On 8 September 2022 Queen Elizabeth II, the longest serving monarch in the history of the United Kingdom, died aged 96. Her passing marked the end of the second Elizabethan era, which began with her ascension to the throne in 1952. Elizabeth’s road towards the Crown had been unexpected. Her father, King George VI, assumed the royal mantle after his brother, King Edward VIII’s abdication in 1936, and thus Elizabeth suddenly became the heir apparent – changing the course of her life.
Princess Elizabeth was a child of the war, aged 13 when war broke out. Like many children living in London, Elizabeth and her sister Princess Margaret were evacuated to avoid the dangers of bombing raids. After she turned 18 in 1944, she insisted upon joining the Auxiliary Territorial Service where she trained to be a mechanic. When VE Day came, Elizabeth and her sister famously snuck out of Buckingham Palace to celebrate amongst the crowds on the streets of London.
Just five years after marrying Prince Philip in 1947, she ascended to the crown upon the death of her father, and began her incredible and historic 70 year reign. Along with undertaking her regal duties and guiding the monarchy to keep pace with changing times, Elizabeth was also a mother (of 4 children), and later grandmother (to 8 grandchildren) and great-grandmother (to 12 great-grandchildren). Aside from her incredible commitment to duty, Elizabeth was known for her love of horses, her beloved corgis and the time she spent with her family, particularly in Balmoral in the Scottish countryside.
Here we commemorate the life of Queen Elizabeth II in pictures.
The Duchess of York (1900-2002), later Queen Elizabeth, with her baby daughter Princess Elizabeth of York (b.1926), later HM Queen Elizabeth II, in May 1926.
Image Credit: Richard N. Speaight, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Princess Elizabeth of York, circa 1927.
Image Credit: Unknown photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
A family portrait of Queen Mother Elizabeth, Princess Margaret, King George VI and Crown Princess Elizabeth, 1 January 1937.
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Princess Elizabeth and her sister Princess Margaret posing with their pet dogs in the grounds of Windsor castle, 1937.
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King George VI, Princess Margaret Rose, Princess Elizabeth and wife Elizabeth with veil and crown, 1937.
Image Credit: Sueddeutsche Zeitung Photo / Alamy Stock Photo
King George VI and Princess Elizabeth on horseback, 1937. Elizabeth loved horses and took a keen interest in them throughout her life.
Image Credit: Anonymous, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
As Princess Elizabeth, the Queen made her first public speech on 13 October 1940, with a radio address on BBC Children’s Hour. It was broadcast to the children of the Commonwealth to boost morale, as many of them were living away from home due to the war. Her younger sister, Princess Margaret, joined in at the end.
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The future Queen in 1943.
Image Credit: Yousuf Karsh, CC BY-SA 3.0 NL
Then Princess Elizabeth in the Auxiliary Territorial Service uniform, April 1945
Image Credit: Ministry of Information official photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten after their wedding, 20 November 1947
The Queen and Prince Philip on their honeymoon, November 1947
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Queen Elizabeth II with Prince Charles, in the grounds of Windlesham Moor in Surrey, 18 July 1949.
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Queen Elizabeth II, the Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal and the Duke of Edinburgh on the Buckingham Palace balcony after the Queen’s coronation, 2 June 1953.
Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor joined by Sugar, one of the royal corgis, in 1959.
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Queen Elizabeth II at Balmoral with Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Edward, Prince Andrew and Prince Phillip at Balmoral, 1972.
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Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip sit beside one of the royal corgis. Balmoral, 1976
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The Queen took a keen interest in horse-racing. Here, the Queen and her racing manager, Lord Porchester, watch the finish of the 1978 Epsom Derby.
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Queen Elizabeth II surveying the scene at Windsor Castle following the fire there in November 1992. The year had seen numerous scandals for the royal family, causing the Queen to later refer to 1992 as her “Annus Horribilis”.
Image Credit: Sean Dempsey / PA Images / Alamy
The Queen addressing the nation on 5 September 1997 from Buckingham Palace, where she told of the Royal Family’s sorrow at the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. It was only the second time in her reign that the Queen had addressed the nation. Speaking “as a grandmother”, the Queen’s live speech had a big impact on the public, and was a moving moment after frustrations that the monarchy had been quiet in the days immediately after Diana’s death and had taken too long to return to London from Balmoral
Image Credit: BBC / PA Images / Alamy
Princess Margaret, Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother and Queen Elizabeth II on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the celebration for the Queen Mother’s 100th birthday on 4 August 2000.
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To mark their diamond wedding anniversary on 20 November 2007, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh re-visited Broadlands where 60 years ago in November 1947 they spent their wedding night.
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Queen Elizabeth II at the Royal Windsor Horse Show in May 2008.
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Queen Elizabeth II at the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, 17 April 2021.
Image Credit: Jonathan Brady / PA Images / Alamy
Queen Elizabeth II with the Prince of Wales, Prince George, the Duke of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, and the Duchess of Cambridge appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace at the end of the Platinum Jubilee Pageant, on day four of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, 5 June 2022.
Image Credit: Chris Jackson / PA Images / Alamy
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