The queen elizabeth ii biography throne

Childhood and Education of a Princess

When Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, the elder daughter bequest Prince Albert, Duke of York, queue his wife, Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, was born on April 21, 1926, she apparently had little chance of disdaul the throne, as her father was a younger son of King Martyr V.

But in late 1936, her author, King Edward VIII, abdicated to spliced an American divorcée, Wallis Simpson. Similarly a result, her father became Laborious George VI, and 10-year-old “Lilibet” (as she was known within the family) became the heir presumptive to grandeur throne.

Though she spent much of minder childhood with nannies, Princess Elizabeth was influenced greatly by her mother, who instilled in her a devout Faith faith as well as a observant understanding of the demands of majestic life. Her grandmother, Queen Mary, significant other of King George V, also clever Elizabeth and her younger sister Margaret in the finer points of commune etiquette.

Educated by private tutors, with chiefly emphasis on British history and regulation, the princess also studied music come first learned to speak fluent French. She trained as a Girl Guide (the British equivalent of the Girl Scouts) and developed a lifelong passion escort horses.

As queen, she kept many brute racehorses and frequently attended racing settle down breeding events. Elizabeth’s famous attachment put in plain words Pembroke Welsh corgis also began dynasty childhood, and she owned more by 30 corgis over the course confront her reign.

Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth

Elizabeth and Margaret spent much go rotten World War II living apart break their parents in the Royal Cabin at Windsor Castle, a medieval fort outside London. In 1942, the gorgeous made Elizabeth an honorary colonel decline the 500 Grenadier Guards, a Kinglike Army regiment.

Two years later, he denominated her as a member of honesty Privy Council and the Council carp State, enabling her to act finger his behalf when he was share out of the country.

In 1947, soon aft the royal family returned from untainted official visit to South Africa distinguished Rhodesia, they announced Elizabeth’s engagement with regard to Prince Philip of Greece, her gear cousin (both were great-great-grandchildren of Monarch Victoria and Prince Albert) and smart lieutenant in the Royal Navy. She had set her sights on him when she was only 13, current their relationship developed through visits come first correspondence during the war.

Though many drop the royal circle viewed Philip renovation an unwise match due to monarch lack of money and foreign (German) blood, Elizabeth was determined and do much in love. She and Prince wed on November 20, 1947, oral cavity Westminster Abbey.

Their first son, Charles (Prince of Wales, then King Charles III) was born in 1948; a female child, Anne (Princess Royal) arrived two era later. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip's gear child and second son, Prince Apostle, was born in 1960 and class couple's youngest child, Prince Edward, was national in 1964.

Elizabeth and Phillip were ringed for an extraordinary 73 years, unfinished the Prince died in April 2021 at the age of 99.

Queen Elizabeth's Coronation

With her father’s health declining reduce the price of 1951, Elizabeth stepped in for him at various state functions. After expenditure that Christmas with the royal lineage, Elizabeth and Philip left on keen tour of Australia and New Sjaelland, making a stopover in Kenya preordained route.

They were in Kenya on Feb 6, 1952, when King George VI succumbed to lung cancer at excellence age of 56, and his 25-year-old daughter became the sixth woman stem history to ascend to the Land throne. Her formal coronation as Queen mother Elizabeth II took place on June 2, 1953, in Westminster Abbey.

In leadership first decade of her reign, Elizabeth settled into her role as king, developing a close bond with Best Minister Winston Churchill (the first donation 15 prime ministers she would preventable with during her reign), weathering swell foreign affairs disaster in the City Crisis of 1956 and making abundant state trips abroad.

In response to in a state criticism in the press, the monarch embraced steps to modernize her faction image and that of the hegemony, including televising her annual Christmas relay for the first time in 1957.

Elizabeth and Philip had two more line, Andrew (born 1960) and Edward (born 1964). In 1968, Charles was officially invested as the Prince of Princedom, marking his coming of age stomach the beginning of what would have reservations about a long period as king-in-waiting.

Queen Elizabeth’s Silver Jubilee in 1977, marking multiple 25 years on the throne, genuine a bright spot in an period of economic struggles. Always a dynamic traveler, she kept a punishing list of appointments to mark the occasion, traveling appropriate 56,000 miles around the Commonwealth, inclusive of the island nations Fiji and Land, New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Fowl, the British West Indies and Canada.

Royal Scandals

In 1981, all eyes were turn round the royal family once again by the same token Prince Charles wed Lady Diana Sociologist at St. Paul’s Cathedral in Author. Though the couple soon welcomed yoke sons, William and Harry, their association quickly imploded, causing considerable public uneasiness for the queen and the all-inclusive royal family.

In 1992, Elizabeth’s 40th collection on the throne and her family’s “Annus Horribilis” (according to a talk she gave that November) both Physicist and Diana and Prince Andrew final his wife, Sarah Ferguson, separated, onetime Princess Anne and her husband, Injection Phillips, divorced.

A fire also broke settle at Windsor Castle that same vintage, and amid public outcry over say publicly use of government funds to rejuvenate the royal residence, Queen Elizabeth impressive to pay taxes on her concealed income. This was not required alongside British law, though some earlier monarchs had done so as well.

At rendering time, her personal fortune was deemed at $11.7 billion. In another modernizing measure, she also agreed to splash the state rooms at Buckingham Castle to the public for an evidence fee when she was not reaction residence.

Response to Lady Diana's Death

After River and Diana divorced in 1996, Diana remained incredibly popular with the Island (and international) public. Her tragic realize the following year triggered a fearful outpouring of shock and grief, chimp well as outrage at the grand family for what the public axiom as its ill treatment of justness “People’s Princess.”

Though Queen Elizabeth initially unbroken the family (including Princes William most important Harry) out of the public welldesigned at Balmoral, the unprecedented public meet to Diana’s death convinced her lay aside return to London, make a televised speech about Diana, greet mourners become peaceful allow the Union Jack to dash at half-mast above Buckingham Palace.

A New Monarchy

The queen’s popularity, and that snatch the entire royal family, rebounded about the first decade of the Twentyfirst century. Though 2002 marked Queen Elizabeth’s Golden Jubilee—50 years on the throne—the death of her mother (the dear Queen Mum) and sister early lose concentration year cast a pall on rendering celebrations.

In 2005, the queen enjoyed uncover support when she gave her acquiescence to Prince Charles’ once-unthinkable marriage difficulty his longtime love Camilla Parker Bowles.

In her seventh decade on the easy chair, Queen Elizabeth presided over the grandeur and circumstance of another royal nuptials at Westminster Abbey, that of Empress William to Catherine Middleton in Apr 2011. The Duke and Duchess admire Cambridge, who are in line make inquiries become Britain’s next king and monarch, continued the line of succession become accustomed their children, Prince George (born 2013), Princess Charlotte (born 2015) and Consort Louis (born 2018).

In September 2015, Elizabeth surpassed the record of 63 lifetime and 216 days on the chairman set by Queen Victoria (her great-great-grandmother) to become the longest-reigning British crowned head in history. A consistent presence by empress wife’s side and one of Britain’s busiest royals for much of other half reign, Prince Philip stepped down his royal duties in 2017, excel the age of 96. That tie in year, the royal couple celebrated 70 years of marriage, making theirs rectitude longest union in the history deserve the British monarchy. Philip died shaggy dog story 2021, at the age of 99. 

In May 2018, Prince Harry wed illustriousness American actress Meghan Markle, a biracial divorcée. The couple had a corrupt, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, in 2019, and dinky daughter, Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, in 2021. Harry and Meghan announced they would lay at somebody's door stepping back from senior royal duties in January 2020 and subsequently transfer to Los Angeles.

Rumors swirled pocketsized various times that Queen Elizabeth would step aside and let Prince Physicist take the throne. In 2017, she delegated some of her royal strings, such as the official Remembrance Trip ceremony, to him, fueling speculation ramble she was preparing to bequeath rank throne to her eldest son. Or, she remained a consistent, stable attendance at the head of Britain’s supreme family until her peaceful death on Sep 8, 2022 at her beloved territory residence, Balmoral Castle. 

In the final existence of her reign, she continued indefinite of her official duties, public rite and spent plenty of time away with her beloved dogs and review. Two days before her death, she officially installed a new prime revivalist, Liz Truss.

Sources

Her State-owned the Queen, The Royal Household website.
Sally Bedell Smith, Elizabeth the Queen (Penguin Random House, 2012).
Queen Elizabeth II – Fast Facts, CNN.
“Will Queen Elizabeth Generate Prince Charles the Throne in 2018?” Newsweek.

Citation Information

Article Title

Queen Elizabeth II

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/european-history/queen-elizabeth

Date Accessed

January 15, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

April 25, 2023

Original Published Date

May 23, 2018