her cabinet and, in 1990, she was forced to resign as party leader. Two years later, she went to the House of Lords as Baroness Thatcher.
Like Elizabeth I and Victoria, the Princess Elizabeth
Alexandra Mary was not expected to become queen. But the abdication of her uncle, King Edward VIII, propelled her father to the throne, as George VI, and when he died tragically young, in 1952, Elizabeth found herself ruler of the UK and Commonwealth. Since then she has witnessed greater changes in her realms – in society, science, technology, medicine and world affairs – than any of her predecessors can have imagined. They would have been astonished, possibly appalled, at the millions of miles she has travelled, hands she has shaken, and public engage- ments she has fulfilled. But they would have admired the unwavering sense of duty that has given Britain a head of state for nearly 60 years whose personal standards of service to her country must be the envy of many countries. And doubtless they would have applauded the courage and humour in her Annus Horribilis speech in 1992, only hours after her much-loved Windsor Castle was devastated by fire.
A young Queen Victoria (portrayed here by Franz Xavier Winterhalter) ruled Britain for 63 years
the nickname the Iron Lady. With victory in the Falklands War and her narrow escape from an IRA bomb in Brighton, her popularity soared and, in 1987, she won a then unprecedented third general election. But her Euro-sceptic and Poll Tax policies had caused division in
Email the editor at:
andrea.spain@britain-magazine.com. Post letters to: Women in History, BRITAIN magazine, The Chelsea Magazine Company, 26-30 Old Church Street, London SW3 5BY. Or go online at
www.britain-magazine.
com/categories/women. Next issue, Britain's most notable men!
WHERE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR FAMOUS FEMALES
Balmoral, Ballater,
Aberdeenshire. Victoria and Albert bought the Balmoral estate in 1848 and the foundation stone for Balmoral Castle was laid by Queen Victoria in 1853. After Albert’s death the widowed queen retired to Balmoral away from
public gaze. Tel: (013397) 42534;
www.balmoralcastle.com.
Buckingham Palace,
London. Buckingham Palace has served as the official London residence of Britain’s sovereigns since 1837 and today is the administrative head quarters of Queen Elizabeth II.
Tel: (020) 7766 7300;
www.royalcollection.org.uk.
Claydon House (National
Trust) Middle Claydon, nr Buckingham, Buckinghamshire. A new exhibition for 2010, In Sickness and in Health, from the Verney archives on family health, draws heavily on the
30 BRITAIN
writings of Florence Nightingale.
Tel: (01494) 755561;
www.nationaltrust.org.uk.
Earlham Hall, now part of the University of East Anglia, Norwich. The childhood home of Elizabeth Fry now bears a plaque to its infamous resident.
Tel: (01603) 456161;
www.uea.ac.uk/law/ehall.
Queen Victoria's Isle of Wight retreat, Osborne House
Florence Nightingale
Museum, 2 Lambeth Palace Road, London. Opened in 1989, the museum houses over 2,000 artefacts and explores the extraordinary life and world-changing achievements of the British nurse.
Tel: (020) 7620 0374;
www.florence-nightingale.co.uk.
Hatfield House, Hatfield,
Hertfordshire. It was while living in the Old Palace, in 1558, that Elizabeth learned of her accession to the throne.
Tel: (01707) 287010;
www.hatfield-house.co.uk.
Jane Austen’s House
Museum, Chawton, Hampshire. The house at Chawton is where Jane spent the last eight years of her life and wrote Emma,
Persuasion and Mansfield Park. Tel: (01420) 83262; www.
jane-austens-house-museum.org.uk.
Members’ Lobby, House
of Commons, Westminster.
At Hatfield House, Elizabeth learnt she was to become queen
Home to Antony Dufort’s 2007 bronze statue of Baroness Thatcher.
www.parliament.uk.
National Horseracing Museum, Newmarket.
Discover the royal tradition of racing here from King James I, to Charles II and his mistress Nell Gwyn. Tel: (01638)
667333;
www.nhrm.co.uk.
Osborne House (English
Heritage), Isle of Wight. “It is impossible to imagine a prettier
spot,” wrote Queen Victoria after a visit to Osborne House. In 1845 Victoria and Albert purchased the property with an estate of 342 acres.
Tel: (01983) 200022;
www.english-heritage.org.uk.
Windsor Castle, Windsor.
The largest occupied castle in the world and favoured by Queen Elizabeth II for personal and work use. Tel: (020) 7766
7304;
www.royalcollection.org.uk.
PHOTOS: BRIDGEMAN ART LIBRARY/VISITBRITAIN IMAGES/NEIL HOLMES
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