Queen Elizabeth Voted the Most Iconic Woman of the Last 60 Years Ahead of Princess Diana in Second Place

The late Queen Elizabeth II has been voted the most iconic woman of the last 60 years. The monarch, who died at the age of 96 last month, won the poll where more than 2,000 Britons were asked to choose their favorite female role models. Elizabeth, who reigned from 1952 to 2022, took more than a quarter (27 percent) of the vote. Joanne Ward, a spokesperson for the beauty company Fenjal, a skincare and spa brand, which conducted the poll, said, “Queen Elizabeth II held the nation's heart for 70 years. It seems very fitting and a touching tribute that the UK has voted her their most iconic woman,” reported Essex Magazine.

The Queen's daughter-in-law Diana, Princess of Wales, came in second followed by Mother Teresa in third place. Talk show host Oprah Winfrey also made the top ten list along with US civil rights activist Rosa Parks. The youngest women who appeared on the list were climate activist Greta Thunberg and Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai. A surprising entry included the pop girl band The Spice Girls who beat Michelle Obama and Beyonce.

Voters could also pick the most iconic moment from the last 60 years. 42 percent of the participants selected the 1969 Moon Landing as their top moment. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech came in second with 28 percent, closely followed by Barack Obama's inauguration as the first Black US President coming in third with 27 percent. 

Queen Elizabeth II holds the title of the longest-reigning monarch in British history after she completed 70 years on the throne. The late Queen is second only to French King Louis XIV, who ruled for 72 years. Her son Charles ascended the throne after her death. According to Town & Country Magazine, in his first speech as British monarch in the Blue Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace in London, he remembered his "beloved Mother" as an "inspiration and example to me and to all my family, and we owe her the most heartfelt debt any family can owe to their mother; for her love, affection, guidance, understanding and example. Queen Elizabeth was a life well lived; a promise with destiny kept and she is mourned most deeply in her passing." He added that "she made sacrifices for duty. Her dedication and devotion as Sovereign never wavered, through times of change and progress, through times of joy and celebration, and through times of sadness and loss. In her life of service we saw that abiding love of tradition, together with that fearless embrace of progress, which make us great as Nations. The affection, admiration and respect she inspired became the hallmark of her reign. And, as every member of my family can testify, she combined these qualities with warmth, humour and an unerring ability always to see the best in people."

References:

https://www.essexmagazine.co.uk/2022/10/queen-elizabeth-ii-voted-most-iconic-woman-of-the-past-60-years/
https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a41122583/king-charles-iii-first-speech-transcript/

Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Jeff J Mitchell