Queen Elizabeth II

The 84-year-old, who is also Queen of the British Commonwealth that includes the English-speaking Caribbean, Canada, Australia, India and New Zealand, was on her way from a 7-day visit to Canada.

In her first speech to the UN, since 1957, the queen said she has seen great change, much of it for the better. Her address, made to the UN’s General Assembly attracted the attention of the national and international media, and lasted just seven minutes.

She spoke of the importance of leadership and the increasing critical leadership role of the UN in upholding human rights in the 21st century. She told members of the General Assembly that the UN has helped to reduce conflict and has offered humanitarian assistance to millions of people, and that the organization has been committed to tackling the problem of poverty globally.

However, she said more needs to be done, especially towards terrorism and climate change. Of interest to the countries that are members of the 54 member British Commonwealth, the queen called on the UN to pay attention to the risks facing “smaller, more vulnerable nations,” many of which are members of the Commonwealth. She concluded her speech, saying that more hard work is required by the UN in the years ahead if the nations in the world are “truly to be United Nations.”

Prior to the queen’s address she was welcomed to the UN by its Secretary General Ban Ki-moon who referred to her reign as spanning several decades; from the challenges of the Cold War to the threat from Global warning, from the British pop group, the Beatles to British star soccer player, David Beckham, and from the days of black and white TV to the technological phenomenon - Twitter. Ban said over all these years the queen has remained “an anchor for our age.”

Eighty-one year old Belize-American Ethlyn Willis, who suffers from osteoporosis and is confined to a wheel chair in her Sunrise home, remarked how fit the queen looked close to her mid eighties. “She is really a remarkable woman, and a fine queen. As a teacher I helped planned her coronation celebration in the high schools in then British Honduras in 1953, and today I am almost crippled and she is still so active. Isn’t that something?” Willis remarked.

After her address to the UN the queen visited Ground Zero where she laid a wreath in memory of those who perished in the terrorist attack in the New York on September 11, 2001.