The Queen was born in London on 21 April 1926, the first kid of The Duke and Duchess of York, later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Five hebdomads subsequently she was christened Elizabeth Alexandra Mary in the chapel at Buckingham Palace.
The Princess ‘s early old ages were spent at 145 Piccadilly, the London house taken by her parents shortly after her birth ; at White Lodge in Richmond Park ; and at the state places of her grandparents, King George V and Queen Mary, and the Earl and Countess of Strathmore. When she was six old ages old, her parents took over Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park as their ain state place.
EDUCATION Princess Elizabeth was educated at place with Princess Margaret, her younger sister. After her male parent succeeded to the throne in 1936 and she became heir presumptive, she started to analyze constitutional history and jurisprudence. She besides studied art and music ; learned to sit ( she has been a acute horsewoman since early childhood ) ; and enjoyed amateur representations and swimming – she won the Children ‘s Challenge Shield at London ‘s Bath Club when she was 13. She enrolled as a Girl Guide when she was eleven, and subsequently became a Sea Ranger.
EARLY PUBLIC LIFE
As the Princess grew older she began to take portion in public life. She broadcast for the first clip in October 1940, when she was 14 ; she sent a message during the BBC ‘s kids ‘s programme to all the kids of Britain and the Commonwealth, peculiarly to those kids who were being evacuated for safety grounds. In early1942 she was appointed Colonel-in-Chief of the Grenadier Guards, and on her 16th birthday she carried out her first public battle, when she inspected the regiment. In April 1943, Princess Elizabeth carried out her first solo public battle, when she spent a twenty-four hours with a Grenadier Guards armored combat vehicle battalion in Southern Command.
Thereafter her official responsibilities increased, peculiarly in connexion with immature people: she was President of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for Children in Hackney and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. From March 1944 onwards, she besides began to attach to the King and Queen on many of their Tourss within Britain. Shortly after her 18th birthday in 1944, Princess Elizabeth was appointed a Counsellor of State during the King ‘s absence on a circuit of the Italian battlegrounds and, for the first clip, carried out some of the responsibilities of Head of State. In August that twelvemonth, with Queen Elizabeth, the Princess received an reference from the House of Commons, and replied on behalf of the Throne. In September 1944, the Princess carried out her first official circuit of Scotland with her parents, including her first gap ceremonial in October when she opened the late reconstructed Aberdeen Sailors ‘ Home. The Princess ‘s first flight by air was in July 1945, when she accompanied the King and Queen on a two-day visit to Northern Ireland.
In early 1945 the Princess was made a Subaltern in the Auxiliary Territorial Service ( ATS ) . By the terminal of the war she had reached the rank of Junior Commander, holding completed her class at No. 1 Mechanical preparation Centre of ATS and passed out as a to the full qualified driver.
After the terminal of the war, Princess Elizabeth ‘s public battles continued to turn, and she travelled extensively to go to public maps throughout the British Isles. These included the launching of a new aircraft bearer in Belfast and a circuit of Ulster in March 1946, and go toing the National Eisteddfod of Wales in August 1946.
Her first official abroad visit took topographic point in 1947, when she accompanied her parents and sister on a circuit of South Africa. During this circuit she celebrated her 21st birthday, and gave a broadcast reference giving herself to the service of the Commonwealth – a dedication she repeated five old ages subsequently on her accession to the throne.
On her return from the South Africa circuit, Princess Elizabeth received the freedom of the City of London in June 1947 ; in July, she received the freedom of the metropolis of Edinburgh.
In November 1947, Princess Elizabeth was created a Lady of the Garter at a private coronation by the King.
Marriage AND FAMILY Shortly after the Royal Family returned from South Africa, the Princess ‘s battle to Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten was announced. The twosome, who had known each other for many old ages, were married in Westminster Abbey on 20 November 1947. Lieutenant Mountbatten, now His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was the boy of Prince Andrew of Greece and a great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria.
The Royal twosome had four kids, and seven grandchildren. Prince Charles, now The Prince of Wales, Heir apparent to the throne, was born in 1948, and his sister, Princess Anne, now The Princess Royal, two old ages subsequently. After Princess Elizabeth became Queen, their 3rd kid, Prince Andrew, arrived in 1960 and the 4th, Prince Edward, in 1964. Prince Andrew and Prince Edward were the first kids to be born to a reigning sovereign since Queen Victoria had her household.
Their grandchildren are Peter and Zara Phillips ( B. 1977 and 1981 ) ; Prince William of Wales and Prince Henry of Wales ( B. 1982 and 1984 ) ; Princess Beatrice of York and Princess Eugenie of York ( B. 1988 and 1990 ) ; and The Lady Louise Windsor, girl of The Earl and Countess of Wessex ( B. 2003 ) .
ACCESSION AND CORONATION After her matrimony Princess Elizabeth paid formal visits with The Duke of Edinburgh to France and Greece ; in fall 1951 they toured Canada. She besides visited Malta four times while The Duke was stationed at that place on naval responsibilities. In 1952, King George VI ‘s unwellness forced him to abandon his proposed visit to Australia and New Zealand. The Princess, accompanied by Prince Philip, took his topographic point. On 6 February, during the first phase of this journey, in Kenya, she received the intelligence of her male parent ‘s decease and her ain accession to the throne.
Her Majesty ‘s enthronement took topographic point in Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953. Representatives of the equals, the Parks and all the great public involvements in Britain, the Prime Ministers and taking citizens of the other Commonwealth states, and representatives of foreign provinces were present. The ceremonial was broadcast O
n wireless around the universe and, at The Queen ‘s petition, on telecasting. It was telecasting, so in its comparative babyhood, that brought home the luster and the deep significance of the enthronement to many 100s of 1000s of people in a manner ne’er before possible. The enthronement was followed by thrusts through every portion of London, a reappraisal of the fleet at Spithead, and visits to Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
ROLE AS MONARCH
In winter 1953 Her Majesty set out to carry through, as Queen, the Commonwealth circuit she had begun before the decease of her male parent. With The Duke of Edinburgh she visited Bermuda, Jamaica, Fiji, Tonga, New Zealand, Australia, Ceylon, Uganda, Malta and Gibraltar. This was the first of countless Tourss of the Commonwealth they have undertaken at the invitation of the host authoritiess. During the past 50 old ages The Queen and Prince Philip have besides made frequent visits to other states outside the Commonwealth at the invitation of foreign Heads of State.
Since her Coronation, The Queen has besides visited about every county in Britain, seeing new developments and accomplishments in industry, agribusiness, instruction, the humanistic disciplines, medical specialty and athletics and many other facets of national life.
As Head of State, The Queen maintains close contact with the Prime Minister, with whom she has a hebdomadal audience when she is in London, and with other Curates of the Crown. She sees all Cabinet documents and the records of Cabinet and Cabinet Committee meetings. She receives of import Foreign Office wire and a day-to-day sum-up of events in Parliament.
Her Majesty Acts of the Apostless as host to the Heads of State of Commonwealth and other states when they visit Britain, and receives other noteworthy visitants from abroad.
She holds Coronations in Britain and during her visits to other Commonwealth states, at which she presents honours to people who have distinguished themselves in public life.
As Sovereign, Her Majesty is caput of the Navy, Army and Air Force of Britain. On going Queen she succeeded her male parent as Colonel-in-Chief of all the Guards Regiments and the Corps of Royal Engineers and as Captain-General of the Royal Regiment of Artillery and the Honorable Artillery Company. At her Coronation she assumed similar places with a figure of other units in Britain and elsewhere in the Commonwealth. ( A full list appears in Whitaker ‘s Almanack. )
Every twelvemonth, Her Majesty entertains some 48,000 people from all subdivisions of the community ( including visitants from abroad ) at Royal Garden Parties and other occasions. At least three garden parties take topographic point at Buckingham Palace and a 4th at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, in Edinburgh. Additional ‘special ‘ parties are on occasion arranged, for illustration to tag a important day of remembrance for a charity. In 1997, there was a particular Royal Garden Party attended by those sharing The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh ‘s aureate nuptials day of remembrance. In the summer of 2002 there was a particular Golden Jubilee Garden Party for persons born on Accession Day, 6 February 1952.
Her Majesty besides gives regular responses and tiffins for people who have made a part in different countries of national and international life. She besides appears on many public occasions such as the services of the Orders of the Garter and the Thistle ; Parading the Colour ; the Remembrance Day ceremonial ; and national services at St Paul ‘s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey.
The Queen is Patron or President of over 700 administrations. Each twelvemonth, she undertakes a big figure of battles: some 478 in the UK and overseas in 2003.
ANNIVERSARIES In 1977 The Queen ‘s Silver Jubilee was celebrated in Britain and throughout the Commonwealth. Accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh, The Queen travelled some 90,000 kilometers ( 56,000 stat mis ) to portion the day of remembrance with her people. Enormous crowds greeted them wherever they went, and 1000000s more shared in the jubilations through wireless and telecasting. In 1986 The Queen took portion in jubilations in Windsor and London to tag her 60th birthday.
Although it was non regarded as a Jubilee, the fortieth day of remembrance of The Queen ‘s Accession in 1992 was marked by a figure of events and community undertakings in the UK. These were organised in private or through the Royal Anniversary Trust. On Accession Day itself, 6 February, the BBC broadcast Elizabeth R, a telecasting docudrama on The Queen ‘s working life. This was later shown in over 25 states around the universe. On 20 November 1997 The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh celebrated their Aureate Wedding. A particular Garden Party for twosomes observing their Aureate Wedding was held at Buckingham Palace in July. The anniversary itself was marked by a service at Westminster Abbey, a tiffin hosted by the Government at Banqueting House and a household dance held in the freshly restored State Rooms at Windsor Castle.
The twelvemonth 2002 saw The Queen ‘s Golden Jubilee, taging 50 old ages since The Queen ‘s Accession ( instead than the Coronation, which took topographic point in 1953 ) . This particular milepost had antecedently been achieved by merely five earlier British sovereigns – King Henry III, King Edward III, King James VI and I, King George III and Queen Victoria. Celebrations in the United Kingdom ran throughout the summer months of 2002, including extended regional visits. The Jubilee Weekend saw the focal point of national jubilations, including two free public concerts for over 24,000 people in the gardens of Buckingham Palace, a pageant in the Mall, a service of thanksgiving at St. Paul ‘s Cathedral, and an visual aspect on the balcony of Buckingham Palace before a crowd of one million people. During the class of the twelvemonth The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh besides visited Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica and Canada.
HORSEMANSHIP Her Majesty takes a acute and extremely knowing involvement in Equus caballuss. She attends the Derby at Epsom, one of the authoritative level races in Britain, and the Summer Race Meeting at Ascot, which has been a Royal juncture since 1911. As an proprietor and breeder of thoroughbreds, she frequently visits other race meetings to watch her Equus caballuss run, and besides often attends equestrian events. In 1984, 1986 and 1991 Her Majesty made brief private visits to the United States to see entire Stationss and he-man farms in Kentucky.
