After her father, King George VI, died on February 6, 1952, Elizabeth, with the support of her husband, Prince Philip, became queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. On June 2, 1953, she was crowned queen.
In 2022, on February 6, Elizabeth surpassed her predecessor George V as the longest-reigning British monarch at 70 years. In June 2022, the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth celebrated the event with a Platinum Jubilee.
On the first day of the four-day Platinum Jubilee, the 96-year-old monarch appeared with her family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, waving to the tens of thousands of people gathered below and watching an aviation display in her honor. But she was too sick to participate in the festivities after they had begun.
The world experienced profound political, economic, and social shifts during Elizabeth’s reign. It witnessed the United Kingdom’s entry into and subsequent departure from the European Union and the dissolution of the once-global British Empire into the Commonwealth of 52 separate nations headed by the queen. Queen Elizabeth II had 15 prime ministers in her reign, beginning with Winston Churchill upon her accession to the throne in 1952 and ending with Liz Truss, sworn in by the sickly monarch just two days before her death was announced.
In addition to the loss of Princess Diana, her son Prince Andrew’s relationship with the late wealthy s*x offender Jeffrey Epstein, and her grandson Prince Harry’s decision to seek a more private life with the former Meghan Markle all occurred under her watchful eye.
This War and ‘Lilibet’
Elizabeth, the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York, who became King George VI and Queen Elizabeth after Edward VIII’s abdication in 1937, was born on April 21, 1926. She was 32 generations removed from England’s first ruler, King Alfred the Great (871–899).
Both “Lilibet” and her sister Margaret, born in 1930, had private tutors and a governess who taught them at home.
Elizabeth’s father was crowned king not long before World War II broke out in the United Kingdom. In 1940, when she was just 14 years old, she made her first radio transmission, which she used to speak to youngsters who had been evacuated from British towns to the countryside and other countries.
Marriage With Philip
Elizabeth and Prince Philip marked 70 years of marriage on November 20, 2017. Their 7312-year marriage was longer than that of King George III and Queen Charlotte (who were married for 57 years) (1761-1818).
At the 1934 wedding of his first cousin, Princess Marina, to Prince George, Duke of Kent, Princess Elizabeth met Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark.
After 13 years of courtship and two years after the end of World War II, Elizabeth and Philip were married in a joyous ceremony at Westminster Abbey. Hundreds of thousands of people lined the streets leading away from Buckingham Palace.
At The Time Of Pandemic
As the coronavirus pandemic spread later in her reign, the world essentially halted. In a highly unusual video address from Windsor Castle in early April of 2020, the queen assured her subjects that they would be victorious over the coronavirus. The then-prime minister Boris Johnson was hospitalized for Covid-19 shortly after the speech broadcast.
Although we have encountered difficulties before, she emphasized that this one was unique. The world’s nations have come together for this cause: “This time, we join with all nations throughout the globe in a shared purpose, harnessing the enormous achievements in science and our inherent compassion to heal.”
Elizabeth and Philip resided at Windsor Castle throughout the pandemic, with the queen doing her duties remotely and the pair receiving their first vaccinations in January 2021.
However, the ban on Covids was still in effect in April 2021, when Philip was laid to rest. The strict social distance regulations of the epidemic era were in effect throughout the country. The monarch sat alone in grief, clothed in black instead of her standard brilliant colors.
Longest-Reigning Monarch
During her reign, Elizabeth took her place on the international stage alongside other elected leaders and dictators.
Throughout her long reign, Elizabeth made multiple trips around the world with Prince Philip. After being crowned queen, Elizabeth and Philip embarked on a seven-month tour, during which they visited 13 nations and traveled more than 40,000 miles.
From Harry S. Truman to Joe Biden, including Lyndon B. Johnson, she has met every president of the United States. Dwight Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush all hosted dinners for her at the White House. As for popes, she met five of them, beginning with Pius XII in 1951 (before she was queen) and ending with Francis in 2014.
On June 2, 2015, Elizabeth II surpassed her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria as the oldest and longest-reigning British queen. When King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand passed away in October 2016, ending his 70 years on the throne, she ascended to the position of longest-reigning monarch and head of state in the world.
As well as her 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, 65th, and 70th years on the throne, she also marked the weddings of her four children, the births of eight grandchildren, and the arrival of twelve great-grandchildren with a total of six jubilees.
On July 29, 1981, her son Charles married Lady Diana Spencer in a fairytale ceremony at St. Paul’s Cathedral, and almost a billion people worldwide watched on television.
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