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ELIZABETH II (1926-...) is the queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. She became queen when her father, King George VI, died in 1952. As a constitutional monarch, Queen Elizabeth is formally head of state in the United Kingdom. But she has no power over what the British government does. Laws are formally enacted in the name of the queen, but their content is the responsibility of the government.
Early Life.
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born in London on April 21, 1926. Her father was the Duke of York, second son of King George V. Her mother--now Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother--is the former Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the daughter of a Scottish earl.
Elizabeth's father became king in 1936 after his older brother, King Edward VIII, gave up the throne to marry a divorced American woman. This event greatly changed the course of 10-year-old Elizabeth's life. It made her the heir to the throne, since George VI had no sons and she was the older of his two daughters.
Princess Elizabeth spent most of her childhood at Windsor Castle, located in Windsor, near London. The castle is the British royal family's main residence outside of London. Buckingham Palace, in London, is the family's main residence. Princess Elizabeth and her sister, Princess Margaret (1930-...), were educated at home by governesses. In March 1945, during World War II, Elizabeth joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service, a support branch of the military. She joined to train as a mechanic to repair military vehicles for the war effort. But Elizabeth served only until May, when the war in Europe ended.
Marriage and Succession to the Throne. Princess Elizabeth married Philip Mountbatten, a British naval lieutenant and member of the Greek royal family, on Nov. 20, 1947. Her husband became Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. When King George's health began to fail, Princess Elizabeth and her husband began to undertake more public duties. The king died on Feb. 6, 1952, and Princess Elizabeth succeeded him as the British monarch that day. The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II took place on June 2, 1953, in Westminster Abbey, London.
Duties.
After a general election, the queen formally appoints the prime minister. In practice, this person is the leader of the majority party in the democratically elected House of Commons. The queen has a weekly meeting with the prime minister to discuss public affairs. The prime minister is not obligated to act on her advice, but may find it useful because of her many years of experience.
The queen's chief public role is to attend ceremonial state occasions and to represent the United Kingdom in visits throughout the country and the world. Queen Elizabeth has traveled extensively. In the United Kingdom, the queen sometimes puts ceremony aside and meets informally with subjects. She hosts luncheons at Buckingham Palace, which are attended by people of many different walks of life.
The queen is also head of the Commonwealth of Nations, an association of independent countries and other political units that have lived under British law and government. Queen Elizabeth has no authority in Commonwealth nations. She serves mainly as a symbol of historical ties.
The Royal Family.
The queen and Prince Philip have four children. The children are Charles, Prince of Wales (1948-...); Anne, Princess Royal (1950-...); Andrew, Duke of York (1960-...); and Prince Edward (1964-...). Prince Charles is heir to the throne. His oldest son, Prince William (1982-...), is next in line after his father as the heir. The royal family's surname is Windsor. However, in 1960, Queen Elizabeth announced that her descendants, except for princes and princesses, will bear the surname Mountbatten-Windsor.
The royal family has two country residences. One is Balmoral Castle in Grampian Region, Scotland. The other is Sandringham, an estate in Norfolk County, England. Queen Elizabeth enjoys country life and breeds dogs and horses. She has owned successful race horses.
Queen 1952- Houses of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha & Windsor.
7 Feb 1952 > '* = reign of Elizabeth II
Significant events of the reign.
26th in descent from Henry 11 & 35th from Alfred the Great.
1955- Churchill resigns as Prime Minister and Anthony Eden takes his place.
Nationalisation of the Suez Canal.
1957- Macmillan becomes Prime Minister.
1960- Nigeria & Cyprus gain independence.
1963- Macmillan government collapses.
1964- Harold Wilson becomes Prime Minister.
Cunard liner Queen Elizabeth 11 is launched.
1969- Charles invested as Prince of Wales.
British troops deployed in Ulster to control sectarian disturbances.
1970- Edward Heath becomes Prime Minister.
1973- Britain joins European Community.
1974- Harold Wilson returns as Prime Minister.
1979- Margaret Thatcher becomes first woman Prime Minister.
1980- Rhodesia gains independence as Zimbabwe.
1981- Prince Charles marries Lady Diana Spencer.
1982- Britain goes to war with Argentina over control of the Falkland Islands.
1990- Rioters in London protest against the Poll Tax.
1991- Gulf War threatens Middle East relations.
1992- Windsor Castle damaged by fire.
Charles & Diana separation.
1993- The Queen agrees to pay tax on private income.
1994- The Queen visits Russia.
1995- The Queen visits South Africa.
1996- Prince Charles & Diana divorced..
Update: from her Official Web Site 8/10/97.
Background
The Queen was born in London on 21 April 1926,
the first child of The Duke and Duchess of York,
subsequently King George VI and Queen
Elizabeth. Five weeks later she was christened
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary in the chapel at
Buckingham Palace.
The Princess's early years 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 country homes of her
grandparents, King George V and Queen Mary,
and the Earl and Countess of Strathmore. When
she was six years old, her parents took over Royal
Lodge in Windsor Great Park as their own country
home.
Education
Princess Elizabeth was educated at home with
Princess Margaret, her younger sister. After her
father succeeded to the throne in 1936 and she
became heir presumptive, she started to study
constitutional history and law. She also studied art
and music; learned to ride (she has been a keen
horsewoman since early childhood); and enjoyed
amateur theatricals and swimming - she won the
Children's Challenge Shield at London's Bath Club
when she was thirteen. She enrolled as a Girl Guide
when she was eleven, and later became a Sea
Ranger.
Early public life
As the Princess grew older she began to take part
in public life. She broadcast for the first time in
October 1940, when she was fourteen; she sent a
message during the BBC's children's programme to
all the children of Britain and the Commonwealth.
In early 1942 she was appointed Colonel of the
Grenadier Guards, and on her sixteenth birthday
carried out her first public engagement, when she
inspected the regiment. Thereafter her official duties
increased, particularly in connection with young
people: she became President of the Queen
Elizabeth Hospital for Children in Hackney and the
National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Children. At about this time she also began to
accompany the King and Queen on many of their
tours within Britain.
Shortly after her eighteenth birthday, Princess
Elizabeth was appointed a Counsellor of State
during the King's absence on a tour of the Italian
battlefields and, for the first time, carried out some
of the duties of Head of State.
In early 1945 the Princess was made a Subaltern in
the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS); by the end
of the war she had reached the rank of Junior
Commander. When the Women's Royal Army
Corps was founded in 1949, she became an
Honorary Senior Controller and later Honorary
Brigadier - an appointment she resigned on
becoming Queen.
After the end of the war Princess Elizabeth's public
engagements continued to grow, and she travelled
extensively to attend public functions throughout the
British Isles. Her first official overseas visit took
place in 1947, when she accompanied her parents
and sister on a tour of South Africa. During this
tour she celebrated her twenty-first birthday, and
gave a broadcast address dedicating herself to the
service of the Commonwealth - a dedication she
repeated five years later on her accession to the
throne.
Marriage and family
Shortly after the Royal family returned from South
Africa, the Princess's engagement to Lieutenant
Philip Mountbatten was announced. The couple,
who had known each other for many years, were
married in Westminster Abbey on 20 November
1947. Lieutenant Mountbatten, now His Royal
Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh,
was the son of Prince Andrew of Greece and a
great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria.
The Royal couple had four children, and so far
have six 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 years later. Their third
child, Prince Andrew, arrived in 1960 and the
fourth, Prince Edward, in 1964. They will celebrate
their golden wedding in November 1997. Their
grandchildren are Peter and Zara Phillips (b. 1977
and 1981); Prince William of Wales and Prince
Henry of Wales (b. 1982 and 1984); and Princess
Beatrice of York and Princess Eugenie of York (b.
1988 and 1990).
Accession and coronation
After her marriage Princess Elizabeth paid formal
visits with The Duke of Edinburgh to France and
Greece; in autumn 1951 they toured Canada. She
also visited Malta four times while The Duke was
stationed there on naval duties. In 1952, King
George VI's illness forced him to abandon his
proposed visit to Australia and New Zealand; The
Princess, accompanied by Prince Philip, took his
place. On 6 February, during the first stage of this
journey, in Kenya, she received the news of her
father's death and her own accession to the throne.
Her Majesty's coronation took place in
Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953.
Representatives of the peers, the Commons and all
the great public interests in Britain, the Prime
Ministers and leading citizens of the other
Commonwealth countries, and representatives of
foreign states were present. The ceremony was
broadcast on radio around the world, but it was
television, then in relative infancy, that brought
home the splendour and the deep significance of the
coronation to many hundreds of thousands of
people in a way never before possible. The
Coronation was followed by drives through every
part of London, by a review of the fleet at
Spithead, and by visits to Scotland, Northern
Ireland and Wales.
Work as monarch
In autumn 1954 Her Majesty set out to accomplish,
as Queen, the Commonwealth tour she had begun
before the death of her father. With The Duke of
Edinburgh she visited Bermuda, Jamaica, Fiji,
Tonga, New Zealand, Australia, Ceylon, Uganda,
Malta and Gibraltar. This was the first of
innumerable tours of the Commonwealth they have
undertaken at the invitation of the host
Governments. During the past forty years The
Queen and Prince Philip have also made frequent
visits to other countries outside the Commonwealth
at the invitation of foreign Heads of State. Since her
coronation, The Queen has also visited nearly every
county in Britain, seeing new developments and
achievements in industry, agriculture, education, the
arts, medicine and sport and many other aspects of
national life.
As Head of State, The Queen maintains close
contact with the Prime Minister, with whom she has
a weekly audience when she is in London, and with
other Ministers of the Crown. She sees all Cabinet
papers and the records of Cabinet and Cabinet
Committee meetings. She receives important
Foreign Office telegrams and a daily summary of
events in Parliament.
Her Majesty acts as host to the Heads of State of
Commonwealth and other countries when they visit
Britain, and receives other notable visitors from
overseas. She holds Investitures in Britain and
during her visits to other Commonwealth countries,
at which she presents honours to people who have
distinguished themselves in public life.
As Sovereign, Her Majesty is head of the Navy,
Army and Air Force of Britain. On becoming
Queen she succeeded her father 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 Honourable Artillery Company. At her
Coronation she assumed similar positions with a
number of other units in Britain and elsewhere in the
Commonwealth. (A full list appears in Whitaker's
Almanack.)
Every year, Her Majesty entertains some 48,000
people from all sections of the community (including
visitors from overseas) at Royal Garden Parties and
other occasions. At least three garden parties take
place at Buckingham Palace and a fourth at
Holyroodhouse, in Edinburgh. Additional 'special'
parties are occasionally arranged, for example to
mark a significant anniversary for a charity. In
1997, there will be a special Garden Party attended
by those sharing The Queen and The Duke of
Edinburgh's golden wedding anniversary.
Her Majesty also gives regular receptions and
lunches for people who have made a contribution in
different areas of national and international life. She
also appears on many public occasions such as the
services of the Orders of the Garter and the Thistle;
Trooping the Colour; the Remembrance Day
ceremony; and national services at St Paul's
Cathedral and Westminster Abbey.
The Queen is Patron or President of over 700
organisations. Each year, she undertakes a large
number of engagements: some 585 in 1996.
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 kilometres (56,000
miles) to share the anniversary with her people.
Enormous crowds greeted them wherever they
went, and millions more shared in the celebrations
through radio and television. In 1986 The Queen
took part in celebrations in Windsor and London to
mark her sixtieth birthday.
Although it was not regarded as a Jubilee, the 40th
anniversary of The Queen's Accession in 1992 was
marked by a number of events and community
projects in the UK. These were organised privately
or through the Royal Anniversary Trust. On
Accession Day itself, 6 February, the BBC
broadcast Elizabeth R, a television documentary
on The Queen's working life. This was
subsequently shown in over 25 countries around
the world.
Horsemanship
Her Majesty takes a keen and highly
knowledgeable interest in horses. She attends the
Derby at Epsom, one of the classic flat races in
Britain, and the Summer Race Meeting at Ascot,
which has been a Royal occasion since 1911. As
an owner and breeder of thoroughbreds, she often
visits other race meetings to watch her horses run,
and also frequently attends equestrian events. In
1984, 1986 and 1991 Her Majesty made brief
private visits to the United States to see stallion
stations and stud farms in Kentucky.
