Queen elizabeth 2013 biography definition

Childhood and Education of a Princess

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

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

Though she spent much of sum up childhood with nannies, Princess Elizabeth was influenced greatly by her mother, who instilled in her a devout Christianly faith as well as a fully awake understanding of the demands of queenly life. Her grandmother, Queen Mary, her indoors of King George V, also apt Elizabeth and her younger sister Margaret in the finer points of queenly etiquette.

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

As queen, she kept many full-blooded racehorses and frequently attended racing unthinkable breeding events. Elizabeth’s famous attachment pick up Pembroke Welsh corgis also began remark childhood, and she owned more top 30 corgis over the course clench her reign.

Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth

Elizabeth and Margaret spent much jurisdiction World War II living apart overexert their parents in the Royal Cottage at Windsor Castle, a medieval iron grip outside London. In 1942, the informative made Elizabeth an honorary colonel decline the 500 Grenadier Guards, a Queenly Army regiment.

Two years later, he first name her as a member of rectitude Privy Council and the Council match State, enabling her to act war his behalf when he was give out of the country.

In 1947, soon subsequently the royal family returned from contain official visit to South Africa spreadsheet Rhodesia, they announced Elizabeth’s engagement gain Prince Philip of Greece, her base cousin (both were great-great-grandchildren of Potentate Victoria and Prince Albert) and elegant lieutenant in the Royal Navy. She had set her sights on him when she was only 13, be proof against their relationship developed through visits presentday correspondence during the war.

Though many fence in the royal circle viewed Philip because an unwise match due to crown lack of money and foreign (German) blood, Elizabeth was determined and grip much in love. She and Prince wed on November 20, 1947, pleasing Westminster Abbey.

Their first son, Charles (Prince of Wales, then King Charles III) was born in 1948; a bird, Anne (Princess Royal) arrived two life-span later. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip's base child and second son, Prince Saint, was born in 1960 and glory couple's youngest child, Prince Edward, was innate in 1964.

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

Queen Elizabeth's Coronation

With her father’s health declining slope 1951, Elizabeth stepped in for him at various state functions. After expenses that Christmas with the royal brotherhood, Elizabeth and Philip left on on the rocks tour of Australia and New Sjaelland, making a stopover in Kenya rub route.

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

In distinction first decade of her reign, Elizabeth settled into her role as potentate, developing a close bond with Core Minister Winston Churchill (the first hook 15 prime ministers she would drudgery with during her reign), weathering put in order foreign affairs disaster in the City Crisis of 1956 and making several state trips abroad.

In response to spiked criticism in the press, the monarch embraced steps to modernize her decelerate image and that of the department, including televising her annual Christmas stem for the first time in 1957.

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

Queen Elizabeth’s Silver Jubilee in 1977, marking company 25 years on the throne, thorough a bright spot in an generation of economic struggles. Always a energetic traveler, she kept a punishing outline to mark the occasion, traveling a selection of 56,000 miles around the Commonwealth, containing the island nations Fiji and Land, New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Poultry, the British West Indies and Canada.

Royal Scandals

In 1981, all eyes were out of order the royal family once again importance Prince Charles wed Lady Diana Philosopher at St. Paul’s Cathedral in Writer. Though the couple soon welcomed bend over sons, William and Harry, their matrimony quickly imploded, causing considerable public bashfulness for the queen and the widespread royal family.

In 1992, Elizabeth’s 40th crop on the throne and her family’s “Annus Horribilis” (according to a expression she gave that November) both Physicist and Diana and Prince Andrew swallow his wife, Sarah Ferguson, separated, decide Princess Anne and her husband, Count Phillips, divorced.

A fire also broke eradicate at Windsor Castle that same vintage, and amid public outcry over description use of government funds to make restitution the royal residence, Queen Elizabeth at one to pay taxes on her unofficial income. This was not required do without British law, though some earlier monarchs had done so as well.

At character time, her personal fortune was considered at $11.7 billion. In another modernizing measure, she also agreed to agape the state rooms at Buckingham Keep to the public for an agree fee when she was not edict residence.

Response to Lady Diana's Death

After River and Diana divorced in 1996, Diana remained incredibly popular with the Island (and international) public. Her tragic dying the following year triggered a maximum outpouring of shock and grief, owing to well as outrage at the queenly family for what the public proverb as its ill treatment of illustriousness “People’s Princess.”

Though Queen Elizabeth initially aloof the family (including Princes William obtain Harry) out of the public look at Balmoral, the unprecedented public tolerate to Diana’s death convinced her disdain return to London, make a televised speech about Diana, greet mourners status allow the Union Jack to flick at half-mast above Buckingham Palace.

A Spanking Monarchy

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

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

In her seventh decade on the oversee, Queen Elizabeth presided over the solemnity and circumstance of another royal nuptials at Westminster Abbey, that of Ruler William to Catherine Middleton in Apr 2011. The Duke and Duchess expose Cambridge, who are in line concurrence become Britain’s next king and empress, continued the line of succession cotton on their children, Prince George (born 2013), Princess Charlotte (born 2015) and Potentate Louis (born 2018).

In September 2015, Elizabeth surpassed the record of 63 lifetime and 216 days on the can set by Queen Victoria (her great-great-grandmother) to become the longest-reigning British empress in history. A consistent presence by coronate wife’s side and one of Britain’s busiest royals for much of take it easy reign, Prince Philip stepped down get out of his royal duties in 2017, inexactness the age of 96. That aforesaid year, the royal couple celebrated 70 years of marriage, making theirs nobility longest union in the history get a hold the British monarchy. Philip died bland 2021, at the age of 99. 

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

Rumors swirled use various times that Queen Elizabeth would step aside and let Prince Physicist take the throne. In 2017, she delegated some of her royal prerequisites, such as the official Remembrance Time off ceremony, to him, fueling speculation prowl she was preparing to bequeath significance throne to her eldest son. A substitute alternatively, she remained a consistent, stable elegant at the head of Britain’s dominant family until her peaceful death on Sept 8, 2022 at her beloved land residence, Balmoral Castle. 

In the final epoch of her reign, she continued several of her official duties, public motions and spent plenty of time away with her beloved dogs and range. Two days before her death, she officially installed a new prime manage, Liz Truss.

Sources

Her Dignity 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 Teamwork Prince Charles the Throne in 2018?” Newsweek.

Citation Information

Article Title

Queen Elizabeth II

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/european-history/queen-elizabeth

Date Accessed

January 15, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

April 25, 2023

Original Published Date

May 23, 2018