BBC World Service: The death of Queen Elizabeth II (100 lines)

1. Britain's longest-reigning (monarch), Queen Elizabeth has died at the age of (96).
2. The Queen came to the throne in (1952) and witnessed enormous social change.
3. The King and the Queen (Consort) will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London
tomorrow.
4. We mourn (profoundly) the passing of a cherished (Sovereign) and a much-loved mother.
5. Her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the (Realms) and the (Commonwealth), and
by countless people around the world.
6. And then, of course, very soon, you had the news that there were members of her (immediate)
family, her four children, her grandchildren were on their way there.
7. And you could just tell from the politicians, you could tell from the mood in the (palace) that
there was something (afoot).
8. And (by and large), the palace has hardly needed to comment very much on her health, but they
rarely did.
9. The sun (shrouded) in cloud set here on the Balmoral (estate) setting too on the end of an era for
the United Kingdom, and for the world.
10. A monarch who has a special place in the heart of this nation, but who, in return had in her own
words a deep and (abiding) affection for Scotland.
11. A moment of course, here behind these gates for the family, (first and foremost) to mourn, but a
moment too for a nation to reflect, to reflect on an (extraordinary) reign.
12. And on the end, the (severing) of links with the Second World War, the (existential) threat to this
country which this nation survived and also to the British Empire.
13. She also (embodied) the union of the crowns between Scotland and England - that union dating
all the way back to (1603).
14. Across the decades as society changed fundamentally, Elizabeth II was a (constant) and for many
a (reassuring) symbol of national unity.
15. It was a life above all which was guided by her sense of duty, something she'd first referred to in
a broadcast at the age of (21).
16. 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.
17. Born in (April 1926) Princess Elizabeth's role as a royal was transformed (10) years later, when
her father came to the throne after her uncle had (abdicated).
18. The early years of (George VI) reign were dominated by the Second World War, much of which
Elizabeth spent within the (comparative) safety of Windsor Castle.
19. At the start of the conflict, Elizabeth had fallen in love with Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, a
prince of (Greece), though he was largely (Danish), and an officer in the (Royal Navy).
20. In (February 1952), Elizabeth's father died while she was in (Kenya).
21. Her (coronation) the following year, was watched by millions.
22. The Queen enjoyed being a (constitutional) monarch.
23. If you live in this sort of life, which people don't very much, you live very much by tradition and
by (continuity).
24. By (1992) there'd been fairy tale royal weddings and painful separations.
25. In the words of one of my more (sympathetic) correspondents, it has turned out to be an (annus
horribilis).
26. When Diana Princess of Wales was killed in a car crash in (Paris) in (1997), the monarchy was
shaken.
27. Five years after Diana's death in 2002 people turned out in their tens of thousands to mark the
Queen's (Golden Jubilee).
28. In (June 2012), a national service of Thanksgiving was held at St. Paul's Cathedral to mark the
Queen's (Diamond Jubilee).
29. (A month) later, at the opening ceremony of the London Olympics, she played herself in a (spoof)
James Bond film.
30. She was a mother, a grandmother and a great grandmother, who became Britain's longest-
serving monarch in (September 2015) when she surpassed the reign of (Victoria).
31. There was further family (turmoil), Prince Andrew was forced to withdraw from public life over
his ill-judged friendship with a (convicted) American sex offender.
32. They were (unsettling) moments (presided) over by a monarch who showed that her sense of
commitment was (undiminished).
33. It was (evident) again, during the coronavirus epidemic, The Queen in isolation at Windsor for
her own protection from the virus broadcast a (reassuring) message to the nation.
34. Her personal (resilience) was tested in the spring of (2021) when her beloved husband Philip died
two months short of his (100th) birthday.
35. At his funeral within Windsor Castle, (curtailed) by the social distancing requirements of the
pandemic, The Queen seemed a (solitary) figure.
36. But despite the great sadness of the loss of her husband of (73) years, there was never any
question of her (withdrawing).
37. She marked the (70th) anniversary of her accession to the throne, a record no other monarch
achieved in (February 2022).
38. And she signed the statement, your (servant), Elizabeth R. By (June 2022), and the public
celebration of her (Platinum Jubilee), her (declining) health limited the events she could attend.
39. For decade after decade, Elizabeth II embodied the strengths of a constitutional monarch, a
(steadfast) presence in a constantly (shifting) world.
40. Hers was a life guided by Christian faith and by the (unfaltering) sense of duty to which she had
(pledged) herself on her (21st) birthday.
41. It was something she'd reflected on during her (silver jubilee) in (1977).
42. When I was (21), I (pledged) my life to the service of our people.
43. Although that (vow) was made in my (salad) days when I was (green) in (judgement), I do not
regret nor (retract) one word of it.
44. Many (tributes) are being paid to Queen Elizabeth from around the world.
45. Queen Elizabeth II the Second was the rock on which modern Britain was built. She (ascended)
the throne just after the Second World War.
46. She (championed) the development of the Commonwealth from a small group of (seven)
countries, to a family of (56) nations (spanning) every (continent) of the world.
47. (Through thick and thin), Queen Elizabeth II provided us with the stability and the strength that
we needed.
48. She was the very spirit of Great Britain, and that spirit will (endure).
49. Throughout her life, she has visited more than (100) countries, and she has touched the lives of
millions around the world.
50. King George VI broadcasting to Britain and the Commonwealth in (1939).
51. His daughter Princess Elizabeth was (13) when war broke out. Her sister Margaret (nine).
52. We went for a weekend, they said, and stayed for (five) years.
53. Some thought that girls should be (evacuated) to Canada. But as Princess Margaret said later, the
King thought differently.
54. The princesses were joined by their parents most nights, and Elizabeth and Margaret performed
an annual Christmas (pantomime).
55. (Cinderella) was the first with Elizabeth playing (Prince Charming) and Margaret in the title row.
56. Princess Elizabeth broadcast for the first time in (October 1940) on the BBC’s (Children's Hour)
addressing those who had been (evacuated).
57. In (1942) Princess Elizabeth was appointed (colonel in Chief) of the Grenadier Guards.
58. On her (16th) birthday, she (carried out) her first public engagement when she inspected the
(regiment).
59. (Three) years later, she (donned) uniform herself joining the (auxiliary) (territorial) service (ATS).
60. She was filmed dressed in (dungarees) doing her bit for the war effort.
61. According to the royal biographer Philip Ziegler, she was (keen) to (muck in) with everyone else.
62. When the war against Germany ended in (May 1945), Princess Elizabeth and her sister (slipped
out) of Buckingham Palace to join tens of thousands of people on the streets of London.
63. Queen Elizabeth (attached) huge importance to her role as Head of the Commonwealth.
64. A small group of former British colonies when she (assumed) the throne in (1952), the
Commonwealth grew to represent (56) states (comprising) a third of the world's population.
65. (1953) and the (newsreels) breathlessly welcome Her Majesty to Bermuda, the start of a (six
month) tour of the Commonwealth.
66. In Fiji, the Queen was greeted by (swirling) spear dancers.
67. And in Australia, (ecstatic) crowds packed the streets.
68. As she made clear in her (Christmas) message from New Zealand.
69. I want to show that the Crown is not merely an (abstract) symbol of unity, but a personal and
living (bond) between you and me.
70. A few months earlier, Elizabeth had been crowned but unlike her father, there was no mention
of (Empire) in the (Coronation) (oath).
71. And in that first (Christmas) broadcast, she committed herself to a vision for the future. Based on
an organisation of (equals).
72. A Commonwealth (bears) no (resemblance) to the Empires of the past.
73. Countries that were still colonies began to (peel away).
74. (1961) with much (fanfare), she saw Sierra Leone become independent.
75. South Africa left and in (1965), the colonial rulers of Rhodesia declared independence, equally
determined to prevent a black majority.
76. At a (summit) of Commonwealth leaders in Zambia in (1979), there was (suspicion) the British
government wanted to recognise Rhodesia and lift (sanctions).
77. As John Humphries reported at the time, it (pitched) the Queen into a Commonwealth (crisis).
78. She made it clear to all prime ministers, all presidents black and white, old and new, that the
Commonwealth must not (break), the Commonwealth must find the (consensus).
79. So that was a very powerful influence being exercised on the back of and on the strength of her
considerable (prestige).
80. The conference ended with an (unequivocal) declaration that (Apartheid) was an (affront) to
humanity.
81. The view may sometimes be a little (obscure). But the events in South Africa of the last few years
have helped to bring (rays) of sunshine to (pierce) the mist.
82. Queen Elizabeth (derived) enormous pleasure from the sport of horse racing.
83. She owned and (bred) horses throughout her reign, earning considerable respect for her
knowledge of (bloodstock) and training and nothing was more fun for her it seemed than a day at
the races.
84. Estimate hits the front in the (2013) Gold Cup at Ascot.
85. A moment of (sheer) joy for the owner, Her Majesty the Queen.
86. A victory that saw her become the first reigning monarch to win the trophy in the (207) year
history of one of the sport’s most (prestigious) races.
87. For a monarch who (relished) the excitement of being at the races, this was an especially proud
moment.
88. The young Princess Elizabeth rode from an early age and (inherited) her parents passion for
racing.
89. Her mother favoured (national hunt racing) but like her father, Elizabeth preferred the (flat).
90. I suppose I first became interested in racing during the war, when my father had leased Big Game
and Sun Chariot from the (National Stud).
91. And I was able to pat them in the (stable) afterwards. I'd never felt the (satiny) softness of the
(thoroughbred) before.
92. (1954) saw her crowned champion flat owner in just her second season.
93. Her horse Aureole came second in the (Derby), then won the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth
Diamond Stakes at Ascot.
94. Her knowledge of racehorses was (formidable) even though from the (1980s) she couldn't always
compete with the oil wealth of Middle Eastern owners or the success of the Irish.
95. Though her famous colours recorded more than (1800) victories, both at home and abroad, the
Queen failed in her greatest ambition.
96. The (Derby), alone out of the English classics, was to (elude) her, the only win she could (muster)
at Epsom was in the (sweepstake).
97. On her mother's death, she inherited (a string of) jump horses, visiting the Cheltenham Festival in
(2009) for the very first time to watch her Gold Cup.
98. Having first attended Royal Ascot more than (70) years ago, she did so once again in (June).
99. (2021) proving her Majesty's most successful ever horse racing year.
100. In the coming days we'll hear much more about her (legacy) and what happens next for King
Charles III.