Page 1 - Combined Folders HRHQEII - BPW UK Members Oct. 19th visit - E-news September 2022

9 September 2022
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To Members of BPW UK

It is with great sadness that we come together as a women’s organization
to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning Monarch in
the UK and the second longest-reigning Monarch in the World. Her late
Majesty died at the age of 96 only 48 hours after inviting her 15 Prime
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Minister to form a government and accepting the resignation of her prede-
cessor.

Whether or not you are a supporter of the Monarchy, it is difficult not to
acknowledge the not inconsiderable duty to which Queen Elizabeth II fa-
mously committed herself at a very young age and the determined way in
which she has kept her vow of service to the country and the Common-
wealth spanning 8 decades.

We must remember that she acceded to the throne upon the premature
death of her father, King George VI, in 1952 as a young 25-year-old mar-
ried woman with two children. We can only imagine how difficult it must
have been to navigate her way through the conflicts between duty to her
country and her new husband and family and in the atmosphere that pre-
vailed in respect to working women and the issues surrounding equality.

She has always been a keen supporter of women and, in so many ways,
has led the way for women remembering that 1952 was just over 20 years
before we had equality legislation in the UK. She had so little experience
at the outset and yet she became one of the most well-respected, knowl-
edgeable, and powerful Heads of State throughout the Commonwealth and

throughout the world. Her reign has been symbolised by her steadfastness
and consistency and always by her desire to work for others rather than
counting the rewards for herself.