Her knowledge of current situations and trends is impressively up-to-date.
Queen Elizabeth’s reign has been marked by vast changes in the lives of her people and in the power and prestige of her country. The primary role of Queen Elizabeth throughout this period was that of a symbol of unity and continuity within the Commonwealth of Nations, the member countries of which she has frequently visited with her husband.
Queen Elizabeth II has, with her shining example as a constitutional monarch, maintained the respectability and dignity of her throne.
We congratulate Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, on the occasion of her 78th official birthday celebration.
