Elizabeth II was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during her lifetime and 15 at the time of her death.
Queen Elizabeth was born at 02:40 PM local time on 21 April 1926 in London. She was named after both her paternal great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth and her maternal grandmother Queen Alexandra. On 1 May 1947, she married Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and York (a cousin once removed), who became King Philip VI of Spain upon Elizabeth’s accession as queen regent.
On 20 September 2017, she announced that she would be stepping down as monarch by the end of 2018 or early 2019, when she would become head of the Commonwealth realm, with Prince Charles serving as regent. If she had lived to see this event, it would have been the first time a British monarch had abdicated since 1603; however, Elizabeth died three months later, and Charles took up his position as head of state.
Elizabeth II is the queen regnant of 16 sovereign states. She is also the Sovereign of 16 international organisations and was head of state of 15 other countries.
Queen’s life at a glance
Elizabeth II was born on 21 April 1926 at 8:30 PM (BST) at London’s Westminster Palace. Her father, George VI, had become king on 11 December 1936 following his brother’s abdication during World War II. He died less than two months before his daughter was born. Elizabeth’s mother, Queen Mary, continued as regent until her death on 15 March 1953, when Elizabeth was named heir apparent.
In October 1953, Princess Elizabeth became the first female member of the Royal Family to marry a commoner when she wed Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten in Caernarfon Castle. The marriage ended in divorce in 1978 after 14 years and four children (three sons and a daughter). She bore him two daughters: Catherine Pakenham (born 1960) and Anne Ogilvie (born 1961).
In 1965, she became Queen Dowager when her husband died suddenly in an automobile accident along with Sir Anthony Blunt who was her close friend since their schooldays together at
Elizabeth II is the youngest daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. She was born at Buckingham Palace and spent most of her childhood in England before becoming queen. After her father acceded to the throne in 1936, she spent the early part of her childhood in Australia and New Zealand.
In 1937, she returned to Britain to marry Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark. The couple had two children: Prince Charles (born 1948) and Princess Anne (born 1950). The marriage produced three grandchildren: Prince Andrew, Prince Edward (born 1960), and Prince Edward (born 1964).
After Elizabeth’s father died in 1952, she became queen regnant and head of state, with a role similar to that of a modern monarch. She performed official engagements during an official visit to the Republic of Ireland and visited several Commonwealth realms as well as many other countries across the world.
Elizabeth was seen by millions on television during her reign, which began when she was 25 years old. Her coronation took place on 2 June 1953; it was held at Westminster Abbey and broadcast worldwide for free on radio waves via short wave radio stations operated by commercial broadcasting companies such as ITN Ltd., De
Elizabeth II is the Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India. She is also Queen of Canada, and Queen of Australia, as well as Duke of Normandy in her capacity as Duchess of Normandy. She has been described as the “favourite child” of two generations of Britons.
Elizabeth was born at 02:40 on 21 April 1926 at York Cottage on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, England. Her father was Prince Albert, Duke of York (later King George VI), the second son of King George V and Queen Mary; her mother was Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent (later Queen). Her father’s accession to the thrones in 1936 made his eldest daughter a princess, although she was not mentioned in letters patent until 1952 due to her young age. She spent her childhood between Godmersham Park in Kent and Eastwell Park in Kent.
Elizabeth attended numerous schools in Great Britain and received lessons in arts, music, dance and horse-riding from tutors including Andrée Bouffier who taught Elizabeth how to play the piano by ear. She learned French from a young age but did not learn German until after World War II began; she eventually spoke English fluently with some German accent. In