When World War II erupted three years later, Princess Elizabeth began performing official royal duties and delivered the first of many broadcasts, billed as addresses to the children of the British Empire. Elizabeth's shy, stammering father assumed the throne as George VI, placing her next in line. In 1936, her uncle, King Edward VIII abdicated to marry Wallis Simpson, a divorced American woman. Through the ups and downs of her tenure, her hard work and longevity won her deep admiration across the United Kingdom.īorn Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor in London in 1926, her ascension to the throne was an accident of history. Late in her reign, her grandson Prince Harry left the family and England to settle in California with his American wife, Meghan Markle. There were many personal lows, including the divorces of three of her four children the death of her former daughter-in-law Diana and a sex scandal involving her son Prince Andrew. Later, Elizabeth watched as Britain lost most of its colonies and much of its power. "It was one of the most memorable nights of my life." Queen Elizabeth II watches a flyover by the RAF Red Arrows during a military parade, held by the Household Division at Windsor Castle, to mark her official birthday on June 12, 2021, in Windsor, England. "I remember lines of unknown people, linking arms and walking down Whitehall, all of us just swept along on a tide of happiness and relief," she recalled. On V-E Day in 1945, Elizabeth, then 19, described slipping out of Buckingham Palace to join the jubilant crowds. The country faces skyrocketing inflation and the challenge of the biggest war in Europe since 1945.Įlizabeth was born into an empire on which the sun never set and was the country's last major figure with a connection to World War II, a searing, ultimately triumphant experience that, for some, continues to define the nation. is transitioning from a deeply controversial prime minister, Boris Johnson, to a new one, Liz Truss, who just took over the job this week. Her death is a major milestone for the country, triggering an outpouring of national affection and grief. Her reign spanned a remarkable arc in British history and was defined by duty to country and considerable family pain. That decades-long reign of service ended Thursday, when Queen Elizabeth II died at her Balmoral estate in Scotland, at age 96.įor 70 years, she served as the constitutional monarch of the United Kingdom, the longest rule in British history. "I declare before you that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service, and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong," the 21-year-old Elizabeth Alexandra Mary then said. LONDON - Four years before she took the throne as Queen Elizabeth II, she made a pledge.
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