Queen Elizabeth II Biography

Queen Elizabeth II was the United Kingdom’s reigning monarch for a record 70 years, from 1952 until her death in 2022. Her son, Charles, succeeded her as king.

Elizabeth was proclaimed queen on February 6, 1952 following the death of her father, George VI; she was formally crowned the next year, on June 2, 1953. Her husband, Prince Philip, came from the royal family of Greece and was created Duke of Edinburgh prior to their wedding on November 20, 1947. He died in April of 2021, 17 months before the death of the queen.

Elizabeth and Philip had four children: Charles (b. 1948), Anne (b. 1950), Andrew (b. 1960) and Edward (b. 1964); as the eldest, Prince Charles was heir to the throne. Queen Elizabeth II was the sister of Princess Margaret, daughter of the late Queen Mother, mother-in-law to the late Princess Diana, and grandmother to the princes William and Harry.

Queen Elizabeth II also shared a name, if not a number, with a famous predecessor: Queen Elizabeth I, who reigned from 1558-1603.

Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her Golden Jubilee in 2002, marking 50 years on the throne, and then followed with a Diamond Jubilee celebration in 2012 and a Platinum Jubilee celebration in the summer of 2022, celebrating 70 years on the throne.

She became the longest-serving monarch in British history on on September 9th, 2015, when she reached 63 years, seven months and two days as queen — surpassing her great-great grandmother Queen Victoria.