World News for Students of English

14-09-2022 07:00

On Thursday afternoon, the UK’s longest-serving monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, died at her Scottish estate Balmoral. After reigning for 70 years the queen died at the age of 96.

Elizabeth was born on April 21, 1926, and she never expected to ascend to the throne. However, when Elizabeth’s uncle, Edward VIII, abdicated in 1936, her father George VI became the king, and she became heir to the throne. She was only 25 when she became the queen, and Winston Churchill was the first of 15 prime ministers that served with her. During her reign, 14 US presidents served.

Elizabeth married Prince Phillip, and their marriage remained solid for 74 years, until his death in April 2021. The couple had four children, and Charles, born in 1948, has now become the king.

Most people described Elizabeth as a dignified, down-to-earth, and witty woman whose lifelong passions, aside from her public duties, were horse racing and corgis.

Difficult words: abdicate (to give up formally a throne or high office), heir (a person who’s legally entitled to something after someone’s death), corgi (a dog with short legs and a foxlike head).

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