On September 8, 2022, after hours of restless waiting around the world, news of Queen Elizabeth’s death at age 96 was made official. The announcement was not surprising, but still shocking. The modern world will need time to adjust to life without the Queen’s steady, dignified presence. But solace comes from the words of Her Majesty herself, as she looked toward the future during one of her annual Christmas addresses, in 1999: “I have no doubt at all that the one certainty is change—and the pace of that change will only seem to increase,” she said. “The sheer rate of change seems to be sweeping away so much that is familiar and comforting. But I do not think we should be overanxious. We can make sense of this future—it we understand the lessons of the past.” In words and pictures, this is the story of Queen Elizabeth’s historic life.
