Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during her lifetime and was the monarch of 15 realms at her death. Her reign of 70 years and 214 days is the longest of any British monarch , the second-longest of any sovereign state , and the longest of any queen regnant in history . Elizabeth was born in Mayfair , London, during the reign of her paternal grandfather, King George V . She was the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother ). Her father acceded to the throne in 1936 upon the abdication of his brother Edward VIII , making the ten-year-old Princess Elizabeth the heir presumptive . She was educated privately at home and began to undertake public duties during the Second World War , serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service . In November 1947, she married Philip Mountbatten , a former prince of Greece and Denmark . Their marriage lasted 73 years until his death in 2021 . They had four children: Charles , Anne , Andrew , and Edward . When her father died in February 1952, Elizabeth, then 25 years old, became queen of seven independent Commonwealth countries: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa , Pakistan , and Ceylon , as well as head of the Commonwealth . Elizabeth reigned as a constitutional monarch through significant political changes such as the Troubles in Northern Ireland, devolution in the United Kingdom , the decolonisation of Africa , and the United Kingdom’s accession to the European Communities as well as its subsequent withdrawal . The number of her realms varied over time as territories gained independence and some realms became republics . As queen, Elizabeth was served by more than 170 prime ministers across her realms. Her many historic visits and meetings included state visits to China in 1986, to Russia in 1994, and to the Republic of Ireland in 2011, and meetings with five popes and fourteen US presidents. Significant events included Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953 and the celebrations of her Silver , Golden , Diamond , and Platinum jubilees . Although there was occasional republican sentiment and media criticism of her family—particularly after the breakdowns of her children’s marriages, her annus horribilis in 1992, and the death of her former daughter-in-law Diana in 1997—support for the monarchy and her popularity in the United Kingdom remained consistently high. Elizabeth died aged 96 at Balmoral Castle , and was succeeded by her eldest son, Charles III. Elizabeth was born at 2:40 am on 21 April 1926 [ 1 ] by Caesarean section at her maternal grandfather’s London home, 17 Bruton Street in Mayfair , [ 2 ] the first child of Prince Albert, Duke of York (later King George VI), and his wife, Elizabeth, Duchess of York (later Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother). Her father was the second son of King George V and Queen Mary , and her mother was the youngest daughter of Scottish aristocrat Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne and his wife Cecilia ( née Cavendish-Bentinck ). She was baptised by the Archbishop of York , Cosmo Gordon Lang in the private chapel at Buckingham Palace on 29 May, [ 3 ] [ b ] and she was named Elizabeth after her mother; Alexandra after her paternal great-grandmother , who had died five months earlier ; and Mary after her paternal grandmother. [ 5 ] She was affectionately called “Lilibet” by her close family, [ 6 ] based on what she called herself at first. [ 7 ] She was cherished by her grandfather George V, whom she affectionately called “Grandpa England”, [ 8 ] and her regular visits during his serious illness in 1929 were credited in the popular press and by later biographers with raising his spirits and aiding his recovery. [ 9 ] Elizabeth’s sole sibling, Princess Margaret , was born in 1930. The two princesses were cared for by their nanny, Clara Knight , and educated at home under the supervision of their mother and their governess , Marion Crawford . [ 10 ] Lessons concentrated on history, language, literature, and music. [ 11 ] Crawford published a biography of Elizabeth and Margaret’s childhood years titled The Little Princesses in 1950, much to the dismay of the royal family . [ 12 ] The book describes Elizabeth’s love of horses and dogs, her orderliness, and her attitude of responsibility. [ 13 ] Others echoed such observations: Winston Churchill described Elizabeth when she was two as “a character. She has an air of authority and reflectiveness astonishing in an infant.” [ 14 ] Her cousin Margaret Rhodes described her as “a jolly little girl, but fundamentally sensible and well-behaved”. [ 15 ] Elizabeth’s early life was spent primarily at the Yorks’ residences at 145 Piccadilly (their town house in London) and Royal Lodge in Windsor. [ 16 ]
Source https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_II