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Britain's longest-serving head of state Queen Elizabeth II reigned for 70 years, steering the monarchy through difficult times and appointing no fewer than 15 different prime ministers.
Britain is in mourning after it was announced on 8 September 2022 that Queen Elizabeth II had passed away at the age of 96.
The monarch, who celebrated her Platinum Jubilee this year to mark 70 years on the throne, had been dogged by health problems since last October that left her with mobility difficulties. She also fought off a Covid-19 infection in February this year, and had since stepped back from numerous public duties, allowing her successor Prince Charles to attend engagements on her behalf.
Most recently, on Wednesday, she pulled out of a planned meeting with her senior political advisors, after being told to rest. The previous day she held audiences at her Scottish Highlands retreat, Balmoral, with outgoing prime minister Boris Johnson and appointed his successor, Liz Truss.
On Thursday, Buckingham Palace had said the Queen's doctors were "concerned" for her health and recommended that she remain under medical supervision. The queen's children and grandchildren promptly travelled to Balmoral to be with her.
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Successor to the throne of King George VI
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born on 21 April 1926 in London, a time when her uncle King Edward VIII sat on the throne. In 1936, King Edward abdicated and was succeeded by his brother King George VI, which meant that Elizabeth became next in line to the throne. Over the course of the following years, she was systematically prepared for the role. In 1940, one year after the start of World War II, she addressed the nation's and the Commonwealth's children in her very first speech, aged 14.
During that time, Princess Elizabeth joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS), the women's branch of the British Army during the Second World War. Here she got a driving license for both cars and lorries, and completed a traineeship as a car mechanic.
In 1984, one year after marrying Prince Philip form Greece, her first son and future heir to the throne Prince Charles was born. The family eventually grew further with the births of Anne, Andrew, and Edward.
In February 1952, King George VI died after long years of illness. Young Princess Elizabeth was in Kenya with her husband at the time, where she was proclaimed Queen aged 25. On 2 June 1953, 16 months later, she was crowned at Westminster Abbey. Despite being head of State of the United Kingdom and 16 other Commonwealth states, her powers were always limited. One of her annual representative duties was to open the House of Lords in London.
During her 70 years on the throne of the United Kingdom, Queen Elizabeth oversaw the appointment of 15 different heads of government, Winston Churchill being the first one. Since being crowned, the Queen has held a private discussion with the current Prime Minister every week, during which they discuss the situation in the country. However, the exact contents of those talks have never left the confinements of Buckingham Palace.
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Family
In 1969, the Queen named her eldest son Charles the Prince of Wales, thereby grounding his role as heir to the throne. In 1981, Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer, an event that was followed with years of scandals and excessive press coverage for the monarchy. In 1992, the couple announced their divorce, which was only executed four years later.
In August 1997, Princess Diana died in a car crash in Paris. Her death was a serious crisis for the royal house. Queen Elizabeth came under fire for not lowering the royal flags in front of Buckingham Palace, a move prohibited by royal protocol. A compromise was however found when the Union Jack was lowered instead. In a rare appearance, the Queen and Prince Philip went outside of the Palace to look at the flowers and ornaments brought by the people in Diana's honour.
Queen Elizabeth received significant guidance from her mother during her reign. Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, who also known as "Queen Mum", died in 2002 aged 101.
In 2007, Queen Elizabeth overtook Queen Victoria (1819-1901) as the oldest reigning monarch of the United Kingdom aged 81 years, seven months, and 29 days. Three years later, she welcomed Pope Benedict XVI for the first papal visit to the Anglican island.
In 2011, her grandson Prince William married his longtime partner Kate Middleton in London. Two years later, the Queen's first great-grandchild George of Cambridge was born. Two further great-grandchildren, Charlotte and Louis were soon added to the family.
Prince Harry married US American actress Meghan Markle in 2018. The marriage left its marks on the royal household, with both Harry and Megan eventually stepping down from their royal duties and moving to the United States. The Queen therefore has not had very close contact to her other great-grandchildren, Archie and Lilibet.
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In 2017, the Queen did not want to celebrate her 65th anniversary on the throne given that it also marked the day her father passed. Instead, she chose to celebrate her 70th wedding anniversary with Prince Philip.
Prince Philip passed away on 9 April 2020 at Windsor Castle, just two months before his 100th birthday. The Queen thus bid farewell to her husband after 73 years of marriage. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the number of attendees was limited to just thirty, in line with regulations, leaving the Queen to endure the service whilst sitting alone. Mere weeks later, the Queen resumed her royal duties.
An abdication was never in question for the Queen, although in her later years, both Prince Charles and Prince William took over some duties in the public eye. Now, Charles will assume the throne.
70 years on the throne
Some biographers have described Queen Elizabeth as astute and humorous, her critics called her cold and adversarial, especially following the death of Lady Diana. Even Charles is rumoured to have suffered from her sense of duty and lack of warmth.
Nevertheless, Queen Elizabeth has always been popular, both at home and abroad. In October 2021, a wax figure of Queen Elizabeth was presented at Madame Tussaud's.
The Queen was observed using a stick at an engagement in October 2021 for the first time in 17 years. She was later taken to hospital for tests and a "preliminary investigation" where she was kept in overnight. At the time, it was announced she had been advised to rest.
In February 2022, it was announced that the Queen had contracted Covid-19. She was said to have mild symptoms and after recovery, remarked that she had been left "tired and exhausted".
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In June 2022, the Queen celebrated her Platinum Jubilee to mark the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne, in a first for a British monarch. The occasion was marked by a series of events across the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, culminating in parades, street parties, a special pageant and a concert, presided over by members of the royal family.
The Queen herself attended the Trooping of the Colour parade at the opening of the Jubilee weekend, where she was pictured on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, but declined to attend certain subsequent engagements after experiencing "discomfort".
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The Queen did not attend the service at St Paul's Cathedral, but was represented by Prince Charles and his wife the Duchess of Cornwall, as well as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. She later made a virtual appearance at the Platinum Party concert, which garnered a crowd of around 22,000 people.
On the Sunday, some 60,000 people participated in the Jubilee lunch, with street parties despite inclement weather, before the celebrations concluded with the Jubilee pageant, made up of 10,000 participants as it wound through the streets of London. The Queen then made a final appearance before the crowds on the Buckingham Palace balcony alongside Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla, as well as Prince William, Duchess Kate and their three young children.
In July, the monarch travelled to her summer residence on the Balmoral estate in Scotland, where she spent her final days with members of her family.
