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

By SYLVIA HUI
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Britain is marking Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee on Sunday. It comes 70 years after she was proclaimed queen. The queen has overseen the modernization of the monarchy and its adaptation to evolving expectations during her reign. The 25-year-old Princess Elizabeth was proclaimed queen on Feb. 6, 1952. The British Empire stretched across the world at the time and royalty was widely revered. Televisions were still a novelty item. The world has undergone profound changes since then and so has the monarchy. Elizabeth’s empire shrank and then crumbled. Most people in Britain remain loyal to the queen and respect her years of service to the nation. But attitudes about the monarchy have swung from unquestioning deference to scrutiny.