Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during her life and served as monarch of 15 of them at the time of her death. Her reign of 70 years and 214 days is the longest of any British monarch and the longest recorded of any female head of state in history.
Elizabeth was born
in Mayfair, London, as the first child of the Duke and Duchess of
York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth). Her
father acceded to the throne in 1936 upon the abdication of his
brother, King Edward VIII, making Elizabeth the heir presumptive. She
was educated privately at home and began to undertake public duties during
the Second World War, serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. In November 1947, she married Philip
Mountbatten, a former prince of Greece and Denmark, and their marriage
lasted 73 years until his death in April 2021. They had four
children: Charles III; Anne, Princess Royal; Prince Andrew,
Duke of York; and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.
When her father died in
February 1952, Elizabeth—then 25 years old—became queen of seven independent
Commonwealth countries: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New
Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon (known today
as Sri Lanka), as well as Head of the Commonwealth. Elizabeth reigned
as a constitutional monarch through major political changes such
as the Troubles in Northern Ireland, devolution in the United
Kingdom, the decolonisation of Africa, and the United Kingdom's
accession to the European Communities and withdrawal from the
European Union. The number of her realms varied over time as territories gained
independence and some realms became republics. Her many historic visits and
meetings include state visits to China in 1986, Russia in 1994, and
the Republic of Ireland in 2011, and visits with five popes.
Significant events
include Elizabeth's coronation in 1953 and the celebrations
of her Silver, Golden, Diamond, and Platinum jubilees in
1977, 2002, 2012, and 2022, respectively. Elizabeth was the longest-lived and
longest-reigning British monarch, and the second-longest reigning
sovereign in world history, only behind Louis XIV of France. She faced
occasional republican sentiment and media criticism of her family,
particularly after the breakdowns of her children's marriages, her annus horribilis in 1992, and the death of her former
daughter-in-law Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997. However, support for
the monarchy in the United Kingdom remained consistently high, as did her
personal popularity. Elizabeth died aged 96 at Balmoral Castle,
Aberdeenshire, and was succeeded by her eldest son, Charles III.
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