she reigned for almost three quarters of a century as the world changed around her. she was a symbol of unity in good times and bad. successful because she knew her unique place and she understood it. the act of being there, of being. ..you know, a. ..a continuing. ..reference point of stability and endless duties is something that i think is. ..is of the greatest importance. it was really about service and her definition of service, and that was a lifetime. literally 24/7, 365 days of the year. it was never something you could turn off and turn on. it was there all the time. it is so strange to almost everyone in this countryl that she is no longer queen. it will take a long while to come to terms with that. i declare before you all, that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and to the service of our great imperialfamily to which we all belong. as queen elizabeth ii, she reigned over more than 135 million people and, as head of the c