Imagine being 25 years old and 5,000 miles from home when you get a call delivering the worst possible news – your parent has died. For Elizabeth Windsor, this call had a far greater impact. She was now taking on the greatest of responsibilities, shouldering the burden of the sovereign’s role.
Already a young wife and mother of two, she would become a mother to the nation, and to the Commonwealth of nations around the globe. It would have been a lot to process for the young queen on that day in 1952.
Her son Charles is now experiencing that same combination of mourning for the loss of a beloved parent while simultaneously being catapulted into the role of monarch and head of state. King Charles III had 70 years to prepare for this moment and a lifetime to act with the greater freedom of the heir.
