The reign of Queen Elizabeth II was one of public attention. We take a look back at her reign, from infant to heir and longest-reigning monarch in Britain.
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA The Queen Mother (then the Duchess of York) with her husband, King George VI (then the Duke of York), and their first born daughter Queen Elizabeth II (then Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor) at her christening in May 1926. Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born on 21 April 1926, in a house off Berkeley Square in London.
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES HRH Princess Elizabeth, circa 1929 aged about three years old. Artist Marcus Adams.
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Princess Elizabeth being greeted by an official, Windsor. she was said to have shown a sense of responsibility from a very young age.
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Princess Margaret and Princess Elizabeth, the Royal sisters, as children, 1930s. Both Elizabeth and her sister, Margaret Rose, were educated at home.
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES The Royal Family on the balcony at Buckingham Palace after the coronation of King George VI of England. Shown are (from left to right): Queen Elizabeth; Princess Elizabeth; Queen Mary the Queen Mother; Princess Margaret; and King George VI.
IMAGE SOURCE,TOPICAL PRESS AGENCY / GETTY IMAGES During World War Two, Princess Elizabeth (right) and Princess Margaret during a wartime broadcast for Children’s Hour on the BBC
IMAGE SOURCE,AFP The young princess briefly joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) towards the end of the war, learning to drive and service a lorry. Here in this picture, Princess Elizabeth changing the wheel of a military vehicle during World War Two, in an unknown location in 1940
IMAGE SOURCE,BERT HARDY / GETTY IMAGES Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) and Philip Mountbatten (later Prince Philip) make their way down the aisle of Westminster Abbey, London, on their wedding day, 20th November 1947.
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA Princess Elizabeth holds her son Prince Charles after his Christening ceremony in Buckingham Palace, 1948
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA Queen Elizabeth and Princess Elizabeth hold on to their hats as they arrive at Westminster Abbey to attend the wedding of Lady Caroline Montagu-Douglas-Scott to Mr Ian Hedworth Gilmour
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh pause on the rustic bridge in the grounds of the Royal Lodge, Sagana, their wedding present from the people of Kenya.
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES The Queen arrives back in Britain from Nairobi following the death of her father George VI, and is met by the politicians (second l to r) Lord Woolton, Anthony Eden, Clement Atlee and Winston Churchill. She was just 25 years old.
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA Queen Mary (centre) watches as the body of her son, George VI, is brought to Westminster Hall, London, for the lying-in-state. By her side, the Queen Mother, right, her eyes closed in grief. Queen Elizabeth II, veiled, stands behind her grandmother.
IMAGE SOURCE,UNIVERSAL HISTORY ARCHIVE Then, in June 1953, Queen Elizabeth II during her coronation at Westminster Abbey
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh make their appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony and wave to the cheering crowds around the gates.
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Although Britain was still enduring post-war austerity, some commentators described the coronation as the dawn of a new Elizabethan age. Here Queen Elizabeth II, ascending the Grand Staircase at the Opera in Paris during a state visit to the French capital, 8 April 1957.
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA The Queen seen on a television screen as she concludes what became her traditional Christmas day broadcast to her people, which was televised in 1957 for the first time and carried by both the BBC and ITV.
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA British society and attitudes to the monarchy were changing and the term “the Monarchy” was gradually replaced by “the Royal Family”. A Union Jack planted in the garden caught the Queen’s attention, but she is the object of the neighbours’ gaze. They watched as she arrived to visit the home of Mr and Mrs Eddie Hammond at Crawley New Town, Sussex after opening Gatwick Airport in 1958
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA Queen Elizabeth II and her daughter Princess Anne at Frogmore, Windsor Castle, 1959
IMAGE SOURCE,MIRRORPIX / GETTY IMAGES England captain Bobby Moore holds the Jules Rimet Trophy, collected from the Queen, after leading his team to a 4-2 victory over West Germany in the World Cup Final that went to extra time at Wembley, London
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES The Queen paid a visit to the Welsh community of Aberfan on October 29, 1966, eight days after a coal dump avalanche destroyed Pantglas Junior School, killing 144 people, including 116 children. It continues to be one of the most emotional moments in the Queen’s reign since she was clearly moved.
IMAGE SOURCE,MIRRORPIX / GETTY IMAGES BBC & ITV co-production, the ‘Royal Family’ was first transmitted on 21 June 1969. The documentary gave audiences an unprecedented view of a year in the private and public life of the Queen and her family. The 110-minute film was shown with a two-minute tea break interval, and was watched by 23 million people.
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA The Queen formally invested her son Prince Charles with the Coronet of the Prince of Wales during a ceremony at Caernarfon Castle. He took on the title when he was nine, but the Queen insisted the ceremony should wait until he fully understood its significance.
IMAGE SOURCE,LICHFIELD VIA GETTY IMAGES The Queen was captured on the HMY Britannia in 1972 as part of a collection of images used to commemorate her silver wedding.
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA The Queen, sitting on a grassy bank with the corgis, at Virginia Water to watch competitors, including Prince Philip in the Marathon of the European Driving Championship, part of the Royal Windsor Horse Show, 1973. Throughout her reign the Queen has been pictured with corgis at her side. The Royal Family’s ties with the breed began when the future George VI bought a corgi called Dookie for his daughters in 1933.
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA Queen Elizabeth II on a walkabout in Portsmouth during her Silver Jubilee tour of Great Britain In 1977, marking 25 years on the throne.
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA Queen Elizabeth II watches bathers in a pool at Parade Gardens, Bath, during her Silver Jubilee tour of Great Britain. Her Majesty visited 36 counties over 10 weeks – including Avon, where she observed people making the most of the summer weather. She also travelled 56,000 miles around the world in celebration
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh wave as Concorde flies by the Royal Yacht Britannia as the royal couple neared Barbados
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA Queen Elizabeth II, wearing a cloak of brown kiwi feathers, with Maori warriors at Rugby Park, Gisborne, when she and the Duke of Edinburgh received a New Zealand Maori welcome at the opening of the Royal New Zealand Polynesian Festival.
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA The flag-draped coffin of Lord Mountbatten rests on a catafalque during the funeral service in Westminster Abbey. Royal mourners (l-r) Queen Elizabeth II, her husband the Duke of Edinburgh, Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, and the Prince of Wales, 5 September 1979, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, was killed by an IRA bomb while on his boat in Ireland.
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Prince Charles And Princess Diana kissing on The balcony of Buckingham Palace, 29 July 1981. They are surrounded by their bridesmaids and pageboys as well as Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Edward and the Queen Mother. Charles and Diana had two sons, William and Harry, before divorcing. Diana died in a car accident in Paris in 1997
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES The Queen is escorted by the chief fire officer around the grounds of Windsor Castle as fire fighters battle a fire, 20 November 1992.
IMAGE SOURCE,DAVID COOPER/ALAMY HM Queen Elizabeth II fires a rifle during a visit to the Army rifle association at Bisley, England July 1993. The Queen fired the last shot on a standard SA80 rifle with the Army Rifle Association at Bisley
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh view the floral tributes to Diana, Princess of Wales, at Buckingham Palace, 1997
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA The Queen joined Mrs Susan McCarron (front left ) her ten-year-old son, James and Housing Manager Liz McGinniss for tea in their home in the Castlemilk area of Glasgow. 7 July 1999.
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Princess Margaret (L) and Queen Elizabeth (R) stand next to the Queen Mother as she waves to admirers on the occasion of her 100th birthday celebration 4 August, 2000 in London.
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Queen Elizabeth II (front, C) leads her family as she follows pall bearers carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother out of Westminster Abbey after the funeral service in London 09 April 2002.
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Britain’s Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip ride in the Golden State Carriage at the head of a parade from Buckingham Palace to St Paul’s Cathedral celebrating the Queen’s Golden Jubilee, on 4 June 2002, along The Mall in London.
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA In 2005, Queen Elizabeth watched her eldest son get married for a second time. Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles wed in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall, followed by a blessing at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, her husband the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall attend the Braemar Highland Games
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA Queen Elizabeth II stands in the rain as guests take shelter at the opening of the Lawn Tennis Associations new headquarters in Roehampton, London, 2007
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA Queen Elizabeth II sits in the Regency Room at Buckingham Palace in London as she looks at some of the cards which have been sent to her for her 80th birthday. The Queen quoted Groucho Marx’s dictum on ageing in a speech to celebrate her official 80th birthday saying: “Anyone can get old; all you have to do is to live long enough”
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA One of the happiest events in her later years was the wedding of her grandson Prince William to Catherine Middleton. Here Prince William Duke of Cambridge and Catherine Duchess of Cambridge bow in front of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011 in London, England.
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh arrive at a windy RAF Valley in Anglesey, to visit their grandson Prince William at the base. The Queen nearly lost her hat on arrival at a windy RAF Valley.
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Queen Elizabeth II reacts as she is given some flowers as she visits Leicester Cathedral in Leicester, England marking the start of her 60th anniversary Diamond Jubilee tour of the UK in 2012
This was closely followed by an appearance in the opening ceremony of the London Olympics, in a filmed sequence alongside another British icon, James Bond, played by actor Daniel Craig
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA Queen Elizabeth II with her racing manager John Warren after her horse, Estimate, Sixty years after enjoying a first Royal Ascot winner as an owner, the Queen’s horse Estimate won the 207th Gold Cup, bringing great joy to both herself and her racing manager
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA Queen Elizabeth II, on the day she became Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, seen on the Scottish Borders Railway At 17:30 BST on 9 September 2015, Elizabeth had reigned for 23,226 days, 16 hours and approximately 30 minutes – surpassing the reign of her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria. She spent the day in Scotland opening a new railway
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA In 2016, Queen Elizabeth II joins members of the Royal Family, including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with their children Princess Charlotte and Prince George, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, central London after they attended the Trooping the Colour ceremony as part of Her Majesty’s 90th birthday celebrations.
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES The Queen continued with her public duties, often alone after the retirement of the Duke of Edinburgh. Queen Elizabeth II watches her horse Sparkler compete in the Flat Ridden Sport Horse class on day one of the Royal Windsor Horse Show in Home Park on 9 May 2018 in Windsor, England.
IMAGE SOURCE,CHRIS ALLERTON / SUSSEXROYAL The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are joined by her mother, Doria Ragland, as they show their new son, born Monday and named as Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, to the Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor Castle. 3 May 2019 There was joy as her family grew
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth II’s husband, died on 9 April 2021, aged 99 and after more than six decades at her side. Queen Elizabeth II takes her seat for the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, Berkshire. 17 April 2021. The image of the Queen by herself at the funeral during the Covid pandemic resonated with the tens of thousands of families who had to honour loved ones in similar fashion
IMAGE SOURCE,DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE The Queen is survived by her four children, eight grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren Pictured (left to right) Prince George, Prince Louis being held by Queen Elizabeth II, Savannah Phillips (standing at rear), Princess Charlotte, the Duke of Edinburgh, Isla Phillips holding Lena Tindall, and Mia Tindall. 14 April 2021
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