SimplyAbuDhabi XLI

UAE Minister of Education. Then in 2013, President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited the UK for the first time, marking the second-ever visit by a UAE president since Sheikh Zayed’s visit in 1989. The special relationship extends to the people of our nations as well. About 240,000 British citizens live in the Emirates and over a million visit each year for business and leisure. Britain remains one of the most popular destinations for UAE expats and is the most popular choice of Emirati students travelling overseas for their higher education, with around 40,000 Emiratis visiting the UK every year. Beside each country sharing consistently high rates of mutual trade and investment, it’s clear that a strong bond of alliance, friendship and reverence for the ruling royal families continue to unite the people of the UK and the UAE. On paper, Queen Elizabeth and Sheikh Khalifa would seem to be very different. But as leaders they had so much in common: they both succeeded fathers who had ruled the nation before them; they both a deep commitment to upholding the legacies of their royal tradition; and both were crucial in adapting their countries to a changing world. Let’s take a look back at the life and legacies of the two leaders we lost in 2022. Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Queen Elizabeth ruled for longer than any other Monarch in British history, becoming a much loved and respected figure across the globe. Over the 70 years of her reign, Her Majesty was a dedicated Head of the Commonwealth, linking more than two billion people worldwide. In the span of those seven remarkable decades, the world underwent significant and polarizing change – and her Majesty guided her subjects through it all with grace, dignity and a quiet strength. The outpouring of sorrow around the world at her passing was a testament to how dearly people held her in their hearts. Even in her early years, she was marked for distinction. The first child of the Duke and Duchess of York, Her Majesty was born in London in April of 1926. Her father acceded to the throne in 1936, becoming King George VI; her mother became Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother; and the princess, at just 10 years old, became the heir presumptive. She was educated privately at home and began to undertake public duties during the Second World War, serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service Simply Abu Dhabi | 71