Queen Elizabeth II
(1926-2022), Reigned 1952-2022Sitter associated with 972 portraits
Queen Elizabeth II was the longest-serving British monarch in history. Her devotion to the duty and public service was renowned and she ruled through a period of enormous social change and technological transformation. Her coronation in 1953 was the first to be televised and was broadcast internationally and she is the most portrayed person in the world.
Born in London, Princess Elizabeth became heir to the throne in 1936 on the accession of her father George VI. She married Philip Mountbatten in 1947 and their first children, the then Prince Charles and Princess Anne, were born in 1948 and 1950. Elizabeth became Queen in 1952, whilst on an official trip to Kenya, after the death of her father. Her coronation in 1953 was the first to be televised and was broadcast internationally. Her sons, Princes Andrew and Edward, were born in 1960 and 1964. As Queen of the United Kingdom and Head of the Commonwealth, her Silver, Golden, Diamond and Platinum Jubilees were celebrated in 1977, 2002, 2012 and 2022.
Keith Michell; Michael Benthall; Queen Elizabeth II
by Unknown photographer
bromide print, 18 March 1958
NPG x726
Queen Elizabeth II; Heneage Legge-Bourke
copied by Bassano Ltd
half-plate film negative, 17 July 1964
NPG x176086
King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth II; Princess Margaret
copied by Bassano Ltd
half-plate film negative, 24 May 1967
NPG x176887
Queen Elizabeth II; Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
by Patrick Lichfield
digital colour print, 26 November 2001
NPG x125850
Related People
- Prince Andrew, Duke of York (son)
- Princess Anne (daughter)
- Sir David Bowes-Lyon (uncle)
- Hon. Michael Claude Hamilton Bowes-Lyon (uncle)
- King Charles III (son)
- Lady Sarah Frances Elizabeth Chatto (née Armstrong-Jones) (niece)
- Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (husband)
- Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor (King Edward VIII) (uncle)
- Prince Edward Antony Richard Louis, Earl of Wessex (son)
- Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother (mother)
- Lady Mary Frances Elphinstone (née Bowes-Lyon) (aunt)
- King George V (grandfather)
- King George VI (father)
- Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester (uncle)
- Prince Henry, Duke of Sussex (grandson)
- Princess Margaret (sister)
- Queen Mary (grandmother)
- Princess Mary, Countess of Harewood (aunt)
- David Albert Charles Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon (nephew)
- (Cecilia) Nina Bowes-Lyon (née Cavendish-Bentinck), Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne (grandmother)
- Claude George Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne (grandfather)
- Patrick Bowes-Lyon, 15th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne (uncle)
- William, Prince of Wales (grandson)
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