short biography queen elizabeth

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Queen Elizabeth II

By: History.com Editors

Updated: April 25, 2023 | Original: May 23, 2018

Queen Elizabeth II served from 1952 to 2022 as reigning monarch of the United Kingdom (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) and numerous other realms and territories, as well as head of the Commonwealth, the group of 53 sovereign nations that includes many former British territories. Extremely popular for nearly all of her long reign, the queen was known for taking a serious interest in government and political affairs, apart from her ceremonial duties, and was credited with modernizing many aspects of the monarchy.

Childhood and Education of a Princess

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

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

Though she spent much of her childhood with nannies, Princess Elizabeth was influenced greatly by her mother, who instilled in her a devout Christian faith as well as a keen understanding of the demands of royal life. Her grandmother, Queen Mary, consort of King George V, also instructed Elizabeth and her younger sister Margaret in the finer points of royal etiquette.

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

As queen, she kept many thoroughbred racehorses and frequently attended racing and breeding events. Elizabeth’s famous attachment to Pembroke Welsh corgis also began in childhood, and she owned more than 30 corgis over the course of her reign.

Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth

Elizabeth and Margaret spent much of World War II living apart from their parents in the Royal Lodge at Windsor Castle, a medieval fortress outside London. In 1942, the king made Elizabeth an honorary colonel in the 500 Grenadier Guards, a Royal Army regiment.

Two years later, he named her as a member of the Privy Council and the Council of State, enabling her to act on his behalf when he was out of the country.

In 1947, soon after the royal family returned from an official visit to South Africa and Rhodesia, they announced Elizabeth’s engagement to Prince Philip of Greece, her third cousin (both were great-great-grandchildren of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert) and a lieutenant in the Royal Navy. She had set her sights on him when she was only 13, and their relationship developed through visits and correspondence during the war.

Though many in the royal circle viewed Philip as an unwise match due to his lack of money and foreign (German) blood, Elizabeth was determined and very much in love. She and Philip wed on November 20, 1947 , at Westminster Abbey .

Their first son, Charles (Prince of Wales, then King Charles III ) was born in 1948; a daughter, Anne (Princess Royal) arrived two years later. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip's third child and second son, Prince Andrew, was born in 1960 and the couple's youngest child, Prince Edward, was born in 1964.

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

Queen Elizabeth's Coronation

With her father’s health declining in 1951, Elizabeth stepped in for him at various state functions. After spending that Christmas with the royal family, Elizabeth and Philip left on a tour of Australia and New Zealand, making a stopover in Kenya en route.

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

In the first decade of her reign, Elizabeth settled into her role as queen, developing a close bond with Prime Minister Winston Churchill (the first of 15 prime ministers she would work with during her reign), weathering a foreign affairs disaster in the Suez Crisis of 1956 and making numerous state trips abroad.

In response to pointed criticism in the press, the queen embraced steps to modernize her own image and that of the monarchy, including televising her annual Christmas broadcast for the first time in 1957.

Elizabeth and Philip had two more children, Andrew (born 1960) and Edward (born 1964). In 1968, Charles was formally invested as the Prince of Wales , marking his coming of age and the beginning of what would be a long period as king-in-waiting.

Queen Elizabeth’s Silver Jubilee in 1977, marking her 25 years on the throne, proved a bright spot in an era of economic struggles. Always a vigorous traveler, she kept a punishing schedule to mark the occasion, traveling some 56,000 miles around the Commonwealth, including the island nations Fiji and Tonga, New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea, the British West Indies and Canada.

Royal Scandals

In 1981, all eyes were on the royal family once again as Prince Charles wed Lady Diana Spencer at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Though the couple soon welcomed two sons, William and Harry , their marriage quickly imploded, causing considerable public embarrassment for the queen and the entire royal family.

In 1992, Elizabeth’s 40th year on the throne and her family’s “Annus Horribilis” (according to a speech she gave that November) both Charles and Diana and Prince Andrew and his wife, Sarah Ferguson, separated, while Princess Anne and her husband, Mark Phillips, divorced.

A fire also broke out at Windsor Castle that same year, and amid public outcry over the use of government funds to restore the royal residence, Queen Elizabeth agreed to pay taxes on her private income. This was not required by British law, though some earlier monarchs had done so as well.

At the time, her personal fortune was estimated at $11.7 billion. In another modernizing measure, she also agreed to open the state rooms at Buckingham Palace to the public for an admission fee when she was not in residence.

Response to Lady Diana's Death

After Charles and Diana divorced in 1996, Diana remained incredibly popular with the British (and international) public. Her tragic death the following year triggered a tremendous outpouring of shock and grief, as well as outrage at the royal family for what the public saw as its ill treatment of the “People’s Princess.”

Though Queen Elizabeth initially kept the family (including Princes William and Harry) out of the public eye at Balmoral, the unprecedented public response to Diana’s death convinced her to return to London, make a televised speech about Diana, greet mourners and allow the Union Jack to fly at half-mast above Buckingham Palace.

A Modern Monarchy

The queen’s popularity, and that of the entire royal family, rebounded during the first decade of the 21st century. Though 2002 marked Queen Elizabeth’s Golden Jubilee—50 years on the throne—the death of her mother (the beloved Queen Mum) and sister early that year cast a pall on the celebrations.

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

In her seventh decade on the throne, Queen Elizabeth presided over the pomp and circumstance of another royal wedding at Westminster Abbey, that of Prince William to Catherine Middleton in April 2011. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who are in line to become Britain’s next king and queen, continued the line of succession with their children, Prince George (born 2013), Princess Charlotte (born 2015) and Prince Louis (born 2018).

In September 2015, Elizabeth surpassed the record of 63 years and 216 days on the throne set by Queen Victoria (her great-great-grandmother) to become the longest-reigning British monarch in history. A consistent presence by his wife’s side and one of Britain’s busiest royals for much of her reign, Prince Philip stepped down from his royal duties in 2017, at the age of 96. That same year, the royal couple celebrated 70 years of marriage, making theirs the longest union in the history of the British monarchy. Philip died in 2021, at the age of 99. 

In May 2018, Prince Harry wed the American actress Meghan Markle , a biracial divorcée. The couple had a son, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, in 2019, and a daughter, Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, in 2021. Harry and Meghan announced they would be stepping back from senior royal duties in January 2020 and subsequently relocated to Los Angeles.

Rumors swirled at various times that Queen Elizabeth would step aside and let Prince Charles take the throne. In 2017, she delegated some of her royal obligations, such as the official Remembrance Day ceremony, to him, fueling speculation that she was preparing to bequeath the throne to her eldest son. Instead, she remained a consistent, stable presence at the head of Britain’s reigning family until her peaceful death on September 8, 2022 at her beloved country residence, Balmoral Castle. 

In the final years of her reign, she continued many of her official duties, public appearances and spent plenty of time outside with her beloved dogs and horses. Two days before her death, she officially installed a new prime minister, Liz Truss.

HISTORY Vault: Profiles: Queen Elizabeth II

Chart the unexpected rise and record-breaking reign of Queen Elizabeth II, which unfolded in the turbulent modern history of the English monarchy.

Her Majesty 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 Give Prince Charles the Throne in 2018?” Newsweek .

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Biography Online

Queen Elizabeth II Biography

She served as the longest-serving British monarch for over 70 years presiding over continual change both within the Royal Family, Great Britain and the Commonwealth.

Elizabeth was the eldest child of Prince Albert, the Duke of York (later George VI) and his wife Elizabeth (later known as the Queen Mother). Her father Prince Albert was second in line to the throne until his elder brother Edward VIII abdicated in 1936 – pushing the shy Prince Albert into an unexpected role of King. King George VI rose to the challenge though he died early in 1952.

Elizabeth was educated at home, along with her sister Princess Margaret. During the Second World War, they were evacuated to Balmoral and later Windsor Castle. Towards the end of the war in 1945, Elizabeth joined the Women’s Royal Auxiliary Territorial Service, where she served as a driver and mechanic. After the war, she increasingly stepped into her role of performing public service and made her first overseas trip to South Africa in 1947. Shortly before her 21st birthday, she said:

“I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.”

Yet, there were still high points for the Royal Family, such as her ‘Silver Jubilee’ in 1977 and the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana in 1981. By the 1990s, the media had a widespread fascination with Princess Diana , but as their marriage broke down, the Queen was increasingly perceived as being out of touch. In 1992, she famously declared the year to be her ‘ annus horribilus ‘ The year saw media headlines dominated by the marriage breakup of Charles and Diana, a fire in Windsor, and other criticisms of the Royal Family.

“1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure. In the words of one of my more sympathetic correspondents, it has turned out to be an ‘ Annus Horribilis ‘.” (Christmas address, 1992)

In 1996, Princess Diana died in a car crash, and temporarily there was public dismay as the Queen appeared distant and refused to fly the flag at half-mast. But, after the Queen later expressed admiration for Princess Diana the hostility evaporated. Nevertheless, the relationship between Princess Diana and the Queen was best described as being ‘cool’.

“In tomorrow’s world we must all work together as hard as ever, if we’re truly to be United Nations.”

After the difficulties of the 1990s, the 2000s saw a resurgence in her popularity as the Royal Family put many difficulties behind them, and they were able to celebrate good news. If 1992 was her annus horribilus , 2012, was perhaps her annus mirabilis . Firstly, in April, Prince William married Kate Middleton to widespread public enthusiasm. Then in summer, her Golden Jubilee was widely celebrated and popular despite the wet weather. Finally, in July 2012, she took part in the opening ceremony of the London Olympics – which was a huge global success.

During her time as Head of State, Queen Elizabeth has sought to refrain from interfering in political issues and provide a moderating influence on the nation.

“We are a moderate, pragmatic people, more comfortable with practice than theory.” (30 April 2002)

She is a committed Christian and often mentions her religious beliefs in her Christmas addresses. However, in her role as Head of the Church of England, she has stated that she is committed to protecting the rights of all different faiths.

“The concept of our established Church is occasionally misunderstood and, I believe, commonly under-appreciated. Its role is not to defend Anglicanism to the exclusion of other religions. Instead, the Church has a duty to protect the free practice of all faiths in this country.”

– During a speech at Lambeth Palace, 15/02/2012.

Despite passing 90 years, she remained in relatively good health and continued to serve.

Elizabeth II passed away on 8 September 2022 causing an outpouring of love and good wishes for her unique reign and life of duty and service. Her funeral at Westminster Abbey on 19 September attracted heads of state from around the world. It was the first state funeral since Winston Churchill and huge crowds came to see her final journey to Windsor Castle where she was buried next to her husband Prince Phillip.

Citation: Pettinger, Tejvan . “Biography of Queen Elizabeth II”, Oxford, UK  www.biographyonline.net , 30/01/2013. Updated 20 September 2022.

Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal Family

Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal Family: at Amazon.com

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The life of Queen Elizabeth II – a timeline

Key dates in the life of the Queen, from her birth in April 1926 to her death in September 2022

21 April 1926

Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor is born at 2.40am at 17 Bruton Street, London, her maternal grandparents’ house. It was home to her parents, Elizabeth (née Bowes-Lyon), and Albert, Duke of York, the second son of King George V and Queen Mary. She was third in line to the throne behind her father and Edward, Prince of Wales.

21 August 1930

Elizabeth’s sister, Princess Margaret Rose , is born.

20 January 1936

George V dies. Edward VIII becomes king .

10 December 1936

Edward VIII abdicates so that he can marry the American divorcee Wallis Simpson.

11 December 1936

Bertie, the Duke of York, is formally proclaimed King George VI. Princess Elizabeth is now heiress presumptive.

Elizabeth becomes a Girl Guide at the age of 11.

12 May 1937

Coronation of George VI at Westminster Abbey.

21 April 1939

Elizabeth celebrates her 13th birthday , and begins a course of study at home under the vice-provost of Eton College.

22 July 1939

Princess Elizabeth meets Cadet Capt Philip of Greece at the Royal Dartmouth naval college.

3 September 1939

Britain declares war on Germany.

7 September 1940

The blitz on London begins. While the King and Queen stay in the city, Elizabeth and Margaret are evacuated to Windsor.

13 October 1940

Elizabeth makes her first broadcast to the nation.

21 April 1942

On her 16th birthday, Elizabeth carries out her first public engagement when she inspects the Grenadier Guards, of which she had been appointed colonel-in-chief.

21 April 1944

Elizabeth receives her first corgi , Susan, as an 18th birthday present.

4 March 1945

Elizabeth joins the Auxiliary Territorial Service , learning how to drive and maintain vehicles.

Elizabeth makes her first overseas visit, to South Africa , and gives a speech dedicating herself to the Commonwealth.

10 July 1947

Buckingham Palace announces the engagement of Princess Elizabeth to Lt Philip Mountbatten , her third cousin.

20 November 1947

The couple marry at Westminster Abbey. He is thenceforth known as the Duke of Edinburgh.

14 November 1948

Prince Charles is born.

15 August 1950

Princess Anne, now the Princess Royal, is born.

31 January 1950

Elizabeth and Philip leave for a tour of east Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

6 February 1952

George VI dies and Elizabeth II succeeds to the throne. She is in Kenya when her father dies – the first British monarch since George I to be out of the country at the time of succession.

15 February 1952

Funeral of George VI takes place at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.

7 April 1952

Proclamation issued declaring the family’s dynastic surname will remain Windsor.

2 June 1953

Coronation of Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey in the first televised coronation service.

24 November 1953

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh embark on a tour of the Commonwealth.

15 May 1954

The royal couple return to England after six months abroad.

31 October 1955

Princess Margaret releases a statement confirming she will not marry Gp Capt Peter Townsend. Her relationship with him had been controversial because he was divorced, and her request to marry him – with its echoes of the abdication crisis – had been opposed by large sections of the establishment.

November 1956

Britain and France invade Egypt in a botched attempt to seize control of the Suez canal. Lord Mountbatten later claimed the Queen disapproved of the venture.

21 October 1957

The Queen visits New York and addresses the UN general assembly.

19 February 1960

Prince Andrew, now the Duke of York, is born.

Princess Margaret marries the photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones.

10 March 1964

Prince Edward, now the Earl of Wessex, is born.

The Queen visits West Germany, the first British monarch to do so since the first world war.

20 September 1967

The Queen launches the Cunard cruise liner the Queen Elizabeth II (popularly known as the QE2).

21 June 1969

First broadcast of Royal Family , a documentary with unprecedented access to the family’s daily life.

1 July 1969

Prince Charles is invested Prince of Wales. Lord Snowdon designs a new coronet for the occasion as the Duke of Windsor took the previous one with him to Paris.

First walkabout during a state visit of Australia and New Zealand.

20 October 1973

The Queen opens Jørn Utzon’s Sydney Opera House in Australia.

14 November 1973

Princess Anne marries Capt Mark Phillips.

February 1974

The Queen’s tour of Australia and Polynesia is interrupted after the prime minister Edward Heath calls a snap general election. She flies back to Britain.

November 1975

The Queen refuses to intervene in an Australian constitutional crisis when the prime minister Gough Whitlam is dismissed by the governor general Sir John Kerr.

7 June 1977

Queen’s silver jubilee. More than a million people line the streets of London, and a chain of beacons is lit across the country.

27 August 1979

Lord Mountbatten, Prince Philip’s uncle, is killed by an IRA bomb off the coast of Sligo in the west of Ireland.

November 1979

Sir Anthony Blunt, the former surveyor of the Queen’s pictures, is exposed as a communist spy.

24 February 1981

Prince Charles announces his engagement to Lady Diana Spencer.

29 July 1981

Charles and Diana marry in St Paul’s Cathedral, London.

13 June 1981

Shots are fired at the Queen as she attends Trooping the Colour. Marcus Serjeant, a 17-year-old air cadet from Folkestone, Kent, pleads guilty under the 1842 Treason Act and is jailed for five years. The shots were blanks.

21 June 1982

Diana gives birth to Prince William.

9 July 1982

Michael Fagan breaks into the Queen’s bedroom during the early hours, evading alarms, guards and police. He sits on the edge of her bed, talking for 10 minutes, before being led away by footman Paul Whybrew, given a whisky and arrested.

15 September 1984

Diana gives birth to Prince Harry.

23 July 1986

Andrew marries publishing executive Sarah Ferguson , known as Fergie.

7 June 1992

The first instalment of the serialisation of Andrew Morton’s book, Diana: Her True Story, appears in the Sunday Times , revealing that Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles continued to have an affair during his marriage to Diana, that Diana tried to kill herself and had bulimia. It later emerges that much of the information had been supplied by Diana herself.

20 November 1992

Windsor Castle is partly destroyed by fire.

24 November 1992

The Queen gives a speech at Guildhall to mark the 40th anniversary of her accession. In it, she refers to recent events as part of an “annus horribilis”.

9 December 1992

The prime minister John Major announces in the House of Commons that Charles and Diana are to separate.

Buckingham Palace is opened to the general public for the first time to help fund the restoration of Windsor Castle.

The Queen and the French president François Mitterrand open the Channel Tunnel.

28 August 1996

Charles and Diana’s marriage is dissolved

31 August 1997

Diana dies in a car crash in Paris. The Queen stays in seclusion for several days, and is heavily criticised in the press for her silence. Then, on the eve of Diana’s funeral, she does a walkabout to meet mourners outside Buckingham Palace and gives a televised address, speaking “as your Queen and as a grandmother” and paying tribute to Diana. “She was an exceptional and gifted human being,” she said. “In good times and bad, she never lost her capacity to smile and laugh, nor to inspire others with her warmth and kindness.”

11 December 1997

Her Majesty’s yacht Britannia is decommissioned; the government decides against funding a replacement.

24 November 1998

The Queen’s speech at the opening of parliament announces plans to abolish the traditional rights of 700 hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords.

26 May 1999

The Queen opens the national assembly in Wales.

1 July 1999

The Queen opens the Scottish parliament.

Elizabeth’s sister, Princess Margaret, dies .

30 March 2002

Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, dies .

30 April 2002

Elizabeth launches her golden jubilee celebrations with a speech to both houses of parliament.

9 April 2005

Prince Charles marries Camilla Parker Bowles in a civil ceremony at Windsor’s Guildhall. The Queen attends the service of blessing held for the couple at St George’s Chapel.

21 April 2006

The Queen celebrates her 80th birthday.

19 Nov 2007

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh mark their 60th wedding anniversary.

22 December 2007

Elizabeth II surpasses Victoria to become the UK’s oldest reigning monarch.

14 Oct 2010

The Queen cancels a planned Christmas party at Buckingham Palace after deciding it would be inappropriate to celebrate as Britons feel the effects of the economic crisis.

29 April 2011

Prince William, second in line to the throne , marries Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey.

17-20 May 2011

The Queen visits Ireland , becoming the first British monarch to do so since its independence in 1921. She expresses sympathy to those who suffered during hundreds of years of conflict between the two neighbours.

The 60th anniversary of the death of George VI and of Elizabeth’s accession to the throne.

2-5 June 2012

Events take place throughout the country to celebrate Elizabeth’s diamond jubilee , including a pageant of 670 boats sailing along the Thames in London.

27 July 2012

The Queen opens the London Olympics . In her first acting role, a film shows her leaving Buckingham Palace with James Bond, played by Daniel Craig, and appearing to parachute into the stadium in Stratford, east London.

25 April 2013

The Succession to the Crown Act 2013 receives royal assent , so that the eldest child inherits the throne regardless of gender. The act also ends the disqualification from the line of succession of a person married to a Catholic.

4 June 2013

The Queen joins 2,000 guests for a service at Westminster Abbey to mark 60 years since her coronation.

22 July 2013

The Duchess of Cambridge gives birth to a son at 4.24pm. Prince George is third in line to the throne.

The Duchess of Cambridge gives birth to a daughter at 8.34am. Princess Charlotte is fourth in line to the throne.

9 September 2015

The Queen surpasses her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, and becomes Britain’s longest ever reigning monarch.

21 April 2016

The Queen celebrates her 90th birthday.

2 August 2017

Prince Philip, aged 96, retires from his official royal duties as the Queen’s consort, having completed 22,219 solo engagements and 5,493 speeches since 1952.

6 February 2017

The Queen becomes the first British monarch to commemorate a sapphire jubilee.

20 November 2017

The Queen and Prince Philip celebrate their platinum wedding anniversary after 70 years of marriage. She is the first British monarch to do so.

23 April 2018

The Duchess of Cambridge gives birth to a second son at 11.01am. Prince Louis is fifth in line to the throne.

19 May 2018

Prince Harry, sixth in line to the throne, marries Meghan Markle at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.

The Duchess of Sussex gives birth to a son at 5.26am. Archie Mountbatten-Windsor is seventh in line to the throne.

20 November 2019

The Queen in effect suspends Prince Andrew from duties by giving him permission to “step back from public duties for the foreseeable future” after intense public reaction to a BBC Newsnight interview about his friendship with the convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

8 January 2020

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announce they will step back from their roles in public life as senior members of the royal family, and will divide their time between the UK and North America. The couple confirm they will become financially independent and cease to represent the Queen. They retain their HRH stylings but are not permitted to use them.

19 March 2020

The Queen and Prince Philip move to Windsor Castle and sequester there as a precaution as the coronavirus hits the UK. Public engagements are cancelled and Windsor Castle follows a strict sanitary protocol nicknamed HMS Bubble.

5 April 2020

The Queen gives a rare televised address to the nation , the fifth in her 68-year reign, as an unprecedented lockdown is enforced. The monarch thanks her subjects for following government rules to stay at home, praises key workers, and asks people to “take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return”. She adds: “We will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again.” The broadcast is watched by an estimated 24 million viewers.

7 March 2021

In a hotly anticipated interview with Oprah Winfrey , the Duchess of Sussex claims members of the royal family had openly expressed concerns about how dark her son Archie’s skin would be and says they had tried to deny him a royal title. Both Meghan and Prince Harry make a point of praising the Queen and instead direct their criticism at the royal household. Two days later, the Queen issues a statement saying “the issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning” and that “some recollections may vary”.

9 April 2021

Prince Philip dies “peacefully” at the age of 99 at Windsor Castle, two months before his 100th birthday. The Queen, who was at his bedside, describes his death as leaving “a huge void” in her life. Philip is the longest-serving royal consort in history.

17 April 2021

Funeral of Prince Philip at Windsor. He had indicated wishes for a smaller funeral, though amendments were still made to bring his service in line with Covid regulations, including quarantine for members of his family travelling from abroad.

4 June 2021

The Duchess of Sussex gives birth to a daughter. Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor is eighth in line to the throne.

20 October 2021

The Queen reluctantly cancels a planned two-day visit to Northern Ireland after advice from her doctors that she should rest.

The Queen spends a night at King Edward VII’s hospital after being admitted for “preliminary investigations” having cancelled a two-day trip to Northern Ireland on the advice of doctors that she should rest for a few days. A palace source said a “cautious approach” had been taken by the medical team aiding the monarch and the overnight stay was for practical reasons, adding that she returned to Windsor and was undertaking “light duties” the next day. It was her first overnight stay in hospital since 2013, when she was treated for gastroenteritis.

13 Jan 2022

The Queen further distances the monarchy from the Duke of York by stripping him of his military affiliations and royal patronages. The palace also says he will not use the style His Royal Highness in any official capacity. The move means Prince Andrew is completely removed from royal life.

15 February 2022

Prince Andrew settles the sexual assault case filed against him by Virginia Giuffre for an undisclosed sum, avoiding having to give evidence in a trial and protecting the royal family from further reputational damage.

2-5 June 2022

The Queen celebrates her platinum jubilee after a record 70 years on the throne. She crowns the historic celebrations with a last-minute appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, bringing to a close four days of festivities over a bumper bank holiday weekend. In a written message, she says she is “humbled and deeply touched that so many people have taken to the streets to celebrate”.

6 September 2022

In a break from tradition as a result of her ongoing mobility issues, the Queen appoints the 15th prime minister of her reign , Liz Truss, at Balmoral Castle rather than Buckingham Palace. The outgoing prime minister, Boris Johnson, also travels to Scotland to offer his resignation to the Queen. The following day she postpones a privy council meeting, which she was due to attend virtually, under doctors’ advice to rest.

This article was amended on 14 September 2022 because an earlier version incorrectly referred to Mitterrand as the prime minister of France. He was the president.

• Queen Elizabeth II

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The life and legacy of Britain’s longest-serving monarch

LONDON — She was born a royal but with little hope of wearing the crown. 

Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, known by her family as Lilibet , was born April 21, 1926 — third in line to the throne after her uncle and her father. But a scandalous royal love affair changed the course of Lilibet’s life and paved the way for her to become the United Kingdom’s longest-serving monarch, a much-admired symbol of comfort and continuity and arguably the most famous woman in the world. 

Elizabeth’s reign lasted from the industrial age to the internet age — 70 years of endurance and stoicism in which she met generations of legendary, mostly male, global leaders and helped steer Britain through the loss of its empire and its emergence as a midsized multicultural nation.

Follow NBC News’ live coverage here

From a young queen to the grandmother of the nation, decade after decade she smiled, waved, shook hands and chatted with a vast number of her subjects and admirers, despite family scandals and the tragedy of a dead princess.  

Her cool, reliable cheerfulness made her overwhelmingly popular with the British public.

Queen Elizabeth II died Thursday . Her eldest son, Charles, is now king.

On the eve of World War II, her uncle, King Edward VIII, abdicated in 1936 after his marriage proposal to an American divorcee, Wallis Simpson, erupted in a scandal that engulfed the royal family and embroiled the country’s politicians. 

Elizabeth’s father became a reluctant King George VI, making Elizabeth the direct heir to the crown. 

Elizabeth assumed the throne in 1952 at the age of 25 after the sudden death of her father in his sleep at 56. In the 70 years since, she worked with 15 British prime ministers and met every U.S. president during her time as queen except Lyndon Johnson. The vast majority of Britons have never known another monarch, and she remained overwhelmingly popular until her death.

She reigned against the backdrop of vast cultural and political transformations — the end of Britain’s age of deference and its empire, and the advent of globalization and the multimedia age. Throughout, she and her family experienced unprecedented levels of public exposure and, at times, a fractious relationship with the media.

Elizabeth also oversaw the monarchy’s evolution into a champion of a diminished United Kingdom at home and abroad, and she worked tirelessly to keep the crown relevant in a changing world. A source of unending fascination to many, she’s been the subject of movies, plays and TV series, including “The Crown,” “The Queen,” and “The Royal House of Windsor.”

“She has throughout her reign managed to make people feel that she is the spirit and the soul of the country,” said Clive Irving, the author of “The Last Queen: How Queen Elizabeth II Saved the Monarchy.” “She gives over a maternal feeling. She’s a safe pair of hands at the top. No one else has ever been able to convey that as she did.”

That was evident most recently during the pandemic, when early on the queen addressed the U.K. in a rare broadcast to urge her subjects to show the same “self-discipline” and “quiet good-humored resolve” that characterized previous generations.

The queen, whose image adorns stamps, money and mailboxes, is more than a mere figurehead: She played an essential role in the functioning of the U.K. as a constitutional monarchy. After an election, it is the U.K.’s monarch who calls on the political parties to form a government. The monarch also must give assent to all legislation passed by Parliament, and meets weekly with the prime minister to discuss government matters. They are legally allowed to “advise and warn” the government’s ministers.

Crucial to what is widely seen as a successful reign was Elizabeth’s ability to appear ubiquitous and at the same time remain an enigma. She accomplished this by avoiding expressing her political views or making controversial statements in public — no mean feat for someone constantly in the limelight. This meant keeping her own counsel during thousands of events, appearances and speeches, according to Philip Murphy, the director of history and policy at the University of London.

“She has an incredible capacity for repeating the same sorts of rather dull official events which clearly mean an awful lot to other people,” said Murphy. “So much of being a constitutional monarch is the repetition of boring regimes, and there’s something about her that has never rebelled against that. She would call that a sense of duty.”

During the war, Elizabeth and her sister went to live in Windsor, while their parents stayed in London despite the heavy bombardment from German bombers. She made her first radio address in 1940, speaking to other children who had been separated from their families to keep them safe. 

Toward the end of the conflict, the princess joined the all-female Auxiliary Territorial Service and trained as a mechanic. 

It was during the war that the young royal began to date her future husband.  

Philip , her third cousin, was a Greek prince but had spent most of his childhood in the U.K. His family fled Greece after a revolution and were largely penniless. The couple first crossed paths in 1934 at a family wedding and then met again in 1939 when she was 13 and he was 18. While he was stationed abroad during the war, they wrote letters to each other, but his background and her youth were a cause of concern to other members of the royal family. 

During their courtship, Philip and Elizabeth would go out driving in Philip’s tiny MG sports car, as well as dancing at London nightclubs. The couple announced their engagement in July 1947 after Elizabeth returned from her first trip abroad to South Africa. They wed that November, and Philip renounced his Greek title and became a British citizen.

Two years later, they moved to Malta, where Philip was stationed with the British Navy and she lived as an officer’s wife, far from the public eye. Royal observers have speculated that these were some of the happiest years of Elizabeth’s life, a time when she was able to drive her own car and mingle with other officers’ wives without the layers of security and protocol that have defined her reign. 

Their relative freedom was cut short when King George, who’s health had long been precarious, suddenly deteriorated. At the time of his death in February 1952, Elizabeth was in Kenya on a royal tour with Philip. After word reached an aide, Philip broke the news to Elizabeth during a walk.

Royal experts say it was Elizabeth’s husband, five years her senior, who helped guide the young queen in the early years.

“She was so young when she ascended the throne,” royal biographer Ingrid Seward said, adding that Elizabeth followed much of the tradition her father had established. “Everything was completely archaic. It was so old-fashioned. I think more than anyone, Prince Philip helped move the monarchy up.”

That was particularly evident in the way he helped revamp the royal estates — the land and holdings belonging to the crown — making their operations profitable, she said.

Philip’s influence on the monarchy as an institution was mirrored in their personal lives, as well.

In one of her more revealing speeches about her husband on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary in 1997, the queen referred to his “constant love and help” and said, “He has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years.”

Philip, who retired from his official royal duties in 2017, died in April 2021 at the age of 99. He and Elizabeth were married for 73 years.

In addition to Prince Charles, Elizabeth is survived by two sons, Princes Andrew and Edward; a daughter, Princess Anne; four grandsons; four granddaughters; and 12 great-grandchildren.

Over her 70-year reign , the queen eased the U.K. into its new post-World War II role, which had been diminished after the loss of its colonies around the world.

The queen placed a strong emphasis on her position as the head of the Commonwealth , a loose alliance of more than 50 countries, many of which are former British colonies.

“The queen had to work out how to manage decline — the dissolution of the empire, coming to terms with diminished power — but she also understood that diminished power does not have to mean diminished quality,” Irving said.

Her extensive travels around the globe, many on her beloved royal yacht Britannia, helped raise the profile of the U.K. and brought a dose of glamor to the places she visited. In 1961, she visited the former British colony of Ghana, which had gained independence just a few years earlier in 1957. During that trip, a charm offensive in one of the first members of the Commonwealth , she was filmed dancing with the country’s leader, Kwame Nkrumah, at a time when segregation still existed in the U.S.

Like with so much else that the queen does, it was her actions and not her words that carried weight. 

“A man could not have done it,” historian Nat Nunoo Amarteifio said in the BBC documentary “The Queen: Her Commonwealth Story.” “Here is our president, being respected enough by the queen of England for her to put her arms around him.”

While she was lauded for her work abroad, she was also praised for opening up the royal household and giving the public a glimpse of the family’s life at home.

A 1969 documentary, “Royal Family,” revealed the royal couple’s private life for the first time, showing Elizabeth and Philip having dinnertime conversations and engaging in other regular activities, including barbecuing.

“People realized they weren’t gods. They were real people,” Seward said. “A lot of people said this was a turning point.”

While the queen’s steady consistency was largely considered a boon for the monarchy, her children and grandchildren’s lives have occasionally been a thorn in the side of monarchists. 

Most recently, her grandson Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan , accused an unnamed member of the royal family of asking how dark the skin of their children would be. The couple gave up their royal duties and left the U.K. in 2020. 

Just before their departure, the queen was faced with a growing scandal around her son Prince Andrew’s friendship with the accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew stepped down from his public duties in support of the queen in November 2019, and she stayed largely silent on the topic.  

Despite the recent challenges facing the monarchy, its popularity has remained high. That hasn’t always been the case. 

In the early 1990s, Charles’ rocky marriage to Princess Diana was all over the news, eventually ending in divorce in 1992. In one of the queen’s most famous speeches marking the 40th anniversary of her ascension, she referred to 1992 as an “annus horribilis,” or disastrous year. Speaking just days after a blaze destroyed a large part of her Windsor Castle residence, the queen made a plea for understanding, saying that “most people try to do their jobs as best they can, even if the result is not always entirely successful.”  

Five years later, when Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris and the world mourned, Elizabeth was criticized for staying silent for days and hunkering down at her home in Scotland with Charles and Diana’s sons, her grandsons Princes William and Harry. Satisfaction with the way she was doing her job dipped to 66 percent after that, according to the U.K. polling company Ipsos Mori. (At the time of her 60th anniversary on the throne in 2012, her popularity had risen to 90 percent.)

“I think that was an extremely challenging time for the monarchy, because people couldn’t understand why the royal family weren’t responding as they wanted to,” Seward said of Diana’s death. “In times of great tragedy, they just always lock down. ... They don’t grieve in public. And people wanted more than that.”

When the queen finally returned to London nearly a week later, she paid tribute to Diana . “I for one believe there are lessons to be drawn from her life and from the extraordinary and moving reaction to her death,” Elizabeth said.

She acknowledged in a 1997 speech that the monarchy “exists only with the support and consent of the people.” 

In September 2015, she became the longest-serving monarch in British history, surpassing her great-great-grandmother Victoria’s record of 63 years, 216 days.

“Inevitably a long life can pass by many milestones. My own is no exception,” the queen noted at the time.

While she carried on working until the end, meeting foreign dignitaries, visiting cities around the U.K., supporting charities and promoting her kingdom at home and abroad, she had canceled a number of appearances and events toward the end. 

Perhaps the greatest measure of Elizabeth’s success in carrying the House of Windsor into the future will be how it continues on in her absence. Charles, 73, now becomes king , a role he’s been groomed for since birth. 

At his 70th birthday celebration, in November 2018, Elizabeth called him “a dedicated and respected heir to the throne to stand comparison with any in history — and a wonderful father.”

Yet his popularity is nowhere near as high as his mother’s, coming in sixth on YouGov’s royal popularity ranking, behind his sister, Anne.

While most Britons “love” the queen, Irving said, “the question is how relevant does the monarchy remain after the queen.”

Rachel Elbaum is a London-based editor, producer and writer. 

Biography: Queen Elizabeth II

In September 2015 The Queen became the longest reigning British monarch, overtaking her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria. In 2022, Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her Platinum Jubilee Jubilee, having spent 70 years on the throne.

Her Majesty was 38th in direct line of descent from Egbert (c. 775-839), King of Wessex from 802 and of England 827 to 839.

Christened Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, she was the elder daughter of King George VI (then Duke of York) and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon.

Princess Elizabeth’s early years were spent at 145 Piccadilly, the London house taken by her parents shortly after her birth, and at White Lodge in Richmond Park. She also spent time at the country homes of her paternal grandparents, King George V and Queen Mary, and her mother's parents, the Earl and Countess of Strathmore.

In 1930, Princess Elizabeth gained a sister, with the birth of Princess Margaret Rose. The family of four was very close.

However her quiet family life was shattered in 1936, when her grandfather, King George V, died. His eldest son came to the throne as King Edward VIII, but, before the end of the year, the new king had decided to relinquish the throne in order to marry the woman he loved, divorcee Wallis Simpson. With her father crowned king , Princess Elizabeth became next in line to the throne.

Read more about British History

Key moments in Queen Elizabeth II’s life

In 1942, Princess Elizabeth was appointed Colonel-in-Chief of the Grenadier Guards, and on her sixteenth birthday she carried out her first public engagement, when she inspected the regiment. Her official duties would now increase as she began to accompany the King and Queen on many of their tours around Britain.

On 6 February 1952, whilst visiting Kenya, Princess Elizabeth received the news of her father's death and her own accession to the throne. Her coronation took place in Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953. She was 25.

Queen Elizabeth was still a Princess when she married Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark in November 1947.They have four children: Charles, Anne, Andrew and Edward. The couple also have eight grandchildren: Peter and Zara Phillips (b.1977 and 1981); The Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry (b.1982 and 1984); Princess Beatrice of York and Princess Eugenie of York (b.1988 and 1990); and The Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn (b.2003 and 2007). The Queen and Prince Philip are now great grandparents to Savannah Phillips, born in December 2010.

Although the Royal House is named Windsor, it was decreed that The Queen’s decedents should have the personal surname Mountbatten-Windsor.

After the Coronation, Elizabeth and Philip moved to Buckingham Palace. It is reported, however, that, as with many of her predecessors, she disliked the Palace as a residence and considers Windsor Castle to be her home.

The Queen was the most widely-travelled head of state in history. From 1953 to 1954 she and Philip made a six-month, around the world tour, becoming the first European monarch to circumnavigate the globe. She also became the first reigning monarch of Australia, New Zealand and Fiji to visit those nations.

As a constitutional monarch, Elizabeth does not express her personal political opinions publicly. She maintained this discipline throughout her reign, doing little in public to reveal what they might be, and so her political views are not known. However, she is believed to hold centre, even slightly left of centre views. She was seen as closer to Harold Wilson than Edward Heath and was certainly closer to Tony Blair than Margaret Thatcher. She also enjoys especially close relations with Ireland, having expressed support for t he Good Friday Agreement which eventually brought peace to Northern Ireland.

Queen Elizabeth II: A life in pictures

The Queen’s personal relationships with a host of world leaders have been particularly warm and informal, developing friendships with Nelson Mandela, Mary Robinson, and George W. Bush - who was the first U.S. President in over 80 years to stay at Buckingham Palace.

Despite a succession of controversies surrounding the rest of the royal family, particularly throughout the 1980s and 1990s (including wide reporting of Prince Philip's propensity for verbal gaffes, and the marital difficulties of her children), Queen Elizabeth remains a remarkably uncontroversial and widely respected figure. However, this was tested in 1997, when she and other members of the Royal Family were perceived to be unmoved by the public outpouring of grief following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.

The Golden Jubilee of 2002 marked the 50th anniversary of The Queen's Accession in 1952. However, it began with personal sadness for The Queen when her sister, Princess Margaret, died at the age of 71, following a stroke

Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, died only a few weeks later. She was 101. The Queen attended her funeral at Westminster Abbey before a private committal at St George's Chapel, Windsor

The Queen celebrated her 80th birthday on 21 April 2006, when she became the third-oldest reigning monarch in British and Commonwealth history. Despite being in excellent health she has started to hand over some public duties to her children, as well as to other members of the Royal Family.

However, her popularity among British people has remained extremely high, largely thanks to her dedication to charitable courses as patron of more than 600 charities and other organisations. Her reign was not without opposition from some quarters, but polls conducted in Britain in 2006 and 2007 revealed strong support for her.

In the 2006 Ipsos MORI poll conducted on behalf of the Sun newspaper, an overwhelming 72 per cent of respondents were in favour of retaining the monarchy and this may have been down to the country’s undoubted respect and affection for Queen Elizabeth. An even greater percentage (85 per cent) were satisfied with the way the Queen carries out her role as monarch. When asked about if and when the Queen should retire, 64 per cent stated that she should "never retire".

Queen Elizabeth's popularity was not just restricted to the British Isles as more recently, referendums in Tuvalu in 2008 and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in 2009 rejected proposals to abolish the monarchy.

During her Diamond Jubilee year The Queen and other members of the Royal Family will makes visits to England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland to mark Her Majesty’s sixty years on the throne. The celebrations will centre around the long weekend beginning 2 June, ending on a special bank holiday on 5 June. The festivities will include a concert at Buckingham Palace, and river pageant on the Thames, the Big Jubilee Lunch and a Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral.

In 2016 Her Majesty celebrated her 90th birthday, an age at which most people would have been retired for many years.

On 8th September 2022, Queen Elizabeth II peacefully passed away at the age of 96, surrounded by her family at Balmoral Castle.

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Queen Elizabeth II: A lifetime of devotion and service

The funeral of Britain's longest-ruling monarch concludes a life exemplified by a personal motto of "I serve."

Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch died on September 8, setting off a series of well-planned events to mark her passing. The culmination of these events is the state funeral at Westminster Abbey on Monday and her subsequent interment at King George VI Memorial Chapel at Windsor Castle. The people of the United Kingdom and leaders from around the world will gather in London to pay their respects to the late queen and bid a final farewell.

The beginning of an era

Queen Elizabeth II sat at her desk, undertaking her first duties as monarch. Just hours before, she had been Elizabeth Windsor; now she was queen of the United Kingdom, head of the Commonwealth of Nations, and sovereign of the Commonwealth realms.

It was 1952, and she was in mourning. But despite her grief, the young queen shouldered her new responsibility with grace—and her signature stiff upper lip. “She was sitting erect, fully accepting her destiny,” her private secretary later recalled. When he asked her which name she would reign under, she said “My own, of course.”

Over the seven decades that followed, Queen Elizabeth II would leave an unmistakable impression on her nation and the rest of the world. Her road to the throne was a twisted one; her reign beset by crises and social cataclysms. But her destiny was to rule through triumph and sorrow, conflict and almost unthinkable change. Along the way, she would become the longest-ruling British monarch—linking past and present and emerging as an indelible figure on the world stage.

A twist of royal fate

Born in London on April 21, 1926, Elizabeth was the granddaughter of a king and daughter of a duke—the newest member of the House of Windsor. Despite her royal pedigree, Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary didn’t seem destined to the British throne. She was third in line to the monarchy, but it was widely assumed that her uncle Edward would become king, marry, and produce royal heirs of his own. History had other plans for Elizabeth.

When she was nine years old, her uncle took the throne as Edward VIII according to plan. Less than a year later he abdicated, abandoning the throne to marry Wallis Simpson, a twice-divorced American socialite. Elizabeth’s father would become king, and suddenly Elizabeth was next in line to helm Britain’s hereditary monarchy.

The lonely princess

Elizabeth had been raised quietly along with her younger sister, Princess Margaret. But when she became heir to the throne, her future reign indelibly shaped young Elizabeth’s life. Privately educated in Buckingham Palace and overseen by a beloved governess, she was tutored in her future duties by leading scholars and in religion by the archbishop of Canterbury. She learned from her father, too: Shy, stuttering George VI nonetheless addressed his people regularly and insisted on staying in London during the Blitz of World War II.

For Hungry Minds

Elizabeth was a lonely but dutiful young girl—one biographer noted that her loud cries during her christening as a baby were “the last recorded instance of her surrendering to anything like a tantrum.” But the war opened up her horizons.

In 1940, she made her first public speech at age 14, addressing children who had been separated from their parents during the war. “We children at home are full of cheerfulness and courage,” she said. “We are trying . . . to bear our own share of the danger and sadness of war.”

Love and war

The teenage princess took part in the war effort in another way, too. In 1945, Elizabeth made history when she became the first woman in the royal family to serve full-time in Britain’s military as a truck driver and mechanic. When the war ended later that year, she wore her uniform and slipped into the celebrating crowds, blending in with the revelers as she basked in the joy and relief of peace.

By then, the seeds of what would become a seven-decade romance had been sown. Elizabeth and Margaret spent much of World War II at Windsor Castle. Elizabeth’s third cousin, Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark often stayed there when he was on leave from the Royal Navy. After the war, their relationship bloomed.

The dashing, blunt prince—who was exiled to England as an infant amid political strife in Greece and became naturalized as Philip Mountbatten in 1947—was an unlikely match for the reserved queen-to-be. He was relatively poor and seemingly rootless, his childhood marked by instability and trauma. But Elizabeth was captivated, reportedly falling in love at age 13. “She had a protective shell around her, and he brought her out of it,” said one observer. They married in Westminster Abbey on November 20, 1947.

The young queen

As a young wife and mother—Charles III was born in 1948 and Princess Anne followed in 1950—Elizabeth began to step into her aging father’s shoes. In 1952, she undertook a world tour in King George VI’s stead. During a brief getaway with Philip in Kenya, word arrived that her father had died. The 25-year-old was now a queen.

Elizabeth II, Britain’s 61st monarch, would reign over a vast empire and serve as head of the Church of England. At the time of her accession, Britain had more than 70 territories overseas. She was sovereign and head of state of the Commonwealth realms, including Canada and Australia, and the second Head of the Commonwealth of the Commonwealth of Nations, an association of sovereign states mostly linked to the United Kingdom through a history of British colonial rule. But her role was mostly symbolic: Though technically head of state and church, under the United Kingdom’s constitutional monarchy she possessed no ability to pass or enforce laws and was responsible for serving as a national figurehead, not a politician.

Elizabeth considered her responsibility as monarch a sacred duty. “I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong,” she said in a radio address on her 21st birthday, when her father was still king. She would spend the rest of her life living up to that promise.

A glittering coronation

As she mourned her father and acclimated to life as queen, Elizabeth prepared for perhaps the most memorable of the many royal appearances she was to make during her long life: Her coronation, held in Westminster Abbey in June 1953, hewed to time-honored tradition.

The day of the ceremony, the demure young queen, wearing an elaborate white satin dress, took a carriage from Buckingham Palace to the abbey. Inside the abbey, she was blessed and anointed with oil, decked with royal robes, and given a scepter and an orb.

Finally, after a nearly five-pound crown studded with jewels was placed on her head, she received the homage of the royal family and the peerage. Prince Philip was the first to kneel before her, pledging to be her “liege man of life and limb.”

Admiring subjects lined the streets of London to celebrate. They weren’t the only ones to take in the grandeur—at the queen’s insistence, television cameras were allowed inside the church for the first time, and the coronation was broadcast live. An estimated three-quarters of the population of Britain, more than 20 million people, tuned in for the ceremony, and millions more watched from other countries. Her coronation was the world’s first must-see television event and ushered in a new, modern monarchy.

Her changing empire

The British Empire of the queen’s forebears was changing rapidly as countries asserted their independence in the postwar years. Elizabeth continued to serve as constitutional monarch of a growing number of Commonwealth realms. And as head of the Commonwealth of Nations, she presided over a loose group of mostly former British colonies that had abandoned their colonial relationships with Britain.

After the coronation, Elizabeth and Philip embarked on an unprecedented tour of the Commonwealth. During the trip, the pair traveled more than 40,000 miles and visited 13 countries. It was the first time a reigning monarch had visited either Australia or New Zealand.

The Commonwealth would become one of Elizabeth’s most enduring projects. She embraced the association’s diversity and fostered close relationships with its leaders. The Commonwealth “bears no resemblance to the Empires of the past,” she said. “It is an entirely new conception, built on the highest qualities of the spirit of man: friendship, loyalty, and the desire for freedom and peace. To that new conception of an equal partnership of nations and races I shall give myself heart and soul every day of my life.”

Royal duties

A busy travel schedule made up just part of the queen’s royal duties. Though the British sovereign must remain externally neutral on matters of state, they retain the right to appoint prime ministers and call a general election. Although those duties are usually no more than ceremonial, they remain a key part of protocol. Monarchs can also advise—or be advised by—their prime ministers.

During her weekly visits with Prime Minister Winston Churchill in her first years as queen, Elizabeth received his tutelage and shared in his notorious sense of fun. Her private secretary recalled hearing “peals of laughter” during their audiences, and the queen wrote that she was “profoundly grateful” for his guidance during her first years as sovereign.

A “priggish schoolgirl”

Despite her outward neutrality, the queen had her detractors—and soon learned that, in times of national strife, the monarchy could be harshly criticized. The first gauntlet came after the Suez Crisis, Britain’s disastrous, short-lived invasion of Egypt in 1956. The brief fiasco resulted in a decline in the U.K.’s global status and fueled a political and economic crisis.

After Anthony Eden, the prime minister who had given the invasion the green light, resigned, Elizabeth came under fire for relying on the advice of an insular group of royal insiders in choosing Eden’s successor. In 1957, Lord Altrincham, the influential editor of the National and English Review, published sharp criticism of Elizabeth and her “tweedy” advisers. Then he launched into a personal attack on the queen herself, complaining about everything from her voice to her “priggish schoolgirl” demeanor.

The criticism—and the debate it generated—prompted the queen to make lasting changes. Though the queen kept the monarch’s prerogative to appoint prime ministers, she would defer to political parties’ choice of prime minister for the rest of her life. And, in a nod toward equality, the queen eventually did away with the custom of presenting upper-crust debutantes at court, a long-standing tradition seen by some as evidence of a privilege unfairly extended to an elite minority.

A troubled nation

British society was changing and so was the monarchy. During her reign, Elizabeth faced a seemingly endless parade of crises, from economic malaise in the 1970s and 1980s to the international woes of Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic in the 21st century. But some events hit closer to home than others.

One such event was the Aberfan mine disaster in 1966, a landslide in which 144 people, many of them schoolchildren, were killed. After refusing to visit the Welsh community until more than a week after the incident, Elizabeth faced deep criticism for what some saw as leaving her subjects in the lurch. The queen reportedly considered her bungled response to the disaster to be the biggest regret of her reign.

The Troubles, a three-decades-long conflict between nationalists and unionists in Northern Ireland, was another crucible. The violence left more than 3,600 dead and more than 30,000 injured. The Troubles also touched Elizabeth personally: Her second cousin Lord Louis Mountbatten was assassinated by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in 1979. It would take until 2011 for Elizabeth to make an official state visit to the Republic of Ireland, where she offered her sympathy to the victims of the Troubles. Despite her words—the closest a member of the Royal Family ever came to apologizing for Britain’s reprisals during the conflict—tensions continued to simmer in Northern Ireland, especially in the throes of Brexit, which threatened trade between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Pomp and circumstance

As a mother of four—Prince Andrew was born in 1960 and Prince Edward in 1964—the queen hewed carefully to her symbolic duties. Every year, she presided at the State Opening of Parliament, delivering a speech to the assembled members of the Houses of Commons and Lords. (During her reign she missed only three appearances; twice while pregnant with her younger sons and once in 2022 as concerns for her health increased.)

State events were filled with pitfalls of procedure and etiquette. But for the queen, there was a practical annoyance: the weight of her nearly five-pound Imperial State Crown. “You can’t look down to read the speech, you have to take the speech up. Because if you did, your neck would break—it would fall off,” she told the BBC in a 2018 documentary. “So there are some disadvantages to crowns, but otherwise they’re quite important things.” As the queen aged, she began wearing a lighter-weight diadem to Parliament instead.

Another tradition was the royal Christmas message, a speech broadcast first by radio, then by television to a worldwide audience. During the annual messages, which her grandfather first instituted, Elizabeth offered thanks and encouragement to the people of the Commonwealth and commented on the most pressing issues of the time.

And then there were the jubilees—anniversary celebrations of the queen’s ever lengthening rule. The queen would often travel throughout the Commonwealth of Nations during jubilee years, and she used the jubilee celebrations as chances to greet her subjects and focus on the unity and progress of her nation and the Commonwealth.

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In 1969, she presided over a very personal ceremony: the investiture of her oldest son, Charles, as Prince of Wales. As her son knelt before her at Caernarfon Castle, she placed a jewel-studded coronet on his head and presented him to the Welsh people as their prince.

Family matters

Over the years, the queen survived multiple assassination attempts. But those were arguably less traumatic than the family conflicts that rocked her personal life and shook public confidence in the monarchy.

The queen’s sister, Princess Margaret, caused a furor when tabloids published photos of her cavorting with her lover in 1976. Though Margaret’s subsequent divorce scandalized the family, Elizabeth gave it her blessing. It was just a preview of the strife to come.

The fallout of the tempestuous marriage and separation of Charles III and Princess Diana led Elizabeth to refer to 1992 as her “annus horribilis,” a year that also included a catastrophic fire at Windsor Castle, the divorce of Princess Anne, and the separation of Prince Andrew and his wife, Sarah.

When Diana died in a tragic car crash while being pursued by paparazzi in 1997, her former mother-in-law was condemned for her seeming lack of emotion. But in private, the queen expressed her grief, writing to a friend that Diana’s death was “dreadfully sad.” In the aftermath, she protected and cared for her grandsons, Prince William and Prince Harry.

A stiff upper lip

Elizabeth’s troubles didn’t end then. Her son Prince Andrew was linked to infamous American financier Jeffrey Epstein and accused of sexually assaulting a minor Epstein had allegedly trafficked. Under increasing public pressure and after a widely criticized television interview in which Prince Andrew downplayed Epstein’s actions and denied any wrongdoing, he stepped down from public life in November 2019 and returned his royal patronages and military titles to the queen in January 2022.

In January 2020, Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, announced they would step back from the royal family and become financially independent. They also alleged that Meghan, who is biracial, had received racist treatment from members of the royal inner circle. Though the couple’s retreat to the United States reportedly came as a blow to the queen, the monarch retained a relationship with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex from afar and was said to have been “overjoyed” that the pair named their second child Lilibet.

Another blow came in 2021, when Philip, the longest-serving royal consort in British history, died at age 99. Images of the queen sitting alone at her husband’s funeral, which was kept small to conform with the British government’s coronavirus-era restrictions, vividly illustrated the queen’s loss. But through it all, she presented a placid face to the world.

Intensely private though she was, the queen was also known to be warm and witty. She doted on her corgis and relished her summer retreats to Balmoral Castle in Scotland, where she could go on long walks and picnics, drive her Range Rover, and visit with her royal ponies. A committed horsewoman, she was a fixture at horse shows and races and could be spotted in the saddle into her 90s.

But for the woman who committed to serving her country at the age of just 25, her country was never far from her thoughts. She remained active and involved in public events into her mid-90s and never turned away from her responsibilities as queen. “These are the things that, at her age, she shouldn’t be doing, yet she’s carrying on and doing them,” her grandson Prince Harry said in a 2012 interview. So, what did the resilient queen make of her own boundary-breaking life? She reportedly joked, “I have to be seen to be believed.”

Elizabeth could find the humor in her complicated destiny. And for those who loved her—her millions of subjects, her loving family, and her fans around the world—she was much more than a figurehead. “In the days when it was a man’s world, it was very difficult for her to . . . make a difference,” her grandson Prince William said in a 2019 interview. “And she’s done it. In her own very unique, distinct way.”

To the end, she retained the calm resolve of the young woman who accepted her royal fate so many years before—a life of duty and service, accomplished as no one but Elizabeth could.

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Queen Elizabeth II

• Early Life, Princess, and World War II
• Occupation: Queen of the United Kingdom
• Reign: February 6, 1952 – present
• Born: April 21, 1926 in Mayfair, London, United Kingdom
• Died: September 8, 2022 in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, United Kingdom
• Best known for: The longest-reigning British monarch

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Elizabeth II, a life on the throne

Queen Elizabeth II, head of the Commonwealth and monarch of 15 countries, ruled longer than any other monarch in British history, guiding the nation through profound changes and leaving behind a vibrant legacy. 

Issued on: 08/09/2022 - 20:04

Queen Elizabeth II, Head of the Commonwealth and monarch of 15 countries, has died. She ruled longer than any other monarch in British history, guiding the nation through profound changes and leaving behind a vibrant legacy.

In her six decades on the throne, the Queen travelled extensively, was patron of numerous charities and raised a family that includes four children, eight grandchildren and several great-grandchildren. She was credited with building national unity during times of great social and political change while also modernising the British crown.

When King George VI died of lung cancer on February 6, 1952, then Princess Elizabeth was visiting a remote wooden-stilted hotel in Kenya’s Aberdare National Park. It was while there that her husband Prince Philip broke the news of her father’s death. She was only 25.

She and the prince cancelled the rest of the trip and returned to Britain the next day. Her coronation, a spectacular ceremony viewed by millions of people on television, took place at Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953.

Her coronation was an extraordinary fate for a girl who had never been destined to ascend to the throne.

Joining the war effort

Born on April 21, 1926, Elizabeth was only third in line to the throne after Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII), and her father Albert, the Duke of York.

She grew up at 145 Piccadilly, the London house taken by her parents (who referred to her as “Lilibet”) shortly after her birth. It was only in 1936, when her uncle Edward VIII abdicated in order to marry twice-divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson and her father acceded to the throne as King George VI, that she became heiress presumptive.

With the outbreak of World War II , Britain was regularly targeted by German bombers. The king refused to move from Buckingham Palace during the attacks but Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret were moved for their safety to Windsor Castle west of London, where they spent most of the war years.

The two sisters would later join the war effort, knitting socks and making bandages for British soldiers at the front. In 1940, at the age of 14, Princess Elizabeth made her first radio speech. Addressing the children moved from London to escape the bombings, she expressed a “message of sympathy” for those separated from loved ones and “gratitude” for their hosts in the countryside.

In early 1942 she was appointed colonel-in-chief of the Grenadier Guards infantry regiment, and towards the end of the war she joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service, the women’s branch of the British Army. Despite being the heir to the throne, she learned to drive and repair military vehicles. These skills would stay with her long after the war was over. She reportedly looked after her own cars and enjoyed driving on the small roads near the royal residence of Balmoral Castle in Scotland behind the wheel of a Land Rover.

The crown first

Princess Elizabeth married Prince Philip of Greece, a distant cousin who was an officer in the Royal Navy, in November 1947. She gave birth to Prince Charles a year later, who is first in line to the throne. The birth of Princess Anne would follow in 1950, that of Prince Andrew in 1960 and Prince Edward in 1964.

Even before her coronation, service to the crown rather than rearing a family appeared to be the focus for the young princess. As King George VI’s health quickly declined from 1950, she replaced him more and more regularly on official trips and ceremonies.

In 1951 she and Prince Philip embarked on a month-long trip to Canada then visited the United States, where she played host to then president Harry Truman at a formal dinner at the Canadian embassy in Washington. The next year the couple set off for a visit to Australia and New Zealand, but first stopped in Kenya – where she learned of her father’s death, news that would make her the 40th English monarch to rule since William the Conqueror.

Making her first statement to senior politicians in London two days later, she said: “By the sudden death of my dear father I am called to assume the duties and responsibilities of sovereignty … My heart is too full for me to say more to you today than I shall always work, as my father did throughout his reign, to advance the happiness and prosperity of my peoples, spread as they are all the world over.”

Above the fray

Only a few months after her coronation in 1953 she set out to complete, as Queen, the Commonwealth tour she had begun before the death of her father. She visited Bermuda, Jamaica, Fiji, Tonga, New Zealand, Australia, the Cocos Islands, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Uganda, Malta, Gibraltar and Aden.

The trip appeared to set a precedent for the rest of her reign, and revealed her aspiration to be closer to the subjects of the Commonwealth – 130 million people spread across the planet – than her royal predecessors.

The Queen completed more than 265 foreign trips, visiting around 120 countries, in her lifetime. She also hosted several generations of world leaders at Buckingham Palace: Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle, John F. Kennedy, Pope John Paul II, Gerhard Schröder, George W. Bush, Jacques Chirac, Nelson Mandela, Angela Merkel and Barack Obama are only a few of the figures she has welcomed.

The Queen “[took] seriously her anointment with holy oil during her coronation”, according to biographer Sally Bedell Smith.

While being a witness to the dissolution of the British Empire, the Falklands War and the Brexit vote, the Queen was always careful to stand above the political fray.

Regular meetings between the Queen and prime minister were one of the few closely guarded secrets in British government. No prime minister has ever revealed the details of these conversations.

“She has great insights and great knowledge from all the conversations that she's had over the years,” former prime minister David Cameron told ABC on the 60th anniversary of her reign in 2013. "So she asks brilliant questions that make you think carefully."

It is estimated that more than 1 million people turned out in June 2012 to watch the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Pageant, which marked her 60 years on the throne and featured a celebratory flotilla of more than 1,000 boats sailing up the River Thames.

The Diana dilemma

While symbolising unity and continuity for her country, the Queen also faced personal family battles and tragedy. The divorces of three of her children tarnished the image of the royal family, and were played out under the unsparing gaze of the media.

Her reaction to the 1997 death of Princess Diana, Prince Charles’s former wife, caused friction between the Queen and the public. The refusal to fly the British flag at half mast over Buckingham Palace as a sign of mourning compelled the Sun tabloid to demand: “Show us there's a heart in the House of Windsor.”

The Queen was following protocol, which dictates that only the Royal Standard flies over the palace when the sovereign is in residence. Elizabeth eventually ordered the Union Flag to be lowered and paid tribute to Diana in a now-famous television address, thus regaining much of the esteem she had temporarily lost.

This break with tradition in the wake of Diana’s death was, for some, evidence that the Queen knew how to modernise the monarchy and shepherd it into the 21st century.

She also warmly welcomed Kate Middleton when she married Prince William – Prince Charles’s eldest son – in 2011 to become the Duchess of Cambridge and the first member of the middle classes to marry a future king. The young couple welcomed a new heir, Prince George, in 2013, Princess Charlotte, in 2015, and Prince Louis in 2018.

That year the Queen also gave her blessing for William’s younger brother Harry to marry divorced actress Meghan Markle, the first African-American to become part of the Windsor family. Relations with the couple soon soured, however, eventually leading the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to step down as senior members of the royal family and move to California.

Buckingham Palace was soon rocked by another scandal involving Prince Andrew’s links to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and allegations he sexually abused a teenage girl. It led the Queen to strip the prince – long dubbed her “favourite son” by the media – of his honorary military titles and royal roles in charities in January 2022.

Months earlier, in April 2021, Elizabeth II suffered her biggest blow with the death of her husband Prince Philip, her “strength and stay”, after more than 73 years of marriage.

The Queen looked increasingly frail in the wake of Philip’s death, her health dogged by a string of ailments and a bout of Covid-19. Poor health forced her to skip the traditional Queen’s Speech in May 2022 – for only the third time in her reign. Weeks later, however, she appeared on the balcony at Buckingham Palace to salute the crowd during festivities marking her Platinum Jubilee. The four days of celebrations of her 70 years on the throne underscored the nation’s deep bond with its longest reigning monarch.

A guardian of tradition and national unity, Elizabeth II passed away serenely at the age of 96, leaving behind three generations of heirs and a stable monarchy that remains central to British life.

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Queen Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I was a long-ruling queen of England, governing with relative stability and prosperity for 44 years. The Elizabethan era is named for her.

(1533-1603)

Who Was Queen Elizabeth I?

Queen Elizabeth I claimed the throne in 1558 at the age of 25 and held it until her death 44 years later. Elizabeth I was born a princess but declared illegitimate through political machinations. Eventually, upon her half-sister Mary Tudor’s death, she took the crown.

Queen Elizabeth I’s Father and Mother

Elizabeth was the daughter of King Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. She was only 2 years old when her mother was beheaded on the orders of her father, based on questionable charges of adultery and conspiracy.

Early Life and Education

Elizabeth I was born on September 7, 1533, in Greenwich, England. Elizabeth was raised much like any other royal child. She received tutoring and excelled at languages and music.

After her father's death in 1547, Elizabeth spent some time under the care of her stepmother Catherine Parr. Parr hired tutors on Elizabeth's behalf, including William Grindal and Roger Ascham.

Tensions with Parr over Parr's new husband, Thomas Seymour, led Elizabeth to return to the royal estate at Hatfield, away from the court. Her relationship with Seymour later came under scrutiny, and Seymour was tried for conspiring to wed Elizabeth in a bid to gain power. Found guilty, Seymour was executed.

Elizabeth I of England’s Siblings

Elizabeth had an older half-sister, Mary Tudor , who was the king’s first child with his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and the only to survive to adulthood. Elizabeth also had a younger half-brother, Edward, who was the king’s first and only legitimate son with his third wife, Jane Seymour .

Elizabeth and Mary were declared to be illegitimate as their father sought to pave the way to the throne for Edward, his male heir. The girls were later reinstated as potential heirs. Upon Henry VIII’s death in 1547, Edward succeeded his father as King Edward VI.

Edward VI died just six years later, in 1553. Mary Tudor and their cousin, Lady Jane Grey , both were in line for the crown.

Edward had appointed Grey to be his successor. Her reign proved to be very short: Mary gained the support of the English people and unseated Grey after only nine days on the throne.

Even though Elizabeth supported Mary in her coup, she was not free from suspicion. A staunch Roman Catholic, Mary sought to restore her country back to her faith, undoing her father's break from the Pope. While Elizabeth went along with the religious change, she remained a candidate for the throne for those who wanted a return to Protestantism.

In 1554, Thomas Wyatt organized a rebellion against Mary in the hopes of making Elizabeth queen and restoring Protestantism to England. His plot was uncovered, and Mary quickly imprisoned Elizabeth. Although Elizabeth disputed any involvement in the conspiracy, her sister was not wholly convinced.

Although she was soon released, Elizabeth's life was firmly in her sister's hands. Wyatt was executed, but he maintained that Elizabeth was not aware of the rebellion. Elizabeth eventually returned to Hatfield and continued with her studies. In 1558, Elizabeth ascended to the throne upon Mary Tudor’s death.

Elizabeth I’s Reign

Elizabeth ruled for 44 years, from 1558 until her death in 1603.

Elizabeth I inherited a number of problems stirred up by her half-sister Mary. The country was at war with France, which proved to be a tremendous drain on the royal coffers.

There was also great tension between different religious factions after Mary worked to restore England to Roman Catholicism by any means necessary. Mary had earned herself the nickname Bloody Mary for ordering the execution of 300 Protestants as heretics.

Elizabeth acted swiftly to address these two pressing issues. During her first session of Parliament in 1559, she called for the passage of the Act of Supremacy, which re-established the Church of England, and the Act of Uniformity, which created a common prayer book.

Elizabeth took a moderate approach to the divisive religious conflict in her country. "There is one Jesus Christ," she once said. "The rest is a dispute over trifles."

Historians differ on the extent that Catholics suffered religious persecution and execution under Elizabeth’s reign. The Roman Catholic Church took a dim view of her actions, and in 1570, Pope Pius V excommunicated Elizabeth.

With the assistance of her key advisor, William Cecil, Elizabeth ended England’s war with France. She was able to avoid clashing with the other superpower of the age, Spain, for much of her reign.

In 1585, however, Elizabeth entered the fray to support the Protestant rebellion against Spain in the Netherlands. Spain then set its sights on England, but the English navy was able to defeat the infamous Spanish Armada in 1588. According to several reports, the weather proved to be a deciding factor in England's victory.

Elizabethan England

Elizabeth’s reign was sometimes referred to as the England's Golden Age or Elizabethan England, an era of peace and prosperity when the arts had a chance to blossom with Elizabeth's support.

While she worked hard at court, Elizabeth took time for leisurely pursuits. She loved music and could play the lute. Thomas Tallis and William Byrd were among her court musicians. Elizabeth also enjoyed dancing and watching plays. Elizabeth's reign supported the creation of works by such greats as William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe .

Writers paid tribute to the queen in many literary forms. The poet Edmund Spenser based his character of Gloriana in The Faerie Queen on Elizabeth, and she was sometimes referred to by this name.

Portraiture was the reigning form of painting at the time, and artists honored Elizabeth by painting her portrait. These images reveal that Elizabeth was an early fashionista in many ways. She loved jewelry and beautiful clothing; her garments were often made with gold and silver. With the help of makeup, Elizabeth cultivated a dramatically pale look.

Rivalry Between Queen Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots

During Elizabeth’s rule, Mary, Queen of Scots lay claim to the English crown and posed one of the greatest internal threats to remove her cousin from the throne. Mary was raised Catholic and was considered by many English Catholics to be the rightful monarch of England.

The daughter of King James V of Scotland, Mary Stuart united her country with France in 1558 when she married the future King Francis II. After Francis' death, Mary returned to Scotland in 1561.

Elizabeth jailed her cousin in 1567 in connection with several assassination attempts, including the Babington Plot. Elizabeth kept Mary imprisoned for nearly 20 years before she had her cousin executed in 1587.

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Later Years

Troubled times marked the final years of Elizabeth's reign. The country suffered from failed crops, unemployment and inflation. There were riots over food shortages and rebellions in Ireland.

Elizabeth faced many challenges to her authority, including from one of her favorite noblemen, Robert Devereaux, the Earl of Essex. She had sent him to Ireland to quell a rebellion known as the Nine Years War led by Gaelic lord Hugh O'Neill. Instead, Essex returned to England and sought to start his own rebellion. He was executed for treason in 1601.

Elizabeth I’s Golden Speech

Despite her fading power, Elizabeth still showed her devotion to her people. She gave one of her most famous speeches in 1601 to Parliament.

During what is referred to as her "Golden Speech," a self-reflective Elizabeth seemed to look back on her long reign. "Of myself I must say this, I was never any greedy, scraping grasper, nor a strait, fast-holding prince, nor yet a waster. My heart was never set on worldly goods but for my subjects' good."

While the end of her reign had been difficult, Elizabeth is largely remembered as a queen who supported her people. Her lengthy time on the throne provided her subjects with stability and consistency. Her political acumen, sharp wit and clever mind helped navigate the nation through many religious, social and governmental challenges.

Did Queen Elizabeth I Have a Husband or Children?

Elizabeth never married or had children; she seemed to have no interest in sharing power with a spouse. Over time, she cultivated her image as a queen married to her job and her people, earning her the nickname the "Virgin Queen."

Succession was a pressing issue for Elizabeth. During her reign, she managed a number of suitors and potential royal matches. Through her father and her sister, however, Elizabeth had seen the troubles and challenges of royal marriages.

Elizabeth's half-sister Mary Tudor had made an unpopular choice in marrying Philip II of Spain, who shared her devotion to the Roman Catholic faith. In the hopes of reuniting their two countries once more, Phillip offered to wed Elizabeth at one time. She refused.

Other suitors for Elizabeth's hand included the Archduke Charles of Austria and the future King Henry III of France. She used her availability as a means to political ends, but she never agreed to marriage.

Elizabeth herself seemed to have some interest in a member of her court, Robert Dudley. Their relationship was the subject of much gossip and speculation; both parties came under suspicion of the mysterious death of Dudley's wife.

Queen Elizabeth I’s Death

Elizabeth died on March 24, 1603, at Richmond Palace in Surrey. It’s believed that the cosmetic concoction Elizabeth used to cultivate her infamously pale look, called the "spirits of Saturn" — made by mixing white lead and vinegar — may have impacted her health.

Successor to Queen Elizabeth I

Because Elizabeth I had no children, with her death came the end of the house of Tudor — a royal family that had ruled England since the late 1400s. The son of her former rival and cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots, succeeded her on the throne as James I.

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QUICK FACTS

• Name: Elizabeth
• Birth Year: 1533
• Birth date: September 7, 1533
• Birth City: Greenwich
• Birth Country: United Kingdom
• Gender: Female
• Best Known For: Elizabeth I was a long-ruling queen of England, governing with relative stability and prosperity for 44 years. The Elizabethan era is named for her.
• World Politics
• Astrological Sign: Virgo
• Interesting Facts
• Elizabeth I was called the Virgin Queen because of her refusal to marry.
• It’s believed that the cosmetic concoction Elizabeth used to cultivate her infamously pale look may have impacted her health and contributed to her death.
• Death Year: 1603
• Death date: March 24, 1603
• Death City: Richmond, Surrey
• Death Country: United Kingdom

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CITATION INFORMATION

• Article Title: Queen Elizabeth I Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/royalty/queen-elizabeth-i
• Access Date:
• Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
• Last Updated: February 7, 2020
• Original Published Date: April 3, 2014
• I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too.
• I would rather be a beggar and single than a queen and married.
• I do not so much rejoice that God hath made me to be a Queen, as to be a Queen over so thankful a people.

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