Platinum Jubilee: Queen’s reign marks 70 years of change

LONDON — When 25-year-old Princess Elizabeth was proclaimed queen on Feb. 6, 1952, the British Empire stretched across the world, royalty was widely revered and televisions were still a novelty item. ___ 1970: FIRST ROYAL ‘WALKABOUT’ In another shift with the times, the queen carried out the first royal “walkabout” — which sees members of the royal family greeting, chatting and shaking hands with ordinary people at public events — in Sydney, during a royal tour of Australia and New Zealand. The 1990s saw the monarchy’s popularity sink to new lows as royal family dramas — from tell-all interviews to embarrassing phone conversations and topless photos — continued to play out in public like soap operas. After days of intense pressure, the queen finally broke her silence, addressing the nation on television as “your queen and grandmother” and acknowledging that “we have all been trying in our different ways to cope.” 2011: ELIZABETH’S STATE VISIT TO IRELAND In May 2011, the queen became the first British monarch to set foot in Ireland in 100 years. 2020: ‘MEGXIT’ AND PRINCE ANDREW’S TROUBLES In recent years the royal family has been buffeted by two unprecedented PR disasters: the departure of Prince Harry and his wife Meghan to the U.S., citing intense media scrutiny and racist attitudes among the British media, and growing sex abuse allegations against Prince Andrew, the queen’s middle son.