- She ruled for 30% of the time since the American Revolution
- She oversaw the largest reduction of landholdings of any empire in the history of the world. Notable because it was also one of the most peaceful transitions in history -- Australia, Canada, South Africa, Israel, Egypt, etc.
- She oversaw the loss of Sterling the world reserve currency and the rise of another (the USD, EU).
Notably, without loosing their royal power over those landholdings.
Technically there is no one who could authorize that split except the current monarch. I'd imagine things will continue just as they were
- At least in the US, Canadian diplomatic residences are owned by her. Where I live, the owner of the consulate general's home is listed in public records as "Her Majesty the Queen Right Canada".
Here's another example from a few years ago:
> Charlie Zelle confirmed Wednesday he has purchased a five-bedroom, five-bathroom Minneapolis lakeshore home that has been the official residence of the Canadian consulate general.
> Records show Charles and Julie Zelle paid $1.65 million US for the property, with the seller listed as "Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth."
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/canada-diplomatic-residence-so...
She didn't lose her royal power when handing over those landholdings, nor did she loose it (militarily) to prevent those reductions in the first place.
Seems like she handled it well.
There was little for the Royal Family to adjust to.
They were the sovereigns of those nations, if independent from the UK. They still "appoint" the PMs of those countries and have a fair amount of political influence via governors.
The peaceful diminishing of an empire should be remembered as one of the most remarkable achievements during her reign, a striking contrast to world leaders past and present who seek the reverse.
Technically this occurred with the Bretton Woods agreement in 1944 [1] several years before Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the throne.
That said, there is precedent. Victoria didn't inherit Hanover, which had been in personal union with the UK, because it had different succession laws (which excluded women). So it's just a matter of political will really.
Where it was up to the queen and her government, it wasn't all that peaceful.