The last queen.

Queen Elizabeth II passed away at 96, two years after her husband for 77 years, Prince Philip, who died at 99. When the Queen ascended to the throne in 1952, 70 years ago, she was not only the head of state of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, but dozens of colonies in what was then the British Empire, where the sun never set, as they used to say. Alas, for most people, life in the colonies was dark and miserable; people were oppressed, lived without human and democratic rights, and had minimal say in the running of their countries. The independence struggle lasted for decades, from the 1940s.

British India was a crown colony, under the Emperor of India. It became Pakistan and India on 14 and 15 August 1947 when the British Raj was dissolved. Many other countries became independent in the next decades, mainly in the late 1950s and 1960s, overseen by King George VI as constitutional head of state from 1936-1952, followed by his daughter, Queen Elizabeth II in 1952. When it was announced that her father had passed away and she had inherited the throne, she was on holiday with her husband Prince Philip in the African colony of Kenya, which gained independence in 1963.

Hot, dry weather likely to prevail over most plain areas

It is an interesting piece of history that the British head of state was also the constitutional head of state of Pakistan from 1952-1956 when the country became the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Thus, we can say that Queen Elizabeth II was the Last Queen of Pakistan. Good to know perhaps for those Pakistanis who have dual citizenship, or otherwise feel quite British at heart.

The Queen was at the time of her passing, the ceremonial head of state of fourteen countries outside the UK, with Australia, New Zealand, and Canada being the largest ones. Now King Charles III has taken over the ceremonial duties. Some of the smaller countries may now consider if they should withdraw from the old British link and become republics.

Today, the former British colonies, and some other Anglophone countries, are voluntary members of the Commonwealth of Nations, which currently has fifty-six members, including Pakistan. The countries must have a democratic rule to remain members, and if not, which happened to Pakistan during military rule, membership is frozen till democracy is again restored.

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The ceremonial chair of the Commonwealth is always the British head of...