Diamond Jubilee and beyond

Continuing evolution of the Commonwealthсодружесво

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During the 1981 Trooping the Colour ceremony, and only six weeks before the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer, six shots were fired at the Queen from close range as she rode down The Mall on her horse,Burmese. Police later discovered that the shots were blanks. The 17-year-old Marcus Sarjeant, was sentenced to five years in prison and released after three. The Queen's composure спокойствие and skill in controlling her mount посадка на лошадь were widely praised.[104] From April to September 1982, the Queen remained anxious[105] but proud[106] of her son, Prince Andrew, who was serving with British forces during the Falklands War. On 9 July, the Queen awoke in her bedroom at Buckingham Palace to find an intruder, Michael Fagan, in the room with her. Remaining calm, and through two calls to the palace police switchboard, she spoke to Fagan while he sat at the foot of her bed until assistance arrived seven minutes later.[107] Though she hosted US President Ronald Reagan at Windsor Castle in 1982, and visited his Californian ranch in 1983, she was angered when his administration ordered the invasion of Grenada, one of her Caribbean realms королевство, without informing her.

In 1987, the elected Fijian government was deposed свергнуть in a military coup гос переворот. Elizabeth, as head of state, supported the attempts of the Governor-General, Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau, to assert executive power and negotiate a settlement. Coup leader Sitiveni Rabuka deposed Ganilau, abolished the monarchy, and declared Fiji a republic.[116] By the start of 1991, republican feeling in Britain had risen because of press estimates of the Queen's private wealth, which were contradicted by the palace, and reports of affairs and strained с натяжкой marriages among her extended family.the Queen was the target of satire.

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In 1991, in the wake of victory in the Gulf War, Elizabeth became the first British monarch to address a joint session of the United States Congress.[120]

In a speech on 24 November 1992, to mark the 40th anniversary of her accession, the Queen called 1992 her annus horribilis, meaning horrible year.[121] In March, her second son Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and his wife Sarah, Duchess of York, separated. In April, her daughter Anne, Princess Royal, divorced her husband Captain Mark Phillips.[122] During a state visit to Germany in October, angry demonstrators in Dresden threw eggs at her,[123] and in November Windsor Castle suffered severe fire damage. The monarchy received increased criticism and public scrutiny.наблюдение In an unusually personal speech, Elizabeth said that any institution must expect criticism, but suggested it be done with "a touch of humour, gentleness and understanding".[ Two days later, Prime Minister John Major announced reforms of the royal finances that had been planned since the previous year, including the Queen paying income tax for the first time, starting in 1993, and a reduction in the civil list (кому платит правит-во организации).[ In December, Charles, and his wife, Diana, Princess of Wales, formally separated.]

Diamond Jubilee and beyond

Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee in 2012 marks 60 years as queen

Since Elizabeth rarely gives interviews, little is known of her personal feelings. As a constitutional monarch, she has not expressed her own political opinions in a public forum. She does have a deep sense of religious and civic duty, and takes her coronation oath клятва seriously.] Aside from her official religious role as Supreme Governor of the established Church of England, she personally worships with that church and with the national Church of Scotland.[161] She has demonstrated support for inter-faith relations, and has met with leaders of other religions, including three popes: John XXIII, John Paul II and Benedict XVI. A personal note about her faith often features in her annual Royal Christmas Message broadcast to the Commonwealth, such as in 2000, when she spoke about the theological significance of the millennium marking the 2000th anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ:

 

She is the patron of over 600 organisations and charities.[163] Her main leisure interests include equestrianism конный спорт and dogs, especially her Pembroke Welsh Corgis.

In the 1950s, as a young woman at the start of her reign, Elizabeth was depicted as a glamorous "fairytale Queen".[166] After the trauma of the war, it was a time of hope, a period of progress and achievement heralding объявляя a "new Elizabethan age".[167] Lord Altrincham's accusation обвинение in 1957 that her speeches sounded like those of a "priggish педантичный schoolgirl" was an At her Silver Jubilee in 1977, the crowds and celebrations were genuinely enthusiastic,[171] but in the 1980s public criticism of the royal family increased, as the personal and working lives of Elizabeth's children came under media scrutiny.[172] Elizabeth's popularity sank to a low point in the 1990s. Under pressure from public opinion, she began to pay income tax for the first time, and Buckingham Palace was opened to the public.[173] Discontent недовольство with the monarchy reached its peak on the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, though the Queen's popularity rebounded рикошетить after her live broadcast to the world five days after Diana's death.

In November 1999, a referendum in Australia on the future of the Australian monarchy favoured its retention сохранение in preference to an indirectly elected head of state.[175] Polls in Britain in 2006 and 2007 revealed strong support for Elizabeth,[176]and referenda in Tuvalu in 2008 and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in 2009 both rejected proposals to become republics.[177]

Finances

Elizabeth's personal fortune has been the subject of speculation for many years. The British Crown Estate – with holdings of £7.3 billion in 2011[186] – is held in trust for the nation, and cannot be sold or owned by Elizabeth in a private capacity.[187]