Elizabeth II Biography

Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 of the 53 member states in the Commonwealth of Nations. She is also Head of the Commonwealth and Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

Upon her accession on 6 February 1952, Elizabeth became Head of the Commonwealth and queen regnant of seven independent Commonwealth countries: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan and Ceylon. Her coronation the following year was the first to be televised. From 1956 to 1992, the number of her realms varied as territories gained independence and some realms became republics. Today, in addition to the first four of the aforementioned countries, Elizabeth is Queen of Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis. She is the longest-lived and, after her great-great grandmother Queen Victoria, the second longest-reigning British monarch.

Elizabeth was born in London and educated privately at home. Source: Wikipedia

Marriages

• 1947-11-20
  Future British Queen Princess Elizabeth II (21) weds Lt Philip Mountbatten (26) in Westminster Abbey, London

Elizabeth II Timeline

• 1945-03-04
  In the United Kingdom, Princess Elizabeth, later Queen Elizabeth II, joins the British Auxiliary Transport Service as a driver.
• 1952-02-06
  Queen Elizabeth II succeeds King George VI to the British throne
• 1952-02-08
  Elizabeth II is proclaimed Queen of the United Kingdom
• 1953-04-16
  British royal yacht Britannia launched by Queen Elizabeth II
• 1953-06-02
  Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey, London
• 1954-01-12
  Queen Elizabeth II opens NZ parliament
• 1957-10-14
  Queen Elizabeth II becomes the first Canadian monarch to open the Parliament of Canada with the Speech from the Throne.
• 1958-06-09
  HM Queen Elizabeth II officially opens London Gatwick Airport, (LGW), Crawley, West Sussex, United Kingdom.
• 1958-12-05
  Subscriber Trunk Dialling (STD) is inaugurated in the UK by Queen Elizabeth II when she speaks to the Lord Provost in a call from Bristol to Edinburgh.
• 1960-02-08
  Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom issued an Order-in-Council, stating that she and her family would be known as the House of Windsor, and that her descendants will take the name "Mountbatten-Windsor".
• 1973-03-17
  Queen Elizabeth II opens new London Bridge
• 1973-10-20
  Queen Elizabeth II opens Sydney Opera House
• 1976-03-26
  Queen Elizabeth II sent out the first royal email, from the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment.
• 1977-06-09
  Silver jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain celebrated with fireworks
• 1981-06-13
  Teenager fires 6 blanks at Queen Elizabeth II
• 1986-10-12
  Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh visit the People's Republic of China
• 1988-05-09
  Australia's new parliament house is opened by Queen Elizabeth II in Canberra
• 1991-05-16
  Queen Elizabeth II becomes 1st British monarch to address US congress
• 1997-03-11
  Beatle McCartney knighted Sir Paul by Queen Elizabeth II
• 2007-12-20
  Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II becomes the oldest ever monarch of the United Kingdom, surpassing Queen Victoria, who lived for 81 years, 7 months and 29 days.
• 2012-02-06
  Queen Elizabeth II marks her 60th anniversary of becoming British monarch, becoming only the second to do so
• 2012-02-06
  Canadian singer Gordon Lightfoot is presented with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
• 2012-07-27
  Queen Elizabeth II announces the opening of the London 2012 Olympics at the opening ceremony

You might also be interested in these people ...

Catherine of Aragon

Mary Stuart

Marie Antoinette

Maria Theresa of Spain

Anne Boleyn

Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother