QUICK FACTS
Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain was the longest-reigning monarch in British history. She celebrated 70 years on the throne in June 2022 with her Platinum Jubilee.
Death Cause
Her death was reported online by the royal family, who stated that she died quietly. The cause was not specified in the announcement. After her death, her eldest son, Charles, ascended to the throne as King Charles III.
Biography
Queen Elizabeth II was crowned on June 2, 1953, after becoming queen on February 6, 1952. She was the mother of the heir to the throne, Prince Charles, as well as the grandmother of Princes William and Harry. As the longest-reigning monarch in British history, Elizabeth attempted to make her reign more modern and sympathetic to a changing public while upholding crown traditions.
Elizabeth passed away on September 8, 2022, at the age of 96.
Early Years
Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born on April 21, 1926, in London, to Prince Albert, Duke of York (after known as King George VI) and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon.
Most people did not realize Elizabeth would one day become Queen of Great Britain when she was born. Elizabeth, nicknamed Lilibet, was able to enjoy the first decade of her life with all the perks of a princess without the added pressures of being the heir apparent.
Elizabeth’s father and mother divided their time between a residence in London and Royal Lodge, the family’s property on the grounds of Windsor Great Park. Tutors educated Elizabeth and her younger sister Margaret at home. Academic studies included French, arithmetic and history, along with dancing, singing and painting lessons.
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When World War II broke out in 1939, Elizabeth and her sister were evacuated to Windsor Castle and generally kept out of London. In 1940, she delivered the first of her renowned radio broadcasts, consoling the children of Britain who had been evacuated from their homes and family. The 14-year-old princess assured them that “in the end, everything will be okay; for God will care for us and give us victory and serenity.”
Elizabeth soon began to take on additional public responsibilities. Elizabeth made her first public appearance reviewing troops in 1942, when her father appointed her colonel-in-chief of the Grenadier Guards. She also began accompanying her parents on formal visits within the United Kingdom.
Elizabeth joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service in 1945 to aid with the war effort. She studied alongside other British women to become an outstanding driver and mechanic. While her voluntary job was just a few months long, it provided Elizabeth with a glimpse into a different, non-royal world. Outside of the monarchy, she had another dramatic experience when she and Margaret were allowed to mingle anonymously among the citizens on Victory in Europe Day.
Accession to the Throne
When Elizabeth’s grandfather, George V, died in 1936, his eldest son, King Edward VIII (Elizabeth’s uncle), succeeded him. Edward, on the other hand, was over over heels in love with American divorcee Wallis Simpson and had to choose between the crown and his heart. Finally, Edward selected Simpson and abdicated the throne.
The event altered the course of her life, making her the presumed heir to the British throne. In 1937, her father was anointed King George VI, using the name George to symbolize continuity with his father. When King George died in 1952, her mother became Queen Elizabeth, and her daughter became Queen Elizabeth II.
Coronation
At the age of 25, Elizabeth was crowned Queen Elizabeth II on June 2, 1953, in Westminster Abbey.
When her father, King George VI, died on February 6, 1952, Elizabeth took over as the reigning monarch. For the first time, the coronation ceremony was aired live on television, allowing people all around the world to watch the pomp and grandeur.
Who is Elizabeth Husband?
On November 20, 1947, her husband, Prince Philip Elizabeth, married her distant cousin Philip Mountbatten (a surname adopted from his mother’s family) at Westminster Abbey in London.
When Elizabeth was 13, she met Philip, son of Prince Andrew of Greece. She was smitten with him from the start. They remained in contact over the years and eventually fell in love.
They made an interesting couple. Elizabeth was shy and reserved while Philip was exuberant and opinionated. Her father, King George VI, was concerned about the marriage because, while Mountbatten had ties to both the Danish and Greek royal houses, he was not wealthy and was thought to have a gruff disposition by others.
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At the time of their wedding, the United Kingdom was still reeling from the devastation of World War II, and Elizabeth used clothing coupons to purchase fabric for her gown.
Her mother and Prime Minister Winston Churchill campaigned for the family to adopt the surname Windsor, which caused friction with her husband. She reversed direction in 1960, issuing rules requiring her descendants who did not have royal titles (or who needed last names for legal purposes such as weddings) to use the surname Mountbatten-Windsor. Philip’s off-the-cuff, inflammatory comments and speculations of suspected infidelities have caused several public relations issues over the years.
Philip passed away on April 9, 2021, at the age of 99.
Children
Elizabeth and Philip’s children were quick to produce an heir: son Charles was born in 1948, a year after their wedding, and daughter Anne arrived in 1950. Elizabeth had two additional children between 1960 and 1964, sons Andrew and Edward.
In 1969, Queen formally designated Charles as her heir by bestowing the title of Prince of Wales on him. Hundreds of millions of people watched the ceremony live on television.
Charles, 32, married Diana Spencer (better known as Princess Diana) in 1981, despite accusations that he was forced into the marriage by his family. The wedding drew huge crowds in London’s streets, and millions watched the proceedings on television. At the period, public opinion was very favorable to the monarchy.
Grandchildren and Great-Grandchildren
In 1982, Charles and Diana gave birth to Elizabeth’s grandchildren, Prince William, who was named Duke of Cambridge upon his own marriage in 2011, second-in-line to the throne, and Prince Harry. Elizabeth has emerged as William and Harry’s adoring grandmother. She provided vital advice and guidance to Prince William and Kate Middleton as they arranged their wedding in 2011.
Elizabeth’s grandson William and his wife Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, received their first child, George Alexander Louis—a heir to the throne known officially as “His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge,” on July 22, 2013.
Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, the queen’s fifth great-grandchild, was born on May 2, 2015, to William and Kate. They had their third child, Prince Louis Arthur Charles, on April 23, 2018.
With the birth of their son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, on May 6, 2019, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and his wife, Meghan Markle, gave the queen another great-grandchild.
The queen’s other grandchildren include Peter Phillips, Princess Beatrice of York, Princess Eugenie of York, Zara Tindall, Lady Louise Windsor, and James, Viscount Severn, in addition to Prince William and Prince Harry. She also had ten great-grandchildren.
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The Family Tree
The Duke and Duchess of York were Elizabeth II’s father and mother. Her father, Prince Albert, Duke of York, was Queen Mary’s and King George V’s second son. Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon was her mother.
Elizabeth had relationships with the majority of Europe’s kings. Queen Victoria (reigned 1837–1901) and King George III are among her British predecessors (ruled 1760 to 1820).
Reign
Elizabeth’s lengthy and mostly peaceful reign saw significant changes in her people’s lives, in her country’s power, in how Britain is perceived overseas, and in how the monarchy is regarded and portrayed. As a constitutional queen, Elizabeth did not comment on political issues or betray her political beliefs. She does, however, meet with her prime ministers on a regular basis.
When Elizabeth became queen, the United Kingdom still maintained a sizable empire, dominions, and dependencies. However, many of these possessions gained independence during the 1950s and 1960s, and the British Empire evolved into the Commonwealth of Nations. As head of the Commonwealth and a representative of the United Kingdom, Elizabeth II traveled to various countries, including a historic journey to Germany in 1965. She was the first British monarch to visit the country in more than five decades.
Elizabeth continued to travel widely during the 1970s and 1980s. In 1973, she attended the Commonwealth Conference in Ottawa, Canada, and in 1976, she traveled to the United States to commemorate America’s 200th anniversary of independence from Britain. She arrived in Montreal, Canada, more than a week later, to kick off the Summer Olympics. She visited Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman in 1979, garnering international recognition and broad appreciation.
Elizabeth was concerned about her second son, Prince Andrew, who was a helicopter pilot in the British Royal Navy during the Falkland War in 1982. Britain and Argentina went to war for the Falkland Islands, which lasted many weeks. Despite the fact that over 250 British soldiers were killed in the fight, Prince Andrew returned home safe and sound, much to his mother’s relief.
When Elizabeth became the first British queen to visit the Republic of Ireland since 1911, she demonstrated that the crown still wielded symbolic and diplomatic power (when all of Ireland was still part of the United Kingdom).
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Elizabeth modernized the monarchy as queen, removing some of its formalities and making particular locations and treasures more available to the people. As Britain and other nations struggled financially, the Civil List, a public funding scheme of the monarchy dating back around 250 years, was abolished in 2012. The royal family continues to receive government assistance, but the queen has reduced spending.
Despite periodic requests to step aside for Charles, Elizabeth remained committed to her royal duties as she approached her 90th birthday. She continued to make over 400 appearances per year, supporting hundreds of nonprofit organizations and projects.
However, the monarchy took a significant step toward shifting to the next generation in late 2017: on November 12, Charles performed the traditional Remembrance Sunday duty of putting a wreath at the Cenotaph war memorial, while the queen watched from a nearby balcony.
Elizabeth made a rare political intervention in August 2019, agreeing to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s request to prorogue (suspend) Parliament until October 14, less than three weeks before Britain’s planned exit from the European Union.
Prime Ministerial Relations
During her reign, Elizabeth appointed 15 prime ministers, with the queen and PM meeting weekly in private. (Elizabeth has also met around one-quarter of all U.S. presidents, most recently receiving Donald Trump on a state visit in June 2019.)
She had a father-figure bond with Winston Churchill and was later able to relax and be more casual with Labour leaders Harold Wilson and James Callaghan. In contrast, she and Margaret Thatcher had a very formal, aloof relationship, with the PM frequently lecturing the monarch on various matters.
Tony Blair considered certain monarchy concepts to be somewhat outdated, though he did appreciate Elizabeth making a public statement following Diana’s death.
Later, David Cameron, Elizabeth’s fifth cousin once removed, developed a good relationship with the queen. In 2014, he apologized for exposing in a chat that she was opposed to Scotland’s referendum on independence from the United Kingdom.
Theresa May has been regarded as being tight-lipped on Brexit plans to exit the European Union, with rumors spreading that Elizabeth is upset about not being told about future exit strategy.
Queen Elizabeth and the Royal Family under threat?
Elizabeth fought tirelessly to maintain the monarchy’s image and to plan for its future. However, she witnessed the monarchy come under siege during her lifetime. The once-revered institution has survived several storms, including death threats directed at the royal family.
Elizabeth suffered a severe personal tragedy in 1979 when her husband’s uncle, Lord Mountbatten, was killed in a terrorist explosion. Mountbatten and several members of his family were aboard his boat when it exploded off the west coast of Ireland on August 27th. He and three others were killed, including one of his grandchildren. The incident was claimed by the IRA (Irish Republican Army), who fought British control in Northern Ireland.
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Elizabeth herself had a risky experience in June 1981. When a guy in the crowd aimed a gun at her when she was riding in the Trooping the Colour, a special military procession to honor her official birthday, she was riding in. He shot, but luckily the rifle was loaded with blanks. The queen was not harmed other than a nice shock.
The following year, Elizabeth was accosted in her bedroom by an intruder who had broken into Buckingham Palace. When the press learned that Prince Philip was nowhere to be found during this episode, they worried about the royal marriage’s state.
Scandals in the Tabloids
The marriage of Elizabeth’s son, Charles, to Diana made headlines for years before the couple announced their divorce in 1996. Following Diana’s death in a vehicle accident in Paris on August 31, 1997, Elizabeth faced severe media scrutiny. Her ex-daughter-in-law had earned the moniker “People’s Princess.”
The queen was at her Balmoral estate in Scotland at the time, along with Charles and his and Diana’s two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry. For days, Elizabeth remained silent as the country mourned Diana’s death, and she was heavily chastised for her silence.
Rumors circulated that the queen did not want to give Diana a royal funeral, fueling public resentment of the monarch. Elizabeth returned to London about a week after Diana’s death and gave a statement about the late princess.
Elizabeth was also initially opposed to her son Charles’s relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles. Charles and Camilla dated for years before he met his family, but the romance ended because to family pressure, only to be rekindled after Charles and Diana’s marriage. She was known to be a stickler for ritual and tradition, although she gradually softened her views over time. When Charles and Camilla married in 2005, Elizabeth and Prince Philip did not attend the civil wedding but instead attended a religious blessing and a reception at Windsor Castle in their honor.
Another of Elizabeth’s children, Prince Andrew, made headlines in 1992 after images emerged of him and his wife, Sarah Ferguson, engaging in amorous behavior. The couple divorced soon after.
more
In November 2017, the media reported the queen had some $13 million invested in offshore accounts. The announcement occurred after the so-called “Paradise Papers” were leaked to a German newspaper, which then shared the papers with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
The Duchy of Lancaster, which manages the queen’s finances, revealed that some of its investments were in foreign accounts but asserted that they were all genuine.
In 2017, the former owner of the lingerie manufacturer Rigby & Peller, which had served Elizabeth for more than 50 years, published a tell-all autobiography that detailed some of her interactions with the royal family. Despite the author’s assurances that “the book contains nothing indecent,” the queen revoked Rigby & Peller’s royal warrant in early 2018.
Following years of controversy over his dubious financial ventures and association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Prince Andrew was obliged to step down from official duties in 2019.
Just weeks later, in January 2020, the family was thrust back into the spotlight following the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s surprise decision to step down as senior royals.
Personal Losses
Elizabeth suffered two major losses after the turn of the century. In 2002, the same year she celebrated the Golden Jubilee, or 50th year on the throne, she said farewell to both her sister Margaret and her mother.
Margaret, who was known for having a more adventurous spirit than other royals and who was banned from marrying an early love, died in February of a stroke. Only a few weeks later, Elizabeth’s mother, known as the Queen Mother, died on March 30th at the age of 101 at Royal Lodge.
The Diamond Jubilee
In 2012, Elizabeth celebrated her Diamond Jubilee, celebrating 60 years as Queen. Shirley Bassey, Paul McCartney, Tom Jones, Stevie Wonder, and Kylie Minogue performed in a special BBC event on June 4th as part of the jubilee celebrations. At this historic event, Elizabeth was joined by family members, including her husband Philip, son Charles, and grandsons Harry and William.
She overtook her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria, who reigned for 63 years, as Britain’s longest-ruling queen on September 9, 2015.
Sapphire Jubilee
The queen celebrated her Sapphire Jubilee on February 6, 2017, making her the only British monarch to do so. This is also the anniversary of her father’s death. The queen elected to spend the day quietly at her country estate north of London, Sandringham, where she attended a church service.
To commemorate the occasion, royal gun salutes were fired in Green Park and the Tower of London. In addition, the Royal Mint released eight new commemorative coins in celebration of the Queen’s Sapphire Jubilee.
Platinum Jubilee
The country will commemorate Elizabeth’s platinum jubilee in 2022. She was the first British monarch to reach that milestone, which marks 70 years on the throne.
Elizabeth died peacefully on September 8, 2022, at her Balmoral estate. She was 96 years old at the time.
Hobbies
The queen spent much of her life surrounded by dogs. She was well known for her love of corgis, having owned more than 30 descendants of the first corgi she obtained as an adolescent until the death of the last one, Willow, in 2018.
Elizabeth was also a horsewoman who bred thoroughbreds and attended horse races for many years.
Elizabeth preferred quiet pleasures and avoided the limelight. She reportedly enjoyed reading mysteries, doing crossword puzzles, and even watching wrestling on television.