Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
21st April 1926 - 8th September 2022
Born in 1926 to the then Duke and Duchess of York, it was unlikely Princess Elizabeth would ever become Queen. However, following her Uncles abdication and her father's (King George VI) ascension to the throne she became the heir presumptive to the British monarchy.
She dedicated herself to King and country even joining the Auxiliary Territorial Service in 1944 during World War II. As her father's health failed she stepped up, undertaking more engagements and regularly travelling abroad on behalf of the crown. It was on one such overseas visit that the then Princess Elizabeth became Queen after her father passed away following several years of health struggles.
She was crowned Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on June 2nd 1953. Her husband (Prince Philip), two young children (Prince Charles and Princess Anne),mother (Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mum) her sister (Princess Margaret), and much of the rest of the world were present.
As Queen she broke countless barriers including becoming the longest serving British monarch in 2015 after surpassing the reign of her great-grandmother, Queen Victoria. She became the first British monarch to celebrate their Platinum Jubilee. She was the second longest reigning monarch of all time. At the time of her death, she was the oldest living and longest serving head of state, the longest serving female head of state and the longest living lived British monarch.
She saw seen 15 British Prime Ministers, (Winston Churchill, Anthony Eden, Harold Macmillan, Alec Douglas-Home, Harold Wilson, James Callaghan, Margaret Thatcher, John major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson & Liz Truss) 14 U.S. Presidents (Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden) and 7 Popes (Pope Pius XII, Pope John XXIII, Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul I, Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis) during her reign. She has visited 110 countries across 6 continents and she has seen the expansion of the commonwealth of nations from eight countries to the current fifty-four (2022).
She has four children (Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward), eight grandchildren (Peter Phillips, Zara Tindall, Prince William, Prince Harry, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Lady Louise and James, Viscount Severn) and twelve great-grandchildren (Savannah Phillips, Isla Phillips, Prince George, Mia Tindall, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, Lena Tindall, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, August Brooksbank, Lucas Tindall, Lili Mountbatten-Windsor & Sienna Elizabeth Mapelli-Mozzi).
She was married to her husband, Prince Philip for an astonishing 73 years before his passing in April 2021. They were married in Westminster Abbey on the 20th November 1947.
Queen Elizabeth died on 8th September 2022 at Balmoral in Scotland after a 70 year and 214 day reign. She was succeeded by her son, King Charles III.
