her majesty queen elizabeth

7/28/2019 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth

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Elizabeth II

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Elizabeth II (disambiguation).

Elizabeth II

Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms

List[show]

Reign 6 February 1952 present

Coronation 2 June 1953

Predecessor George VI

Heir apparent Charles, Prince of Wales

Prime Ministers See list

Spouse Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (m. 1947)


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Detail Issue

Charles, Prince of Wales

Anne, Princess Royal

Prince Andrew, Duke of York

Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex

Full name

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary

HouseHouse of Windsor

FatherGeorge VI

Mother Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon

Born 21 April 1926 (age 87)

Mayfair, London, England, United Kingdom

Religion

Church of England

Church of Scotland

Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; born 21 April 1926[a]) is the

constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states, known as the Commonwealth

realms, and their territories and dependencies, and head of the 54-member

Commonwealth of Nations. She is Supreme Governor of the Church of

England and, in some of her realms, carries the title of Defender of the Faith

as part of her full title.

On her accession on 6 February 1952, Elizabeth became Head of the

Commonwealth and queen regnant of seven independent Commonwealth

countries: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa,

Pakistan and Ceylon. From 1956 to 1992, the number of her realms varied as

territories gained independence and some realms became republics. Atpresent, in addition to the first four aforementioned countries, Elizabeth is

Queen of Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the

Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,

Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis. Her reign of 61 years

is currently the second longest for a British monarch; only Queen Victoria has

reigned longer at over 63 years.


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Elizabeth was born in London and educated privately at home. Her father

acceded to the throne as George VI in 1936 on the abdication of his brother

Edward VIII, from which time she was the heir presumptive. She began to

undertake public duties during the Second World War, in which she served in

the Auxiliary Territorial Service. In 1947, she married Prince Philip, Duke of

Edinburgh, with whom she has four children: Charles, Anne, Andrew, andEdward. Her coronation service took place in 1953 and was the first to be

televised.

The Queen's many historic visits and meetings include a state visit to the

Republic of Ireland and reciprocal visits to and from the Pope. The Queen has

seen major constitutional changes in her realms, such as devolution in the

United Kingdom and the patriation of the Canadian constitution. Times of

personal significance have included the births and marriages of her children,

the births of her grandchildren, the investiture of the Prince of Wales, and the

celebration of milestones such as her Silver, Golden, and Diamond Jubilees in

1977, 2002, and 2012, respectively.

Major events in the Queen's reign have included the Troubles in Northern

Ireland, the Falklands War, and wars with Iraq and in Afghanistan. There have

been times of personal sorrow for her which include the death of her father at

56, the assassination of Prince Philip's uncle, Lord Mountbatten, the

breakdown of her children's marriages in 1992 (a year deemed her annus

horribilis), the death in 1997 of her son's former wife, Diana, Princess of

Wales, and the deaths of her mother and sister in 2002. The Queen has

occasionally faced severe press criticism of the royal family and republican

sentiments, but support for the monarchy and her personal popularity remain

high.

her majesty queen elizabeth

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