British royal family

BRITISH ROYAL FAMILY

Elizabeth II

Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; born 21 April 1926^{[note 1]}) is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states, known as theCommonwealth 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, Queen 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. At present, in addition to the first four aforementioned countries, Elizabeth is Queen of Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, theSolomon 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 63 years 7 months.

Elizabeth was born in London and educated privately at home. Her father acceded to the throne as George VI in 1936 on the abdicationof 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, and Edward. 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, wars with Iraq and the War 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 former daughter-in-law, 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.

Early life

Elizabeth was the first child of Prince Albert, Duke of York (later King George VI), and his wife, Elizabeth. Her father was the second son of KingGeorge V and Queen Mary. Her mother was the youngest daughter of Scottish aristocrat Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne. She was born by Caesarean section at 2.40 am (GMT) on 21 April 1926 at her maternal grandfather's London house: 17 Bruton Street,Mayfair.^[1] She was baptised by the Anglican Archbishop of York, Cosmo Gordon Lang, in the private chapel of Buckingham Palace on 29 May,^{[2][note 2]} and named Elizabeth after her mother, Alexandra after George V's mother, who had died six months earlier, and Mary after her paternal grandmother.^[3] Her close family called her "Lilibet".^[4] George V cherished his granddaughter, and during his serious illness in 1929 her regular visits were credited in the popular press and by later biographers with raising his spirits and aiding his recovery.^[5]

Elizabeth's only sibling, Princess Margaret, was four years younger. The two princesses were educated at home under the supervision of their mother and their governess, Marion Crawford, who was casually known as "Crawfie".^[6] Lessons concentrated on history, language, literature and music.^[7] To the dismay of the royal family,^[8] in 1950 Crawford published a biography of Elizabeth and Margaret's childhood years entitled The Little Princesses. The book describes Elizabeth's love of horses and dogs, her orderliness and her attitude of responsibility.^[9] Others echoed such observations: Winston Churchill described Elizabeth when she was two as "a character. She has an air of authority and reflectiveness astonishing in an infant."^[10] Her cousin Margaret Rhodes described her as "a jolly little girl, but fundamentally sensible and well-behaved".^[11]

Heiress presumptive

As a granddaughter of the monarch in the male line, Elizabeth's full style at birth was Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth of York. She was third in the line of succession to the throne, behind her uncle, Edward, Prince of Wales, and her father, the Duke of York. Although her birth generated public interest, she was not expected to become queen, as the Prince of Wales was still young and many assumed he would marry and have children of his own.^[12] In 1936, when her grandfather, George V, died and her uncle succeeded as Edward VIII, she became second in line to the throne after her father. Later that year, Edward abdicated after his proposed marriage to divorced socialite Wallis Simpson provoked a constitutional crisis.^[13] Elizabeth's father became king and she became heiress presumptive, with the style Her Royal Highness The Princess Elizabeth.^[14] If her parents had had a later son, she would have lost her position as heiress presumptive as her brother would have been heir apparent and above her in the line of succession.^[15]

Elizabeth received private tuition in constitutional history from Henry Marten, Vice-Provost of Eton College,^[16] and learned French from a succession of native-speaking governesses.^[17] A Girl Guides company, the 1st Buckingham Palace Company, was formed specifically so she could socialise with girls her own age.^[18] Later she was enrolled as a Sea Ranger.^[17]

In 1939, Elizabeth's parents toured Canada and visited the United States. As in 1927, when her parents had toured Australia and New Zealand, Elizabeth remained in Britain, as her father thought her too young to undertake public tours.^[19] Elizabeth "looked tearful" as her parents departed.^[20] They corresponded regularly and,^[20] on 18 May, she and her parents made the first royal transatlantic telephonecall.^[19]