Elizabeth II

Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen of 32 sovereign states during her life, and she was the monarch of 15 realms when she died. Her reign of 70 years and 214 days is the longest of any British monarch, the second-longest of any sovereign state, and the longest of any queen regnant in history.

Elizabeth was born in Mayfair, London, when her grandfather, King George V, was on the throne. She was the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York, who later became King George VI and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. In 1936, her father became king after his brother gave up the throne. That brother was Edward VIII. Because of this, the ten-year-old Princess Elizabeth became the heir presumptive. She was taught at home and began to do public duties during the Second World War. She served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. In November 1947, she married a former prince of Greece and Denmark, Philip Mountbatten. They had four children: Charles, Anne, Andrew, and Edward.

When her father died in February 1952, Elizabeth became queen. She was 25 years old. She became queen of seven independent Commonwealth countries and head of the Commonwealth. She was a constitutional monarch, which means she did not make political decisions herself. She reigned through times of big change. These included the Troubles in Northern Ireland, devolution in the United Kingdom, the decolonisation of Africa, and the United Kingdom's accession to the European Communities. Later, the UK withdrew from it. The number of her realms changed over time. Some territories gained independence, and most realms became republics. As queen, Elizabeth was advised by more than 170 prime ministers across her realms. She made many historic visits. These included state visits to China in 1986, to Russia in 1994, and to the Republic of Ireland in 2011. She met five popes and fourteen US presidents.

Important events of Elizabeth's reign included her coronation in 1953. There were also celebrations of her Silver, Golden, Diamond, and Platinum jubilees. Sometimes people spoke against the monarchy, and republican feeling was shown in the media. There was also criticism of her family. This happened especially after the breakdowns of her children's marriages, during her annus horribilis in 1992, and after the death of her former daughter-in-law, Diana, in 1997. Even so, support for the monarchy and her popularity in the United Kingdom stayed high. Elizabeth died at age 96 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. She was succeeded by her eldest son, Charles III.

Early life

Elizabeth was born at 2:40 am on 21 April 1926. She was born by Caesarean section at her maternal grandfather's London home, 17 Bruton Street in Mayfair. She was the first child of Prince Albert, Duke of York, who later became King George VI, and his wife, Elizabeth, Duchess of York, who later became Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. Her father was the second son of King George V and Queen Mary. Her mother was the youngest daughter of Scottish aristocrat Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne and his wife, Cecilia (née Cavendish-Bentinck).

She was baptised in the private chapel at Buckingham Palace on 29 May. The Archbishop of York, Cosmo Gordon Lang, led the service. She was named Elizabeth after her mother. She was named Alexandra after her paternal great-grandmother, who had died five months earlier. She was named Mary after her paternal grandmother. Her close family called her "Lilibet." Her grandfather George V loved her and she called him "Grandpa England." When he was very ill in 1929, her visits were said to have cheered him up and helped him get better.

Elizabeth appeared on the cover of Time in April 1929. A portrait of her by Philip de László was painted in 1933. Her only sibling, Princess Margaret, was born in 1930. They were looked after by their nanny, Clara Knight. They were also taught at home by their mother and their governess, Marion Crawford. Their lessons covered history, languages, literature, and music.

In 1950, Crawford published a book about the girls' childhood called The Little Princesses. The book upset the royal family. It describes Elizabeth's love of horses and dogs, her tidiness, and her sense of responsibility. Winston Churchill said that at age two she was "a character. She has an air of authority and reflectiveness astonishing in an infant." Her cousin Margaret Rhodes called her "a jolly little girl, but fundamentally sensible and well-behaved."

Elizabeth's early life was mostly spent at the Yorks' town house in London, at 145 Piccadilly, and at Royal Lodge in Windsor.

Heir presumptive

Main article: Wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten

When Elizabeth was a child, she was third in the line of succession to the British throne. Her uncle, Edward, Prince of Wales, and her father came before her. When her grandfather died in 1936, her uncle became king as Edward VIII, and Elizabeth moved up to second in line. Later that year, Edward gave up the throne. He wanted to marry Wallis Simpson, an American who had been divorced, and this caused a serious problem for the country. Her father became king and took the royal name George VI. Elizabeth had no brothers, so she became heir presumptive. If her parents later had a son, he would have been heir apparent and would have come before her under the rule that favoured boys at that time. She had private lessons in the history of the government from Henry Marten, who was Vice-Provost of Eton College. She also learned French from teachers who had grown up speaking it. A Girl Guides group, the 1st Buckingham Palace Company, was started so she could meet girls her own age. Later, she became a Sea Ranger. In 1939, her parents visited Canada and the United States, and Elizabeth stayed in Britain. That September, Britain joined the Second World War. Lord Hailsham suggested that the princesses be sent away to Canada to keep them safe from bombing attacks on London by the Luftwaffe, but their mother said no.

During the war, the princesses lived at Balmoral Castle, Sandringham House, and Windsor Castle. In 1943, Elizabeth made her first public visit alone. She visited the Grenadier Guards, a group of soldiers whose colonel she had been named. In 1947, she went on her first trip overseas. On her 21st birthday, she gave a speech on the radio to the British Commonwealth. In it, she promised to dedicate her life to serving others. She had met Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark in 1934 and 1937, and again in July 1939. Their engagement was announced on 9 July 1947. They married on 20 November 1947 at Westminster Abbey. Shortly before the wedding, Philip was given the title Duke of Edinburgh. Their first child, Prince Charles, was born in November 1948. Princess Anne was born in August 1950.

Reign

Main article: Coronation of Elizabeth II

Further information: Commonwealth realm § Second Elizabethan era

Elizabeth became queen in February 1952, after her father, King George VI, died. She chose to keep the name Elizabeth, so she was called Elizabeth II. Her coronation took place on 2 June 1953. The ceremony in Westminster Abbey was shown on television for the first time. That same year, she and Prince Philip took a seven-month tour of 13 countries. She became the first reigning monarch of Australia and New Zealand to visit those nations. During her reign, she made hundreds of state visits and tours of the Commonwealth. She travelled more than any other head of state. As the British Empire changed into the Commonwealth of Nations, she remained the head of many independent countries.

Elizabeth lived through many changes during her reign, including the decolonisation of Africa and the Caribbean. In 1997, after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, she spoke to the nation on television, and many people felt comforted. In 1999, she opened new parliaments for Wales and Scotland. She celebrated her Golden Jubilee in 2002 and her Diamond Jubilee in 2012. On 9 September 2015, she became the longest-reigning queen regnant and female head of state in the world. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she stayed at Windsor Castle and gave televised messages to the nation. Her husband, Philip, died on 9 April 2021, after 73 years of marriage. In 2022, she celebrated her Platinum Jubilee. On 13 June that year, she became the second-longest reigning monarch in history. On 6 September 2022, she appointed Liz Truss as prime minister at Balmoral Castle.

Main article: Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II

On 8 September 2022, Buckingham Palace said the Queen's doctors were concerned about her health and had advised her to stay under medical supervision. She was comfortable at Balmoral. Her immediate family hurried to Balmoral. Elizabeth died peacefully at 3:10 pm, aged 96. Her death was announced to the public at 6:30 pm. This started Operation London Bridge and, because she died in Scotland, Operation Unicorn. She was the first monarch to die in Scotland since James V in 1542. Her death certificate listed her cause of death as "old age". According to former prime minister Boris Johnson and biographer Gyles Brandreth, she had a form of bone marrow cancer. Brandreth wrote that it was multiple myeloma.

Her coffin was carried up the Royal Mile to St Giles' Cathedral. The Crown of Scotland was placed on it, and members of the Royal Company of Archers guarded it there. It was then flown to RAF Northolt and taken by road to Buckingham Palace. Her body lay in state at Westminster Hall for four days. It was guarded by members of the Sovereign's Bodyguard and the Household Division. Around 250,000 people filed past the coffin. Her children and then her grandchildren each held a vigil beside it. Her state funeral was held at Westminster Abbey. It was the first funeral service for a monarch there since that of George II in 1760. More than a million people lined the streets of central London. Her fell pony and two royal corgis stood at the side of the final procession in Windsor. Her body was then laid to rest in the King George VI Memorial Chapel, after a committal service at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.

Public image

Main article: Personality and image of Elizabeth II

Elizabeth took her civic duty and her Coronation Oath very seriously. She had a deep sense of faith. As supreme governor of the established Church of England, she had an official religious role. She worshipped with that church and with the national Church of Scotland. She supported good relations between different faiths. She met leaders of other churches and religions, including five popes: Pius XII, John XXIII, John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis. Her annual Christmas Message to the Commonwealth often included a personal note about her faith.

Elizabeth rarely gave interviews, so little was known about her political opinions, and she did not share them in public. When Paul Routledge, a journalist for The Times, asked her about the miners' strike of 1984–85, she said it was "all about one man." She was referring to Arthur Scargill. She was patron of more than 600 organisations and charities. The Charities Aid Foundation estimated that she helped raise over £1.4 billion for them. She enjoyed equestrianism and dogs. She especially loved her Pembroke Welsh Corgis. This love began in 1933 with Dookie, the first of many royal corgis.

In the 1950s, Elizabeth was a young woman at the start of her reign. She was often shown as a glamorous "fairytale Queen." People described the time as a "new Elizabethan age," full of hope and progress after the Second World War. In the late 1960s, the television programme Royal Family and the broadcast of Prince Charles's investiture as Prince of Wales tried to show a more modern side of the monarchy. Her clothing had a recognisable style. She often wore overcoats in solid colours and decorative hats, so she could be seen easily in a crowd.

Her popularity fell to a low point in the 1990s, but it later recovered. Support for republicanism in Britain stayed a minority view. In 1999, Australians voted in a referendum on the future of the Australian monarchy, and they chose to keep it. In 2010, Prime Minister Julia Gillard spoke of a "deep affection" for Elizabeth in Australia. In 2021, Malcolm Turnbull said that "there are more Elizabethans than there are monarchists" there. Voters in Tuvalu in 2008 and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in 2009 also chose not to become republics.

In her last years, her family was again in the news. This included her grandson Harry and his wife Meghan, who left the working royal family and moved to the United States. As of 2021, she was the third most admired woman in the world, according to the yearly Gallup poll.

Many artists painted her, including Pietro Annigoni, Peter Blake, Chinwe Chukwuogo-Roy, Terence Cuneo, Lucian Freud, Rolf Harris, Damien Hirst, Juliet Pannett and Tai-Shan Schierenberg. Well-known photographers included Cecil Beaton, Yousuf Karsh, Anwar Hussein, Annie Leibovitz, Lord Lichfield, Terry O'Neill, John Swannell and Dorothy Wilding. The first official portrait photograph of Elizabeth was taken by Marcus Adams in 1926.

Main article: List of titles and honours of Elizabeth II

Her royal cypher was topped by St Edward's Crown. She held many titles and honorary military positions across the Commonwealth. She was the sovereign of many orders in her own countries. She also received honours and awards from around the world. Each of her realms had its own title, and these titles followed a similar pattern. For example, in Saint Lucia she was Queen of Saint Lucia and of Her other Realms and Territories. She was also known by the title Defender of the Faith.

From 21 April 1944 until she became queen, Elizabeth's arms were a lozenge with the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom on it. The lozenge had a label of three points, in argent. A Tudor rose sat on the centre point, and a cross of Saint George was on the first and third points. When she became queen, she took over the arms her father had used as sovereign, with a later changed picture of the crown. Elizabeth also had royal standards and personal flags for use in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, and other places. She approved her changed British arms on 26 May 1954.

See also: Flags of Elizabeth II

Coat of arms as Duchess of Edinburgh (1947–1952)

Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom

Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom for use in Scotland

Royal coat of arms of Canada

Family tree