discover the trajectory of the Queen of England

Elizabeth II was queen of England and fourteen other independent states called Kingdoms of the Commonwealth of Nations. She was born on April 21, 1926 and was crowned queen at the age of 25.

Queen Elizabeth II was the longest-reigning monarch in the history of the British crown. Thus, in February of this year she celebrated 70 years as Queen. She died on September 8, 2022, at Balmoral Castle, Scotland.

The queen was married to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, with whom she had four children: Charles, Anne, Andrew and Edward. With the news of his death, his eldest son, Prince Charles assumes the British throne.

Therefore, Today we will learn a little more about the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II and her legacy for England and the world.

Childhood and youth of Queen Elizabeth II

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, her given name, was born in London on April 21, 1926. Elizabeth was the first daughter of the Duke and Duchess of York, Albert Frederick Arthur George and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. In addition to her, her parents had one more daughter, her only sister, Margarida.

During their childhood and youth, both Elizabeth and her sister Margaret were educated at home, having their education provided by tutors.

At the time Elizabeth was born, her grandfather George V was king, the first member of the Windsor family to ascend to the throne. Therefore, She was only third in line to the throne, behind her uncle Edward and her own father.

Then, upon his grandfather’s death in 1936, his uncle assumed the throne, becoming King Edward VII. However, he gave up the throne in less than a year. Edward preferred to give up his title to marry a divorced American woman. Thus, the next in line of succession, his father, assumed the throne on December 11, 1936, officially becoming King George VI.

Therefore, At just 1 years old, Elizabeth, as the king’s first daughter, becomes the first in line to the British throne. So, since 1951, when her father, the king, began to have health problems, the princess began to represent him in various official crown engagements, a kind of preparation for assuming the reign.

Marriage

Elizabeth met the prince, Philip of Greece and Denmark, whom she would later marry, in 1934. The two are cousins ​​through King Christian IX of Denmark and Queen Victoria. Then, in 1939, when the future queen was just 13 years old, she stated that she was in love with Philip. The official engagement was announced in July 1947.

However, their union was fraught with challenges. This is because the prince did not have financial means, was a foreigner and had sisters married to Germans who had Nazi connections. Therefore, some biographies report that the king’s advisors did not consider Philip a good match for the princess. However, this was unable to prevent the marriage.

To this end, Philip renounced his Greek and Danish titles and converted to Anglicanism, adopting the title Philip Mountbatten, the surname of his mother’s British family. Furthermore, shortly before his wedding, Philip was crowned Duke of Edinburgh, receiving the title “His Royal Highness”.

Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were married on November 20, 1947, at Westminster Abbey. Then, on November 14, 1948, Elizabeth gave birth to her first son, Prince Charles. The second child was a girl, Princess Anna who was born in 1950. The couple had two more sons, Andrew who was born in 1960 and Edward in 1964.

Ultimately, the couple lived together for 69 years. Prince Filipe passed away on April 9, 2021.

Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II

King George VI had already been having health problems, including lung cancer, caused by smoking, for a few yearsand then on February 6, 1952 he passed away.

When the king died, Elizabeth and her husband were on a trip to Kenya. With the news of her death, they returned to England, and on the same day, the council met to announce that she would succeed to the throne, officially becoming Elizabeth II. However, preparations for the coronation lasted almost a year after the king’s death.

Thus, Elizabeth, who at the time was only 25 years old, assumed the throne and was crowned Queen on June 2, 1953. The coronation ceremony took place at Westminster Abbey, where she was married. In fact, this was the first British crown coronation ceremony to be televised.

By the time she took the crown, Elizabeth II was already mother to Charles and Anne. Therefore, the Royal family moved to Buckingham Palacelocated in central London.

Jubilees of Queen Elizabeth II

Jubilee means the celebration of an important event that has been taking place for several years. In the case of monarchy, jubilee refers to celebrations related to the specific years of a monarch’s reign. So, as we know, Queen Elizabeth II was the longest-reigning monarch in the history of the British crown, and so she had many jubilees.

Diamond Jubilee

In February 2012, Queen Elizabeth celebrated an incredible 60 years of reign, the Diamond Jubilee. For the occasion, there was a huge celebration with several shows, with artists such as Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Kylie Minogue among others.

Sapphire Jubilee

Then, five years later, in February 2017, the queen celebrated 65 years of reign, surpassing her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, who reigned for 63 years. In fact, she was the only British monarch to celebrate the much-desired Sapphire Jubilee.

Platinum Jubilee

The Queen’s last Jubilee was on February 6, 2022, when at 95 years of age, Elizabeth II completed 70 years of reign. As it is a very important date, not only for her, but for the British crown, several celebrations were held for the date, bringing together members of the Royal family.

Children and grandchildren of Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip had four children, eight grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

Prince Charles

The Prince of Wales married Lady Diana, and together they had two sons: Prince William and Prince Harry.

Princess Anna

Princess Anna married Mark Anthony and they also had two children: Peter Philips and Zara Philips.

Prince Andrew

Prince Andrew married Sara Ferguson and they had two daughters: Beatrice of York and Eugenia of York.

Prince Edward

Finally, the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II who married Sofia Rhys-Jones with whom he had two children: Luísa Windsor and Jaime, Viscount Severn.

Succession

So, as we have seen so far, Queen Elizabeth II is the monarch with the longest reign in the history of the British crown. And as follows the rule of the monarchy, the line of succession to the throne follows the following order.

First: Prince Charles, Elizabeth’s firstborn son;

Second: Prince William, Charles’ first-born son;

Third: Prince George, William’s firstborn son.

Death of Queen Elizabeth II

At 96 years of age, Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving monarch of the British crown, died on September 8, 2022. Elizabeth died at Balmoral Castle, in Scotland and the announcement of her death was made through the official channels of the royal family.

“The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King (Charles III) and Queen Consort (Camila) will remain at Balmoral tonight and return to London tomorrow.”announced the Royal House.

Then, with the queen’s death, Charles becomes king of England. Through official rites, Charles could choose the name he would adopt as king. However, he followed traditions and retained the title of King Charles III.

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Sources: Purepeople G1 Ebiography World Education Brazil School