Britroyals Menu

Britroyals Home Britroyals Home

Kings & Queens Kings & Queens

Royal Family Trees Royal Family Trees

Royal Family Royal Family

Line of Succession Line of Succession

Timeline Timeline

Frequently Asked Questions Frequently Asked Questions

Quiz Quiz

 Britroyals

Queen Elizabeth II (1952 - 2022)


Name: Queen Elizabeth II
Full Name: Elizabeth Alexandra Mary
Born: April 21, 1926 at 17, Bruton Street, London
Parents: George VI and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Relation to Charles III: Mother
House of: Windsor
Ascended to the throne: February 6, 1952 aged 25 years
Crowned: June 2, 1953 at Westminster Abbey
Married: Philip Mountbatten
Children: Charles III, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward
Died: September 8, 2022 at Balmoral, Scotland, aged 96 years, 4 months, and 18 days
Buried at: Windsor
Reigned for: 70 years, 7 months, and 1 day
Succeeded by: her son Charles III

Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born in London on 21 April 1926; she was educated privately, and assumed official duties at 16. During World War II she served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service, and by an amendment to the Regency Act she became a state counsellor on her 18th birthday. On the death of George VI in 1952 she succeeded to the throne while in Kenya with her husband and was crowned on 2 June 1953.

The 70 year reign of Queen Elizabeth II from 1952 to 2022 spanned a period of rapid and occasionally turbulent change. Britain’s position in the world, her economy, and the very shape and structures of society were all transformed and many traditional institutions have suffered in the process. Through all this, the path of the Crown was marked out by The Queen herself, in a prolonged display of unwavering devotion to Duty and quiet pragmatism which met a nationally-felt need, and won her the respect and affection of her peoples.

As hereditary head of State for Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and Head of the Commonwealth, she had symbolic and formal functions and duties but no direct powers. She was an embodiment of national identity and continuity and with her family performed countless formalities to mark events in the lives of individuals and communities and provided valuable patronage for innumerable charities. The Commonwealth of Nations was particularly close to her heart and she and her husband Philip undertook many state visits overseas.

Her reign was the longest ever of a British monarch. She was married to her husband Prince Philip for 73 years until his death aged 99 on 9th April 2021. The Queen was head of a large family, and she had 4 children, 8 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren. The Royal Family suffered its share of divorces, controversy, and tragedy including the death of Princess Diana in a car crash in Paris, and relentless intrusion by the world's press into their lives. Under the Queens guidance the institution of the monarchy has been through evolutionary change and she was a deeply loved and admired figure at the time of her death aged 96 at Balmoral, Scotland, on 8th September 2022. She has been succeeded by her son King Charles III.

Queen Elizabeth II's Signature

Quotes:

‘I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.’ – Queen Elizabeth II

‘It's all to do with the training: you can do a lot if you're properly trained’ – Queen Elizabeth II

‘Like all the best families, we have our share of eccentricities, of impetuous and wayward youngsters and of family disagreements.’ – Queen Elizabeth II

‘I cannot lead you into battle. I do not give you laws or administer justice but I can do something else - I can give my heart and my devotion to these old islands and to all the peoples of our brotherhood of nations.’ – Queen Elizabeth II.

Timeline for Queen Elizabeth II

Year Event
1952Elizabeth accedes to the throne on the death of her father, George VI.
1952World's first jet airliner passenger service inaugurated by BOAC in Comet I aircraft
1953Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay climb Mount Everest just before Coronation Day
1953Francis Crick and James Watson unravel the mystery of DNA
1953- 1954 Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip embark on a 6 month world tour including Australia and New Zealand
1955Winston Churchill resigns as Prime Minister and is succeeded by Anthony Eden.
1955Laws restricting the burning of coal and establishing smokeless zones bring an end to London's notorious fogs
1956Anglo-French forces invade Egypt after the nationalization of the Suez Canal.
1957Harold Macmillan becomes Prime Minister
1957The Gold Coast becomes independent as Ghana, the first British colony in Africa to receive its independence.
1957Queen Elizabeth addresses the United Nations and opens the 23rd Canadian Parliament
1959Oil is discovered in the North Sea.
1959Queen Elizabeth tours Canada and the United States
1960Harold Macmillan becomes Prime Minister makes 'winds of change' speech in South Africa.
1960Union of South Africa withdraws from the Commonwealth.
1962Jamaica gains independence
1963Alec Douglas-Hume replaces Harold Macmillan as the Prime Minister.
1963The Beatles release their first LP.
1964Labour government of Harold Wilson takes office
1966Aberfan disaster leaves 116 children dead
1967Capital punishment abolished in the UK for murder, and one year later for all crimes
1969Prince Charles is invested as Prince of Wales.
1969Troubles break out in the North of Ireland
1970Edward Heath becomes Prime Minister.
1971Decimal currency is introduced.
1973The United Kingdom joins the European Economic Community (EEC)
1974Miners strike brings down Heath Government. Harold Wilson returns as Prime Minister.
1976Concorde begins first supersonic trans-Atlantic flights
1977Celebration of the Silver Jubilee of the Queens accession
1978The world's first test-tube baby is delivered in Oldham, Greater Manchester
1979Margaret Thatcher succeeds James Callaghan, becoming Britain’s first woman Prime Minister.
1981Prince Charles marries Lady Diana Spencer in St. Paul’s Cathedral.
1982Unemployment in Britain tops three million.
1982Britain goes to war with Argentina over control of the Falkland Islands
1982Pope John Paul II is first reigning pope to visit the UK.
1984Miners strike again but is defeated by Thatcher.
1986Queen Elizabeth II celebrates 60th birthday.
1988PanAm flight 103 bombed and crashes on Lockerbie killing 270
1989Poll tax is introduced amid widespread protest.
1989Fall of the Berlin Wall. End of the 'Cold War'.
1990Margaret Thatcher resigns as Prime Minister after 11 years and is succeeded by John Major.
1991The Allied forces liberate Kuwait during the Gulf War.
1992Princess Anne and Mark Phillips divorce. Windsor castle suffers severe fire damage.
1993Maastricht Treaty. The EEC becomes the European Union and the European Parliament comes into force.
1994Opening of the Channel Tunnel between England and France
1996Both the Prince and Princess of Wales, and the Duke and Duchess of York divorce.
1997Tony Blair becomes Prime Minister and ends 18 years of Conservative government.
1997Hong Kong reverts to China after 155 years of British rule.
1997Diana Princess of Wales dies in Paris car crash
1998Good Friday agreement in Northern Ireland
1998Scotland and Wales vote for their own Assemblies
1999Edward, Earl of Wessex, marries Sophie Rhys-Jones.
2000Queen Mother celebrates her 100th birthday.
2001Twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York destroyed by Islamic terrorists.
2001- 2014. Fourth Afghan War. British and Allied troops in Afghanistan.
2002Queen Elizabeth II marks her Golden Jubilee of 50 years of rule. Deaths of Queen Mother and Princess Margaret.
2003British and US forces invade Iraq and topple Saddam Hussein
2005Prince Charles marries his second wife Camilla Parker-Bowles and she is given the title Duchess of Cornwall
2006Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 80th birthday.
2007Tony Blair resigns as Prime Minister
2007Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip celebrate 60 years of marriage
2007Queen Elizabeth II becomes the oldest ever reigning British monarch
2008World wide banking crisis. Government has to bail out two major British banks
2009Parliamentary integrity damaged by expenses scandal
2010David Cameron becomes Prime Minister
2011Prince William marries Catherine Middleton. They become Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
2011Queen Elizabeth II visits Dublin in the first state visit to the Republic of Ireland by a reigning British monarch.
2012Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her Diamond Jubilee of 60 years since her accession to the throne.
2012Queen Elizabeth II opens the London 2012 Olympic Games
2013Birth of Prince George, son of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge
2014Scottish voters reject proposal by the Scottish National Party to leave the United Kingdom
2014End of 4th Afghan war. British forces leave Afghanistan.
2015Birth of Princess Charlotte, daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge
2015Queen Elizabeth II becomes the longest ever reigning British monarch surpassing her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria.
2016Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 90th birthday.
2016The United Kingdom votes to leave the European Union.
2016David Cameron resigns as Prime Minister and is replaced by Theresa May.
2017The UK negotiates to regain sovereignty from the European Union.
2018Birth of Prince Louis, second son of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge
2018Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle. They become Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
2019Boris Johnson becomes Prime Minister
2020Prince Harry and his wife exit royal duties and move to North America
2020The United Kingdom leaves the European Union
2020Worldwide coronavirus pandemic
2021The Queen's husband Prince Philip dies aged 99 years,
2022Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her Platinum Jubilee of 70 years since her accession to the throne.
2022Death of Queen Elizabeth II aged 96 years