The constant monarch

The Queen was not born to rule, but she devoted her life to the role, maintaining a political neutrality, even in stormy times

-  Caroline Davies

ELIZABETH II'S JOB AS THE QUEEN WAS imposed on her by an ancient constitution that required no qualification other than that she exist.

Having been appointed, and whatever her private thoughts, she performed her role over an extraordinarily long reign in near-faultless manner, leaving scant ammunition for personal attack from the fiercest opponents of hereditary principle.

As Britain hurtled through times of astonishing societal change, she faced many challenges in keeping the monarchy apace - and yet she succeeded in remaining a force for national cohesion. A constant: familiar in brightly coloured coat, brimmed hat and handbag, she glad-handed her way through "walkabouts", garden parties, ship launches, plaque unveilings, tree plantings and building inaugurations with an inscrutable smile in place.

Becoming the Queen at such a young age meant the world knew little of her personality and views before her accession, and she continued to reveal little thereafter. She never uttered a controversial opinion in public, though supporters and critics would differ over whether this was simply because she held none, or whether she was a master of the art of political neutrality.

She once said: "Of course, in this existence, the job and the life go together - you can't really divide it up." To some extent the person and position were one and the same. Yet not entirely. She kept much back. Only those closest knew Elizabeth the wife, mother, grandmother and excellent mimic. Though the masses caught occasional glimpses of the private woman, she remained largely an enigma, and will do so until the diaries, which in royal tradition she wrote daily, are made public.