The Royal Family has celebrated the Queen’s role as a constant during some of the happiest – and saddest – moments the UK has shared over the 70 years of her reign.
Posting on Instagram, the photos celebrate how the Queen shared in the joy of England’s 1966 World Cup win, the London 2012 Olympics, and the Platinum Jubilee.
It also recalls how she offered words of encouragement and support to her subjects during the Covid-19 crisis, on Remembrance Sunday, and following the Grenfell Tower disaster.
The Royal family have taken to Instagram to remember some of the stand out moments for the late monarch throughout her 70 years as Queen including this rare televised speech during the Covid- 19 pandemic, the monarch thanked people for following government rules to stay at home and praised those ‘coming together to help others’ (pictured in April 2020)
The Queen is accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh as they wave to well-wishers during her Golden Jubilee Celebrations in 2002
In 1966 the Queen presented England captain Bobby Moore (right) with the World Cup trophy at Wembley Stadium alongside the Duke of Edinburgh
The slideshow of uplifting and poignant moments was accompanied by a lengthy caption that read: ‘The Queen’s reign spanned 70 years.
‘When Her Majesty came to the Throne in 1952, a post-war Britain was still under rationing, but there would be much to celebrate in the years which followed.
‘The Queen led the Nation in times of great national celebration – in 1966 she presented England captain Bobby Moore with the World Cup trophy at Wembley Stadium, and in 2012 Her Majesty famously appeared at the London 2012 opening ceremony alongside James Bond ahead of a triumphant Olympics for the UK.
‘Her Majesty’s Jubilees brought people together for street parties, concerts and pageants, uniting her subjects from different regions, cultures and generations as they celebrated the reign of their beloved Queen.
‘As Head of Nation, Her Majesty also had the solemn task of representing the people of the UK at more difficult times, expressing their collective grief in the aftermath of national tragedies though visits and messages sent in her name.
‘Most recently – in 2017 – she met young victims of the Manchester Arena bombing whilst they were being treated in the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, and in the same year she was accompanied by The Duke of Cambridge on a visit to the Grenfell Tower fire site where she met residents, locals and members of the emergency services.
The Prince of Wales alongside The Queen and Prince Louis, the Duchess of Cambridge and Princess Charlotte on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the Trooping the Colour ceremony (June 2022)
The heartfelt caption went on to acknowledge to highs and lows for the UK during her 70 year reign
‘At the start of the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020, The Queen recorded a broadcast reassuring the Nation in what was an uncertain and worrying time for many, thanking NHS frontline workers and urging the people of the UK to think of others as they went about their daily lives.
‘Each year, she led the Nation in remembering those lost in conflict during Remembrance events in London, laying a wreath at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday and attending the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall.’
Many rushed to the comments to show their love and respect for the Queen as they mourn her loss.
One person wrote: ‘Every time I see her smiling face I get sad. Such a shining light for so many years x
Another said: ‘Thank you Ma’am for always being there in good times and bad.’
While someone else wrote: ‘I Will love The Queen all my life. Simply perfect.’
In 2017, the Queen spoke to Amy Barlow, from Rawtenstall, Lancashire, and her mother, Kathy, after the Manchester Arena bombing whilst Amy was being treated in the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital
Queen Elizabeth II meets members of the community affected by the fire at Grenfell Tower in west London during a visit to the Westway Sports Centre which is providing temporary shelter for those who have been made homeless in the disaster in 2017
Every year Queen Elizabeth led the Nation in remembering those lost in conflict during Remembrance events in London, laying a wreath at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday (pictured in 2015)
The Queen as she delivered a speech during the stunning opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics
Her Majesty’s Jubilees brought people together for street parties, concerts and pageants, uniting her subjects from different regions, cultures and generations (A street party for the diamond jubilee in 2012)
It comes as King Charles promised to follow the ‘shining example’ of his late mother as he and his wife were met with raucous applause and chants of ‘God save the King’ after arriving in Northern Ireland.
In a powerful speech praising Queen Elizabeth II’s ‘long life of public service’, King Charles remarked on the ‘momentous and historic’ changes she witnessed in the province throughout her illustrious life.
During his speech to assembled guests in the official royal household, the new monarch pledged to uphold his late mother’s ‘steadfast faith’ and ‘seek the welfare of all the inhabitants of Northern Ireland’.
Earlier in the day the King Charles and Queen Consort, clad in black, shook the hands of official dignitaries before departing for the historic village of Hillsborough, where they greeted mourners outside the royal residence.
Many rushed to the comments to show their love and respect for the Queen as they mourn her loss
Among the adoring royal fans were Ella Smith and Lucas Watt, both 10, of Forge Integrated Primary School in Belfast, who presented the King with a gift of truffles with an image of the Giant’s Causeway on the tin, while Camilla was given a small posy of flowers taken from the gardens of Hillsborough Castle.
Chants of ‘God Save the King’ and rounds of applause could be heard from the crowd as the new sovereign and Queen Consort paused by the historic gates to inspect a sea of floral tributes left in memory of Queen Elizabeth II.
The jet carrying His Majesty touched down at the George Best Belfast City Airport shortly before midday for his 40th visit to the province – but his first as King, and his saddest.
It is the latest in Charles’ tour of the UK, after the new King spent last night in the Scottish capital where he and his three siblings held a silent vigil for their mother the Queen by forming a guard of honour around her coffin.
Swathes of people young and old were pictured waiting outside Hillsborough Castle on Tuesday morning, some waving flags bearing the Union Jack and others holding colourful homemade signs aloft as they prepared for the arrival of the King.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk