Elizabeth II (born April 21, 1926, London, England—died September 8, 2022, Balmoral Castle, Aberdeenshire, Scotland) queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from February 6, 1952, to September 8, 2022. In 2015 she surpassed Victoria to become the longest-reigning monarch in British history.
| Born | 21 April 1926, Bruton Street, London, United Kingdom |
| Died | 8 September 2022, Balmoral Castle, United Kingdom |
| Children | Charles III, Anne, Princess Royal, Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Andrew, Duke of York |
| Grandchildren | Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex |
| Spouse | Prince Philip (m. 1947–2021) |
| Siblings | Princess Margaret |
| Parents | Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, George VI |
Early life
Elizabeth II was the elder daughter of Prince Albert, duke of York, and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. As the child of a younger son of King George V, the young Elizabeth had little prospect of acceding to the throne until her uncle, Edward VIII (afterward duke of Windsor), abdicated in her father’s favour on December 11, 1936, at which time her father became King George VI and she became heir presumptive. The princess’s education was supervised by her mother, who entrusted her daughters to a governess, Marion Crawford; the princess was also grounded in history by C.H.K. Marten, afterward provost of Eton College, and had instruction from visiting teachers in music and languages. During World War II she and her sister, Princess Margaret Rose, perforce spent much of their time safely away from the London blitz and separated from their parents, living mostly at Balmoral Castle in Scotland and at the Royal Lodge, Windsor, and Windsor Castle.
Early in 1947 Princess Elizabeth went with the king and queen to South Africa. After her return there was an announcement of her betrothal to her distant cousin Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten of the Royal Navy, formerly Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark. The marriage took place in Westminster Abbey on November 20, 1947. On the eve of the wedding her father, the king, conferred upon the bridegroom the titles of duke of Edinburgh, earl of Merioneth, and Baron Greenwich. They took residence at Clarence House in London. Their first child, Prince Charles (Charles Philip Arthur George), was born November 14, 1948, at Buckingham Palace.
Heir Presumptive
Elizabeth II was third in line to the British throne during her grandfather’s reign, after her father and her uncle Edward, the Prince of Wales. Despite the excitement around her birth, Edward, who was still quite young and would probably marry and have his own children before Elizabeth in the line of succession, did not anticipate Elizabeth becoming queen. She was second in line for the throne after her father when her grandfather passed away in 1936 and her uncle assumed the throne as Edward VIII. Edward abdicated later that year after a constitutional crisis erupted over his anticipated marriage to Wallis Simpson, a divorced American socialite. As a result, Elizabeth’s father ascended to the throne and assumed the regnal name George VI. Elizabeth became heir because she didn’t have any brothers. assuming. In accordance with the male-preference primogeniture that was in place at the time, if her parents had gone on to have a son, he would have been the heir apparent and would have come before her in the line of succession.
Elizabeth II studied French under a series of governesses who spoke the language fluently and had private instruction in constitutional history from Henry Marten, vice-provost of Eton College. She was able to mingle with girls her own age when the 1st Buckingham Palace Company, a Girl Guides company, was established. She later signed up to become a Sea Ranger.
Second World War
Britain entered the Second World War in September 1939. In order to protect Princesses Elizabeth II and Margaret from the Luftwaffe’s regular aerial raids of London, Lord Hailsham recommended their evacuation to Canada. Their mother said, “The kids won’t go without me,” in response to this. Not without the King, I will depart. And the King is not going anywhere.” Before moving to Sandringham House in Norfolk for Christmas 1939, the princesses resided in Scotland’s Balmoral Castle. They resided at Windsor’s Royal Lodge from February to May 1940 before relocating to Windsor Castle, where they spent the most of the following five years. The princesses at Windsor performed pantomimes throughout the holiday season to raise money for the Queen’s Wool Fund, which purchased yarn for knitting military uniforms.
Britain entered the Second World War in September 1939. Lord Hailsham’s suggestion Elizabeth, at 14 years old, made her radio debut in 1940 on the BBC’s Children’s Hour, speaking to other kids who had been taken from the city. “We are trying to bear our own share of the danger and sadness of war, as well as doing everything in our power to support our brave soldiers, sailors, and airmen,” she said. All of us are aware that everything will work out in the end.
Elizabeth II made her first appearance in public by herself in 1943 when she visited the Grenadier Guards, of which she had become colonel the year before. Parliament altered the law as Elisabeth got closer to turning eighteen, allowing her to serve as one of five state counselors in the event that her father became incapacitated or had to travel overseas, which happened when he went to Italy in July 1944. She was given the service number 230873 and designated as an honorary second subaltern in the Auxiliary Territorial Service in February 1945. Five months later, she received the title of honorary junior commander—the female equivalent of captain at the time—after completing training as a technician and driver.
Plans were hatched during the war to strengthen Elizabeth’s ties to Wales in an effort to suppress Welsh independence. A fear of linking Elizabeth to conscientious objectors in the Urdd during Britain’s wartime years led to the abandonment of many proposals, including her appointment as Constable of Caernarfon Castle and her appointment as patron of Urdd Gobaith Cymru, the Welsh League of Youth. Politicians from Wales proposed that she be crowned Princess of Wales upon turning eighteen. The concept was backed by Home Secretary Herbert Morrison, but the King rejected it because he believed that a Prince of Wales’s wife should be the only one to hold such a title, since the Prince of Wales had always been the heir presumptive. She was admitted into the Gorsedd of Bards in 1946 at the National Eisteddfod of Wales.
Marriage
In 1934 and 1937, Elizabeth first met Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, who would become her husband. Through Denmark’s King Christian IX, they were second cousins once removed, and via Queen Victoria, they were third cousins. Elizabeth, then just 13 years old, claimed to have fallen in love with Philip, then 18 years old, after their third meeting at the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth in July 1939. They then started exchanging letters. On July 9, 1947, their engagement was formally announced, and she was 21 at the time.
The engagement sparked significant debate. Philip was poor, foreign-born (although a British national who fought in the Royal Navy during the Second World War), and his sisters had married Nazi-affiliated German noblemen. “Some of the King’s advisors did not think him good enough for her,” Marion Crawford wrote. As a prince, he had no kingdom or house. Certain documents played loud, lengthy tunes on Philip’s foreign origin string.” According to later chronicles, Elizabeth’s mother originally mocked Philip as “the Hun” and expressed doubts about the relationship. But in later years, she described Philip as “an English gentleman” to biographer Tim Heald.
Prior to his marriage, Philip gave up his Danish and Greek titles, formally converted from Greek Orthodoxy to Anglicanism, and took on his mother’s British family’s surname, Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten. He was made Duke of Edinburgh and bestowed with the title His Royal Highness not long before the wedding. On November 20, 1947, Elizabeth and Philip tied the knot at Westminster Abbey.
Around the world, 2,500 presents were given to them for their wedding. Because Britain was still reeling from the destruction of the war, Elizabeth needed ration coupons to purchase the fabric for her gown, which was created by Norman Hartnell. It was improper for Philip’s German relatives, including his three surviving sisters, to be invited to the wedding in post-war Britain. Furthermore, neither was an In November 1948, Elizabeth gave birth to Prince Charles, her first child. Her children would not have been entitled to use the title and style of a royal prince or princess if their father had not been a royal prince any more, but a month prior, the King had granted letters patent granting them this privilege. Princess Anne, the second child, was born in August 1950.
Reign
Accession and coronation
In 1951, as George VI’s health deteriorated, Elizabeth frequently took his place at official functions. In October 1951, while on tour in Canada and meeting with Harry S. Truman in Washington, DC, her private secretary Martin Charteris brought a draft proclamation of accession in case the King passed away. Elizabeth and Philip left the British territory of Kenya early in 1952 to go on a trip of Australia and New Zealand. After spending the night at Treetops Hotel, they had just arrived back to Sagana Lodge in Kenya on February 6 when word reached them about Elizabeth’s father’s passing. The new queen was told the news by Philip. She was referred to as Elizabeth as she decided to keep Elizabeth as her regnal name. Since she was the first Elizabeth to rule Scotland, the numeral infuriated some Scots. All of her realms crowned her queen, and the royal party quickly left for the United Kingdom. Philip and Elizabeth took up residence in Buckingham Palace.
Given Elizabeth’s accession, it was likely that the royal family would adopt her husband’s name, following the custom of the era for married women. Following his ducal title, Philip proposed the House of Edinburgh, while Lord Mountbatten argued for the House of Mountbatten. The preservation of the House of Windsor was supported by Queen Mary, Elizabeth’s grandmother, and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. On April 9, 1952, Elizabeth declared that the Windsor family would remain the royal house. Philip was upset, “I am the only man in the country not allowed to give his name to his own children.” In 1960, male line descendants of Philip and Elizabeth who do not hold royal titles assumed the surname Mountbatten-Windsor.
Princess Margaret revealed to her sister that she wanted to wed Peter Townsend, a divorced man sixteen years her senior and the father of two sons from a previous marriage, during the coronation preparations. As her private secretary put it, “the Queen was naturally sympathetic towards the Princess, but I think she thought—she hoped—given time, the affair would peter out.” This is why Elizabeth requested them to wait a year. Prominent lawmakers opposed the match, and the Church of England forbade divorcees from getting married again. Margaret would have been expected to give up her right to inherit if she had entered into a formal marriage. Margaret made the choice to call off her engagement to Townsend. She wed Antony Armstrong-Jones in 1960, and the following year he was made Earl of Snowdon. They separated in Margaret did not remarry after 1978.
Elizabeth’s Homes
The Queen has home for just about every occasion (Balmoral for the summer, Sandringham for Christmas…). Some of these properties came with the title, while others came from inheritance. Here, a guide to the Queen’s six royal and private dwellings.
The Headquarters: Buckingham Palace
Crown-owned, the palace—located in the City of Westminster—belongs to the ruling monarch at the time, a tradition that dates back to 1837. It has a total of 775 rooms, including 19 State rooms, 52 Royal and guest bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices, and 78 bathrooms. Visitors can actually tour a number of the state rooms inside the palace during specific times of the year.
The Country Home: Windsor Castle
The Queen moved here first with her sister, Margaret, during WWII for safety reasons. Today, the Queen frequents this location on weekends, and it serves as a country home of sorts, not far from her London home base. As with Buckingham Palace, Windsor is Queen Elizabeth’s home for as long as she is ruling monarch. It spans 13 acres and boasts 1,000 rooms, making it the largest occupied castle in the world.
The Scottish Residence: Holyrood Palace
The Edinburgh palace is the Queen’s official residence in Scotland, and hosts her when she travels north, typically the first week of the summer—an event known as “Holyrood Week.” It was originally founded as a monastery in 1128.
The Summer Home: Balmoral Castle
Balmoral is a private estate owned by the Queen. It’s where she spends many weeks at the end of each summer, and is believed to be her favorite residence.
The Holiday Home: Sandringham Estate
A beloved private home of the Queen, Sandringham is often used for entertaining during the holidays. It’s well-known for hosting the royals’ annual walk to Christmas Day services at St. Mary Magdalene church.
The Irish Residence: Hillsborough Castle
Similar to how the Queen stays at Palace of Holyroodhouse when officially visiting Scotland, the Queen dwells in Hillsborough during her visits to Northern Ireland. It is also the official residence of Northern Ireland’s Secretary of State. Built in the 1770s, the home is surrounded by 100 acres of lush green gardens.
Leave a Reply