Queen Elizabeth II delivers speech in Ghana in 1961

The anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s death falls this Friday, September 8, as she passed away just 48 hours after carrying out her final royal duty, meeting the outgoing and incoming Prime Ministers at Balmoral.

Her Late Majesty was enjoying her annual summer holiday at her beloved home in the Scottish Highlands, where she met with Boris Johnson and Liz Truss for the official ‘kissing of the hands’ ceremony, in which Ms Truss was invited to form a new government.

In spite of her frail appearance and ill health the Queen was keeping a vow she made over 70 years ago, when she was still Princess Elizabeth, during a royal tour to South Africa with her parents and sister, Princess Margaret.

Her 21st birthday, April 21 1947, marked the landmark occasion with a speech broadcast on the radio from Cape Town across the Commonwealth.

In it she stated that she would always devote herself to public service and duty until the day she died, saying: “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.”

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Just five years after she made the speech, Elizabeth became Queen, a role she would hold for 70 years – making her the country’s longest-reigning monarch in history.

During her Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June 2022, the whole nation gathered together to celebrate and thank her for her dedication to duty throughout her long life.

The images of the Queen meeting Liz Truss at Balmoral were the latest pictures taken of her alive, and were snapped by Press Association photographer Jane Barlow.

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She described her time spent in the company of the late monarch, saying the Queen seemed “frail but in good spirits” and that she met Ms Truss with a “big smile”.

Ms Barlow added that they made general small talk, mostly about the weather, as it was a particularly gloomy and overcast day with lots of rain.

It is expected that King Charles, who will be in Balmoral for the anniversary, is planning to mark the day “privately and quietly”, similarly to how the Queen commemorated her own father King George VI’s death each year on February 6.

On that day the Queen would traditionally be in Sandringham, the place her father died, where she preferred to spend some time privately reflecting before leaving the estate to conclude her winter break.

The Prince and Princess of Wales will be spending September 8 in the Welsh city of St David’s, where they will lead tributes being paid at the cathedral.

This will also mark their return to royal duties following their summer holiday, as their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis have also returned to school this week.

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