Queen Elizabeth and Commonwealth: Revisit former monarch’s greatest project on her third death anniversary

When Queen Elizabeth rang her 21st birthday, she wasn’t a queen at all — it was Princess Elizabeth, accompanied by her family, and embarked on her first trip to the British Commonwealth.

It was the tour she undertook to South Africa alongside her parents – King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (later known as Queen Mother) – as well as her sister, Princess Margaret.

While there, she addressed the Commonwealth nation as the heir apparent, in a speech which was broadcast around the world.

“On my twenty-first birthday I welcome the opportunity to speak to all the peoples of the British Commonwealth and Empire, wherever they live, whatever race they come from, and whatever language they speak,” began her detailed address.

Whereas the most memorable words from her speech were part of the conclusion, during which she stated, “I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.”

It has since been justly observed that no monarch could have done better to exemplify the responsibility with which Queen Elizabeth tended to the Commonwealth.

What is the Commonwealth?

The Commonwealth, or British Commonwealth of Nations, is a voluntary union of 56 sovereign states from Asia, Africa, the American continents, Europe, and the Pacific region.

The Queen’s role

According to the official website for the royal family, “One third of The Queen’s total overseas visits were to Commonwealth countries.”

The late sovereign cared deeply about maintaining the sanctity of her Commonwealth family and was routinely the only concrete figure standing between the association’s union and a wave of rebellion which often threatened to overthrow it due to an increasing sense of anti-imperialism among its nations.

Legacy of Queen Elizabeth’s relationship with the Commonwealth

It was a Commonwealth country — Malta, in 2015 — which became the centre of her last overseas visit, while the great British alliance was still in her thoughts during her last ever address to the public.

“Next summer, we look forward to the Commonwealth Games. The baton is currently travelling the length and breadth of the Commonwealth, heading towards Birmingham, a beacon of hope on its journey. It will be a chance to celebrate the achievements of athletes and the coming-together of like-minded nations,” she said during her Christmas Broadcast of 2021.

Though the groundwork for the Commonwealth was laid in 1926, long before the twilight of British colonialism, Queen Elizabeth nurtured the roots of its union with universal values like “freedom and peace”.

“The Commonwealth bears no resemblance to the empires of the past. It is an entirely new conception built on the highest qualities of the spirit of man: friendship, loyalty, and the desire for freedom and peace.” — Queen Elizabeth II, Christmas Day broadcast of 1953.