Queen Elizabeth II

Royal Family of Elizabeth II House of Windsor Windsor Family Tree All Kings & Queens

Full Name: Elizabeth Alexandra Mary
Title: Queen Elizabeth II

Father: George V
Mother: Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Born: April 21, 1926 at 17, Burton Street, London
Current Age: 82 years, 2 months, and 13 days

Married: Prince Philip on November 20, 1947 at Westminster Abbey

Children: Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward

Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born in London on 21 April 1926; she was educated privately, and assumed official duties at 16. During World War II she served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service, and by an amendment to the Regency Act she became a

The reign of Queen Elizabeth II since 1952 has spanned a period of rapid and occasionally turbulent change. Britain’s position in the world, her economy, and the very shape and structures of society have all been transformed and many traditional institutions have suffered in the process. Through all this, the path of the Crown has been marked out by The Queen herself, in a prolonged display of unwavering devotion to duty and quiet pragmatism which has met a nationally-felt need, and has won her the unstinting respect and affection of her peoples. As hereditary head of state for Great Britain and Northern Ireland, The Queen has symbolic and formal functions and duties but no direct powers. She is an embodiment of national identity and continuity and, with her family, performs countless formalities to mark events in the lives of individuals and communities and provides valuable patronage for innumerable charities.

Supported by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, to whom she was married on 20 November 1947, The Queen is head of a large family. The first child of the royal marriage and the current heir to the throne is Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, who was born on 14 November 1948 and was invested as Prince of Wales at Caernarvon Castle on 1 July 1969. He married Lady Diana Spencer ( Princess Diana ) on 29 July 1981; two sons were born to the marriage, Prince William, born 21 June 1982 and Prince Henry ( Prince Harry ), born 15 September 1984. However, the marriage broke down amid widely-publicised bitterness, and a divorce followed. These troubles, together with the divorces of Princess Anne and the Duke of York, were seen by some to diminish the monarchy in public esteem. The death of Diana, Princess of Wales on 31 August 1997 in a car crash in Paris unleashed a wave of hysteria stirred up by the media, and the family have had to suffer relentless intrusion by the world's press into their lives.

Elizabeth II is now the longest reigning British monarch since Queen Victoria, and The Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 2002 was celebrated with enthusiasm and great displays of loyalty. The Prince of Wales, after suffering a period of unpopularity, has shown resilience and willingness to meet the public half-way in its new mood. His long-established concern for the disadvantaged sections of society enables him to meet on common ground many who might be put off by grandeur and pomp, while his evident devotion to his two sons has won him a real measure of respect. Prince Charles’s willingness to accept change is reflected, too, throughout the institution of the monarchy. This has altered significantly in recent times with The Queen’s decision to pay tax, changes being made to the Civil List, and the opening of Buckingham Palace to the public to help fund the restoration of Windsor Castle. Debate about the future of the monarchy continues, but the Royal Family has shown itself willing to contemplate evolutionary change, and the Crown of Britain has entered the twenty-first century with renewed vigour and fresh purpose.

Timeline

1952	Elizabeth accedes to the throne on the death of her father, George VI.
1953	Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay climb Mount Everest just before Coronation Day
1955	Winston Churchill resigns as Prime Minister and is succeeded by Anthony Eden.
1956	Anglo-French forces invade Egypt after the nationalization of the Suez Canal.
1957	Harold Macmillan becomes Prime Minister
1957	The Gold Coast becomes independent as Ghana, the first British colony in Black Africa to receive its independence.
1959	Oil is discovered in the North Sea.
1960	Harold Macmillan becomes Prime Minister makes “winds of change” speech in South Africa.
1960	Union of South Africa withdraws from the Commonwealth.
1963	Alec Douglas-Hume replaces Harold Macmillan as the Prime Minister.
1963	The Beatles release their first LP.
1964	Labour government of Harold Wilson takes office
1969	Charles is invested as Prince of Wales.
1969	Troubles break out in the North of Ireland
1970	Edward Heath becomes Prime Minister.
1971	Decimal currency is introduced.
1973	Britain joins the European Community.
1974	Harold Wilson returns as Prime Minister.
1978	Margaret Thatcher succeeds James Callaghan, becoming Britain’s first woman Prime Minister.
1979	In Manchester the worlds first test-tube baby is born
1981	Prince Charles marries Lady Diana Spencer at St. Paul’s Cathedral.
1982	Unemployment tops three million.
1982	Britain goes to war with Argentina over control of the Falkland Islands
1986	Queen Elizabeth II celebrates 60th birthday.
1989	Poll tax is introduced amid widespread protest.
1990	Margaret Thatcher resigns as Prime Minister after 11 years and is succeeded by John Major.
1991	The Allied forces liberate Kuwait during the Gulf War.
1996	Both the Prince and Princess of Wales, and the Duke and Duchess of York divorce.
1997	Tony Blair becomes Prime Minister and ends 18 years of Conservative government.
1997	Hong Kong reverts to China after 155 years of British rule.
1997	Princess of Wales dies in Paris car crash
1999	Edward, Earl of Wessex, marries Sophie Rhys-Jones.
2000	Queen Mother celebrates her 100th birthday.
2002	Queen Elizabeth II marks 50 years of rule. Queen Mother and Princess Margaret die.
2003	British and US forces invade Iraq and topple Saddam Hussein
2005	Prince Charles marries his second wife Camilla Parker-Bowles and she is given the title of Duchess of Cornwall
2006	Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 80th birthday.
2007	Tony Blair resigns as Prime Minister
2007	Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip celebrate 60 years of marriage
2007	Queen Elizabeth II becomes the oldest ever reigning British monarch