House of Windsor - Queen Elizabeth II
Name: Queen Elizabeth II
Father: George VI
Mother: Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Born: April 21, 1926 at 17, Bruton Street, London
Ascended to the throne: February 6, 1952 aged 25 years
Crowned: June 2, 1953 at Westminster Abbey
Married: Philip Mountbatten, on November 20, 1947
Children: Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward
Current Age: 98 years, 7 months, and 1 day
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 reign of Queen Elizabeth II since 1952 has 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 have all been transformed and many traditional institutions have suffered in the process. Through all this, the path of the Crown has been marked out by The Queen herself, in a prolonged display of unwavering devotion to Duty and quiet pragmatism which has met a nationally-felt need, and has 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 has symbolic and formal functions and duties but no direct powers. She is an embodiment of national identity and continuity and, with her family, has performed countless formalities to mark events in the lives of individuals and communities and provides valuable patronage for innumerable charities.
Her reign of over 70 years is the longest ever of a British monarch. In 2022 she celebrated the Platinum Jubilee of her reign. She was married to her husband Prince Philip for 73 years until his death aged 99 on 9th April 2021. The Queen is head of a large family, and she has 4 children, 8 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren. The Royal Family has 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.
Her heir Prince Charles, after suffering a period of unpopularity, has shown resilience and willingness to meet the changes in society and its new mood. His long-established concern for the disadvantaged sections of society, and support of environmental issues, has enabled him to meet on common ground many who might be put off by grandeur and pomp. His second wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, has shown herself to be more than capable in her support. Prince William together with Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, and their three young children, are a popular embodiment of the latest generation of royals. Debate about the future of the monarchy continues, but the Royal Family has shown itself willing to contemplate evolutionary change, and the Crown of Britain has entered the second decade of the twenty-first century with vigour and fresh purpose.
Queen Elizabeth II's Signature
Timeline for Queen Elizabeth II
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1952 | Elizabeth accedes to the throne on the death of her father, George VI. |
| 1952 | World's first jet airliner passenger service inaugurated by BOAC in Comet I aircraft |
| 1953 | Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay climb Mount Everest just before Coronation Day |
| 1953 | Francis 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 |
| 1955 | Winston Churchill resigns as Prime Minister and is succeeded by Anthony Eden. |
| 1955 | Laws restricting the burning of coal and establishing smokeless zones bring an end to London's notorious fogs |
| 1956 | Anglo-French forces invade Egypt after the nationalization of the Suez Canal. |
| 1957 | Harold Macmillan becomes Prime Minister |
| 1957 | The Gold Coast becomes independent as Ghana, the first British colony in Africa to receive its independence. |
| 1957 | Queen Elizabeth addresses the United Nations and opens the 23rd Canadian Parliament |
| 1959 | Oil is discovered in the North Sea. |
| 1959 | Queen Elizabeth tours Canada and the United States |
| 1960 | Harold Macmillan becomes Prime Minister makes 'winds of change' speech in South Africa. |
| 1960 | Union of South Africa withdraws from the Commonwealth. |
| 1962 | Jamaica gains independence |
| 1963 | Alec Douglas-Hume replaces Harold Macmillan as the Prime Minister. |
| 1963 | The Beatles release their first LP. |
| 1964 | Labour government of Harold Wilson takes office |
| 1966 | Aberfan disaster leaves 116 children dead |
| 1967 | Capital punishment abolished in the UK for murder, and one year later for all crimes |
| 1969 | Prince Charles is invested as Prince of Wales. |
| 1969 | Troubles break out in the North of Ireland |
| 1970 | Edward Heath becomes Prime Minister. |
| 1971 | Decimal currency is introduced. |
| 1973 | The United Kingdom joins the European Economic Community (EEC) |
| 1974 | Miners strike brings down Heath Government. Harold Wilson returns as Prime Minister. |
| 1976 | Concorde begins first supersonic trans-Atlantic flights |
| 1977 | Celebration of the Silver Jubilee of the Queens accession |
| 1978 | The world's first test-tube baby is delivered in Oldham, Greater Manchester |
| 1979 | Margaret Thatcher succeeds James Callaghan, becoming Britain’s first woman Prime Minister. |
| 1981 | Prince Charles marries Lady Diana Spencer in St. Paul’s Cathedral. |
| 1982 | Unemployment in Britain tops three million. |
| 1982 | Britain goes to war with Argentina over control of the Falkland Islands |
| 1982 | Pope John Paul II is first reigning pope to visit the UK. |
| 1984 | Miners strike again but is defeated by Thatcher. |
| 1986 | Queen Elizabeth II celebrates 60th birthday. |
| 1988 | PanAm flight 103 bombed and crashes on Lockerbie killing 270 |
| 1989 | Poll tax is introduced amid widespread protest. |
| 1989 | Fall of the Berlin Wall. End of the 'Cold War'. |
| 1990 | Margaret Thatcher resigns as Prime Minister after 11 years and is succeeded by John Major. |
| 1991 | The Allied forces liberate Kuwait during the Gulf War. |
| 1992 | Princess Anne and Mark Phillips divorce. Windsor castle suffers severe fire damage. |
| 1993 | Maastricht Treaty. The EEC becomes the European Union and the European Parliament comes into force. |
| 1994 | Opening of the Channel Tunnel between England and France |
| 1996 | Both the Prince and Princess of Wales, and the Duke and Duchess of York divorce. |
| 1997 | Tony Blair becomes Prime Minister and ends 18 years of Conservative government. |
| 1997 | Hong Kong reverts to China after 155 years of British rule. |
| 1997 | Diana Princess of Wales dies in Paris car crash |
| 1998 | Good Friday agreement in Northern Ireland |
| 1998 | Scotland and Wales vote for their own Assemblies |
| 1999 | Edward, Earl of Wessex, marries Sophie Rhys-Jones. |
| 2000 | Queen Mother celebrates her 100th birthday. |
| 2001 | Twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York destroyed by Islamic terrorists. |
| 2001 | - 2014. Fourth Afghan War. British and Allied troops in Afghanistan. |
| 2002 | Queen Elizabeth II marks her Golden Jubilee of 50 years of rule. Deaths of Queen Mother and Princess Margaret. |
| 2003 | British and US forces invade Iraq and topple Saddam Hussein |
| 2005 | Prince Charles marries his second wife Camilla Parker-Bowles and she is given the title Duchess of Cornwall |
| 2006 | Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 80th birthday. |
| 2007 | Tony Blair resigns as Prime Minister |
| 2007 | Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip celebrate 60 years of marriage |
| 2007 | Queen Elizabeth II becomes the oldest ever reigning British monarch |
| 2008 | World wide banking crisis. Government has to bail out two major British banks |
| 2009 | Parliamentary integrity damaged by expenses scandal |
| 2010 | David Cameron becomes Prime Minister |
| 2011 | Prince William marries Catherine Middleton. They become Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. |
| 2011 | Queen Elizabeth II visits Dublin in the first state visit to the Republic of Ireland by a reigning British monarch. |
| 2012 | Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her Diamond Jubilee of 60 years since her accession to the throne. |
| 2012 | Queen Elizabeth II opens the London 2012 Olympic Games |
| 2013 | Birth of Prince George, son of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge |
| 2014 | Scottish voters reject proposal by the Scottish National Party to leave the United Kingdom |
| 2014 | End of 4th Afghan war. British forces leave Afghanistan. |
| 2015 | Birth of Princess Charlotte, daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge |
| 2015 | Queen Elizabeth II becomes the longest ever reigning British monarch surpassing her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria. |
| 2016 | Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 90th birthday. |
| 2016 | The United Kingdom votes to leave the European Union. |
| 2016 | David Cameron resigns as Prime Minister and is replaced by Theresa May. |
| 2017 | The UK negotiates to regain sovereignty from the European Union. |
| 2018 | Birth of Prince Louis, second son of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge |
| 2018 | Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle. They become Duke and Duchess of Sussex. |
| 2019 | Boris Johnson becomes Prime Minister |
| 2020 | Prince Harry and his wife exit royal duties and move to North America |
| 2020 | The United Kingdom leaves the European Union |
| 2020 | Worldwide coronavirus pandemic |
| 2021 | The Queen's husband Prince Philip dies aged 99 years, |
| 2022 | Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her Platinum Jubilee of 70 years since her accession to the throne. |
| 2022 | Death of Queen Elizabeth II aged 96 years |