There are few people alive who remember a time before Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's reign, which lasted a record 70 years. From the time when Britain was rebuilding after the horrors of the Second World War, to the Cold War, the collapse of communism, war in the Middle East, Covid-19, Queen Elizabeth II has been a constant at the helm of the British monarchy.
Before the late Queen acceded the throne, the JC has reported on the deaths of five monarchs, from Queen Victoria until today. In fact, the JC missed the death of King William IV (1765 - 1837) by just four years, having been founded in 1841.
As Britain welcomes a new monarch for the first time in 70 years, this is how the JC reported on the deaths of his predecessors.
The Jewish Chronicle: January 25 1901 - Queen Victoria
Death of Queen Victoria
Queen Victoria: The first monarch to pass away after the founding of the JC
The first death of a monarch reported by the JC was Queen Victoria, who passed away on the 22nd of January 1901 after over 63 years on the throne - the longest ever reign at the time, only eclipsed by the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The JC marked Queen Victoria's passing on five pages at the front of the paper, reporting on the grief felt by British Jews, as well as Jewish landmarks during her historic reign.
The Chief Rabbi wrote a special prayer to mark her passing, printed in both Hebrew and English, and it was also noted that the first Jewish-born prime minister - Benjamin Disraeli - was during her reign, and he was her "favourite".
Death of Queen Victoria 2
On the left: 'Landmarks of Anglo-Jewish progress in the Queen's reign', and on the right: 'Prayer for the Royal Family'
In its leading article, the JC wrote: "That among all the millions of her loyal subjects in every part of the globe to which the British Empire extends, Queen Victoria has had no more passionately devoted supporters of her Throne than the members of the Jewish race has long been recognised as the tritest of truisms. On every possible occasion they have given the most indubitable proofs of the intensity of their affections. Alike in the sorrows and the joys that have filled the life of this august lady in no common measure, the sympathies of the Jewish community have not been surpassed in keenness by any section of Her Majesty's subjects."
"Her reign has been coincident with the complete removal of Jewish disabilities in the British Empire, and the placing of Jews upon an absolute equality with their fellow-citizens—political, civil, and social. But it is no mere fortunate accident that all this has taken place during the three-score years and more that the Queen has held sway. The Victorian era of emancipation is Victorian in the sense that it has been largely helped forward by the gracious example of the Queen herself. Liberty, toleration, justice, hatred of oppression, sympathy- with every form of suffering have been the guiding principles of her private life as much as they have been the watchwords of her public rule."
The Jewish Chronicle May 13 1910 - King Edward VII
King Edward VII death
The passing of King Edward VII was marked on the front two pages of the JC in 1910
Less than 10 years after the death of his mother and his accession, King Edward VII died on May 6 1910, marked by the JC seven days later.
Over two pages, the JC wrote about his reign, his relationship with British Jews, and the accession of his eldest son, King George V.
The JC wrote: "He was the friend of every one of his subjects — all felt that in him they had that most conspicuous attribute of kingship, the determination to guard their rights, to defend their interests, to promote their welfare. This place in the estimate of his people we may be sure he would never have attained had he not possessed qualities of devotion to duty, of broad-mindedness, of wide sympathy, of unerring tact and good sense. By common accord they were his in a marked degree.
"It is, hence, not remarkable that we Jews mourn in the KING'S death the loss of him whom we felt was one of our best of friends. Every section of his people, every class in his vast Empire had thus come to regard him, and with good reason. But we shall never forget that it was under the auspices of the reign that has just mournfully closed that for the first time in modern history a scheme for the amelioration of the lot of the Jewish people as a people was proposed by Government. There is no harm now in saying that in regard to that proposal KING EDWARD himself evinced the strongest interest. A Minister, responsible for the matter, he charged: 'Do the very best you can for that great poor people!' This alone is sufficient to enshrine his memory in the hearts of Jews everlastingly."
The Jewish Chronicle January 24 1936 - King George V
24 Jan 1936
Front page: 'Jewry Mourns The King'
On January 20 1936, after nearly 26 years on the throne, King George V died after a period of illness.
Four days later, the JC published its edition marking his passing, with the front page headline, "Jewry Mourns the King". Two pages were dedicated to His Majesty's obituary, detailing his relationship with British Jews, and celebrating his contribution to the community.
The JC wrote: "The passing of our beloved sovereign has brought to us all a sense of affliction such as can rarely have accompanied the death of a King in any country or age."
"Jews in this country saw in the King the father who permitted no distinctions between his children, and Jews abroad joined their English brethren in honouring him for the just and lofty standards he set in the art and practice of government.
"Nor ever can we forget that it was during his reign that the one flame of hope was lit in the dark and the mirk of Jewish oppression, and the Balfour Declaration was given to our people.
"Truly may it be said that, in King George, 'the redeemer came unto Zion'."
The Jewish Chronicle February 8 1952: King George VI
8 Feb 1952 King-s death
How the JC recorded the death of the King - and the accession of Queen Elizabeth II
King George VI died on February 6 1952 after a long period of declining health. His death meant that the Crown passed to his 25-year-old daughter, who became Queen Elizabeth II the moment he took his final breath. The Queen and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, were on a royal tour in Kenya at the time. They raced back to London immediately.
Two days after the King's death, the JC edition marking his death was published, with a front page headline reading "Death of King George VI", followed by tributes in the editions of the following two weeks.
In the edition of February 8 the JC wrote: "It is with the deepest sorrow that we record the death of His Majesty King George VI, which occurred peacefully during his sleep in the early hours of Wednesday at Sandringham House. The King was 56 and in the 16th year of his reign.
"He is succeeded by his elder daughter, Princess Elizabeth, who comes to the Throne as Queen Elizabeth II. The public proclamation of her accession will be made to-day."
King George VI tribute death
Pages 12 and 13 of the edition of 8th of February 1952 marking the death of King George VI
In a tribute on page 20, it added: "Under the royal leadership of King George VI, Britain fearlessly met the challenge of Nazi barbarism. Tens of thousands of refugees from Nazi persecution were welcomed to this realm and enabled to become numbered among the King's most loyal subjects."
It continued: "In Jewish annals, moreover, the late King's reign will be ever memorable for its association with the establishment of the State of Israel. The cordial relations that now obtain between Britain and Israel may certainly be accounted among the achievements which will leave their beneficent impress upon the pages of human history."
The Jewish Chronicle June 2 1972: the former Edward VIII, the Duke of Windsor
King Edward VIII death
Edward VIII's death was marked on page 20 with a short obituary
On the 28th of May 1972,the Duke of Windsor, formerly Edward VIII died at the home in Paris that he shared with his wife Wallis Simpson, less than a month before his 78th birthday.
Edward VIII had acceded to the throne on the death of his father, King George V, in January 1936, but he abdicated less than a year later after he was refused permission by the government to marry Mrs Simpson, who was a divorcee, passing the Crown to his brother, father of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
In October 1937, the Duke visited Nazi Germany in a much-publicised visit in the German media. He gave a number of Nazi salutes, and met Adolf Hitler at his Berghof retreat in Bavaria. Hitler was quoted by Albert Speer - who worked in his regime - as saying: "I am certain through him permanent friendly relations could have been achieved. If he had stayed, everything would have been different. His abdication was a severe loss for us."
The JC marked his death in the edition of 2nd of June 1952 with a short obituary in the bottom corner of page 20.
It wrote: "The Duke of Windsor's death stirs mixed thoughts in the minds of those who recall the high hopes for his future which were held when he was Prince of Wales.
"Widespread sympathy at the time of his abdication, in 1936, as King Edward VIII continued to be felt towards the Duke when he began to live and travel abroad, but soon considerable disappointment arose at his attitude to Germany, which showed a grave misunderstanding of Nazism.
"With the object of studying the housing and labour conditions in Germany the Duke and Duchess went there in 1937, after consulting Lord Beaverbrook and then refusing his strong advice not to go. They, met Goering, Hess, and Himmler, and then at Berchtesgarten, Hitler himself."
It went on to discuss the Duke's Nazi sympathies revealed in the 1950s and 60s, including his desire for a German-British alliance.
It closed in noting previous support for Jews, including him being "particularly pleased" as his welcome by the Jewish communities of Canada, his visit to the JLB headquarters "to inspect 500 boys on parade", and his visits to East End flats where he "chatted with Jewish residents".
The special edition marking the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will be published on Friday September 16, 2022.
