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Sep 9, 2022 · When Princess Elizabeth was born it was never expected that she would become Queen. Her father was King George V's second son, so it was thought she would live the life of a very minor royal. But...
Jun 3, 2022 · In the early morning hours of February 6, 1952, the Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary of Windsor, 25, heiress presumptive to the British Throne, became Queen Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God,...
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- The early years of Lilibet. Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born on 21 April 1926. To her family and closest friends, she was known as Lilibet. She was home-schooled and had a happy childhood growing up within a close-knit family with her younger sister Margaret.
- Marrying Prince Philip. Throughout the war, Princess Elizabeth kept in touch with Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark by writing letters. Not everyone was impressed by how close they were becoming and some within the royal court had other ideas about the kind of man the princess should marry.
- Becoming Queen. In 1952, while they were in Kenya as part of a royal tour, King George VI died. Elizabeth, then 25, became Queen, and Prince Philip had to tell her that her father was dead.
- More on the Queen: A life of service in pictures. Six moments that defined the Queen's reign. The Queen's most memorable quotes. Historian Kate Williams said: "Winston Churchill initially was very unsure about her.
Sep 19, 2022 · Princess Elizabeth gave a speech to mark her milestone birthday, unbeknownst to her that she would become Queen upon the death of her father just five years later.
- Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation - June 2, 1953
- First State Visit to West Germany - 1965
- Mining Disaster in Wales - 1966
- First 'Walkabout' - 1970
- Silver Jubilee - 1977
- Prince Charles' Wedding to Lady Diana Spencer - 1981
- Visit to China - 1986
- 'Annus horribilis' - 1992
- Response to Princess Diana’s Death - 1997
- Golden Jubilee - 2002
Held at Westminster Abbey, Elizabeth’s coronation ceremony was the first to be broadcast live on television. Some 27 million people in the United Kingdom (out of a total population of 36 million) watched the ceremony, and 11 million more listened on the radio. Afterward, some 3 million people lined the route as the queen and her entourage made thei...
In the midst of a decade marked by social and political changes, the queen kept to a busy schedule of diplomatic duties, including a 10-day visit to the Federal Republic of Germany (or West Germany) that was the first official visit there by a British royal since 1913. Her visit marked the 20-year anniversary of the end of World War II, helping to ...
On October 21, 1966, an avalanche of mud, water and debris from a coal mine buried an elementary school in the South Wales village of Aberfan, killing 116 children and 28 adults. Though Prince Philip arrived in Aberfan a day after the disaster, the queen herself delayed her visit for over a week, fearing her presence would distract from rescue and ...
During a royal tour of Australia and New Zealand with Philip and Princess Anne in 1970, Elizabeth bucked centuries of royal tradition when she took a casual stroll to greet crowds of people in person, rather than wave to them from a protected distance. Now a regular practice for British royals both abroad and at home, the first “walkabout” in Sydne...
On June 7, Elizabeth and Philip rode in the Gold State Coach from Buckingham Palace to St. Paul’s Cathedral to officially celebrate her 25th year on the throne. Wearing a bright pink outfit, including a hat decked out with 25 fabric bells, the queen repeatedher long-ago pledge to devote her life to service, saying that "Although that vow was made i...
On July 29, 1981, an estimated 750 million people in 74 countries around the world tuned in to watch Prince Charles, Elizabeth’s eldest son, marry Lady Diana Spencer, at St. Paul’s Cathedral. The romance between the heir to the British throne and the young “Shy Di” had attracted massive media attention, and their lavish nuptials were considered the...
In late 1984, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s government agreed to return sovereignty over Hong Kong to China beginning July 1, 1997. In 1986, Elizabeth became the first British monarch to visit the Chinese mainland, touring the terracotta warriors in Xi’an, the Great Wall in Beijing and other sites. For the press, the diplomatic importance of t...
Charles and Diana’s marriage continued to deteriorate, and in 1992 they announced their decision to separate. Prince Andrew, the queen’s second son, and his wife, Sarah Ferguson, also separated, while Anne divorced her husband, Mark Phillips. Late that year, a fire broke out in Windsor Castle, destroying more than 100 rooms. In a speech delivered t...
Public criticism of the royal family grew more intense after Charles and Diana’s divorce in 1996 and especially after Diana’s death in a car crash in Paristhe following summer. The queen initially remained at her estate in Balmoral, Scotland, and refused to allow the flag to fly at half-mast over Buckingham Palace or address the grieving nation. At...
The queen’s celebration of her 50th year on the throne was marred by a double loss, when her younger sister, Princess Margaret, and their mother died within weeks of each other. As the first British monarch since Queen Victoria to celebrate a Golden Jubilee, Elizabeth traveled more than 40,000 miles that year, including visits to the Caribbean, Aus...
- Sarah Pruitt
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Elizabeth II was crowned Queen at Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953. She made history by becoming the first monarch to be crowned Head of the Commonwealth and Queen of Canada. She was also the first monarch whose coronation was televised.
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Apr 25, 2014 · Elizabeth II was the first monarch to be crowned Queen of Canada. She was the longest reigning monarch in British and Commonwealth history and celebrated her Platinum Jubilee, the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne, in 2022.
