Queen Elizabeth II is a name that has been in political fame for several decades. She is the longest-serving monarch in the history of Great Britain and the oldest monarch in the world. The Queen is the head of state for Great Britain and 15 other Commonwealth countries. As the ceremonial head of the British Empire, she officially approves all government laws, although she does so on the advice of the Prime Minister. In addition to her political and traditional duties, she is also the Supreme Governor of the established Church of England. Queen Elizabeth II is one of the most famous women in the world. She has visited many countries and met many world leaders. She has probably traveled more miles than any king or queen in history. You must have heard of her but you need to know a lot more about this longtime British monarch. Here’s everything you need to know about Queen Elizabeth II.
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birth and early years
Queen Elizabeth II was born Princess ElizabethAlexandra Mary at 2.40am on 21 April 1926 at 17 Bruton Street in London, England, the first child of the second son of George V – Albert, Duke of York and the Duchess of York, the former Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. The Princess was christened Elizabeth Alexandra Mary in the private chapel at Buckingham Palace. She was named after her mother, while her two middle names are those of her paternal great-grandmother Queen Alexandra and her paternal grandmother Queen Mary. At the time of her birth, no one thought that Elizabeth would one day become Queen of Great Britain.
Queen Elizabeth II father
Queen Elizabeth’s father, Prince Albert, was the second son of King George V and Queen Mary. Because of this, Elizabeth was allowed to enjoy the first decade of her life with all the privileges of being a king without the pressures of being an heir apparent.
Despite this, in 1936, at the age of 10, Elizabeth’s life course changed with the death of her grandfather, King George V. Her uncle became King Edward VIII, but he was in love with the American divorcee Wallis Simpson. Since his royal status never allows for such a marriage, he was left with no choice but to choose between the crown and the lady he loves. After all, Edward Simpson chose and Elizabeth’s father, Prince Albert, became King George VI. In this way, Elizabeth automatically became the heir to the throne.
Queen Elizabeth II mother
Queen Elizabeth II’s mother was ElizabethAngela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon, who died on March 30, 2002. After her husband’s death in 1952, she ceased to be Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominoes, and the throne passed to her daughter. She became known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother from then on, to avoid any confusion with her daughter. Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother was the last Empress of India.
Queen Elizabeth II sister
The Queen’s sister, Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon was considered a controversial figure in the royal family until her death in 2002. In 1978 she was divorced, earning her negative publicity and she was a heavy smoker for most of her adult life. After suffering lung surgery in 1985 and at least three strokes between 1998 and 2001, she died at King Edward VII’s Hospital on February 9, 2002.
training
Elizabeth and her younger sister Margaret, who was born four years after Elizabeth was home-schooled by private tutors. Her studies included French, mathematics, history and geography. They also took dance, singing and art classes. After her father ascended the throne in 1936 and she became apparent, she began studying constitutional history and law to prepare for her future role.
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Queen Elizabeth II husband, marriage
At the age of 13, Princess Elizabeth met 18-year-old Prince Philip, her distant cousin. They fell in love and wanted to get married, but her father wanted to make sure it was real and not just because this was the first person she loved. Before they married, Prince Philip renounced his royal title as Prince of Greece and Denmark and became a British subject, taking his uncle Louis Mountbatten’s surname. He became Duke of Edinburgh just before they married, but was not created Prince of the United Kingdom until 1957. They married on November 20, 1947, when Elizabeth was 21 years old.
Queen Elizabeth II. Children, grandchildren
A year after her marriage to Prince Philip,Queen Elizabeth II had a son, Charles Philip Arthur George. In 1950 they had Anne Elizabeth Alice; 1960 Prince Andrew; and in 1964 they were again blessed with another son, Prince Edward.
The Queen currently has 8 grandchildren: Prince William Arthur Philip Louis (born 21 June 1982) and Prince Henry Charles Albert David (born 15 September 1984, sons of Prince Charles), Peter Mark Andrew Phillips (born 15 November 1977) and Zara Anne Elizabeth Phillips (born 15 May 1981, Princess Anne’s children), Princess Beatrice Elizabeth Mary (born 8 August 1988) and Princess Eugenie Victoria Helena (born 23 March 1990, Prince Andrew’s daughters), Lady Louise Alice Elizabeth Mary (born 8 November 2003) and James Alexander Philip Theo, Viscount Severn (born 17 December 2007, children of Prince Edward).
rule and public life
After the death of George VI. In 1952, she took over The Overcoat. She was then in Kenya, becoming the first British monarch since the Union Act of 1801 to be outside the country at the time of the succession. She was then crowned at Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953 at the age of 25.
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The reign of Queen Elizabeth II since 1952 has spanned a period of rapid and occasionally turbulent change. Britain’s position in the world, its economy and the form and structure of society have changed, and many traditional institutions have suffered as a result. Through all of this, the Crown’s path has been marked by the Queen herself in an enduring expression of unwavering devotion to duty and quiet pragmatism, springing from a nationally felt need and earning her the respect and affection of her people. As Hereditary Head of State for Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Head of the Commonwealth, she has symbolic and formal functions and duties, but no direct powers. Embodying national identity and continuity, she performs myriad formalities with her family to mark events in the lives of individuals and communities. Queen Elizabeth has met five popes during her reign namely Pius XII, John XXIII, John Paul II, Benedict XVI. And Francis.
In 1957 she made a state visit to the United States, where she addressed the United Nations General Assembly on behalf of the Commonwealth. On the same trip, she opened Canada’s 23rd Parliament and became Canada’s first female monarch to open a parliamentary session.
In 1991, after winning the Gulf War, Elizabeth became the first British monarch to address a joint session of the United States Congress.
In 2012, she opened the London Olympics and celebrated her 60th Diamond Jubilee on the Throne.
The queen travels thousands of kilometers every year. She visits all parts of the UK. She does “walkabouts” so she can chat with people. She makes many trips abroad and has visited more than 116 countries!
threats and challenges
In 1979, Elizabeth suffered great personal loss when Lord Mountbatten, her husband’s uncle, died in a terrorist attack. Mountbatten and several members of his family were aboard his boat off the west coast of Ireland on August 29 when the ship exploded. He and three others, including one of his grandsons, were killed.
Subsequently, the Queen has occasionally faced republican sentiments and harsh press criticism of the royal family, but support for the monarchy and her personal popularity remain high. Public criticism of the royal family increased around the 1980s as the personal and work lives of Elizabeth’s children came under media scrutiny. In 1981, she escaped a gunshot while celebrating her birthday in the crowd through the streets. The next year, she was also harassed by an intruder right in her bedroom, but received prompt help from the police without being injured.
Elizabeth’s popularity plummeted in the 1990s. Under pressure from public opinion, she began paying income tax for the first time, and Buckingham Palace was opened to the public. Dissatisfaction with the monarchy reached its peak with the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, although Elizabeth’s personal popularity and support for the monarchy had revived after being broadcast live to the world five days after Diana’s death.
Her mother and sister died in 2002, aged 71 and 101 respectively. It was the same year that she celebrated her golden jubilee, ie 50 years of reign.
Personal interests and activities
Elizabeth likes to spend her free time in quietpastimes. She enjoys reading mysteries, doing crossword puzzles, and even watching wrestling on TV. Her main leisure interests include equestrianism and dogs, particularly her Pembroke Welsh Corgis. Her lifelong love of corgis began in 1933 with Dookie, the first corgi in her family. She also enjoys horse racing, ‘Doctor Who’ and the British comedy ‘Last of the Summer Wine’ (1973). The Queen is heavily involved in charitable causes and is a patron of over 600 organizations and charities.
later years
Because of her advanced age and the need for her to restrict travel, she did not attend the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, held in Sri Lanka in November 2013. It was the first time she had not attended the meeting since 1973.
She became the longest-reigning monarch in UK history on September 9, 2015. On that day, the length of her reign surpassed that of her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, who was the longest-reigning monarch up to that point.
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Queen Elizabeth II And Her Net Worth
The Queen’s fortune is subject to a lot of speculation. In 2011, Forbes magazine valued it at $500m (about £325m). In 2016, the Queen’s estate was caught up in the Paradise paper leak. Millions of pounds from her private estate are said to have been invested in offshore tax haven funds.