Queen Elizabeth was born on April 21, 1926. in Mayfair, London, as the child of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Her father acceded to the throne in 1936 upon the abdication of his brother, King Edward VIII, making Elizabeth the heir presumptive. She began to undertake public duties during the Second World War. In November of 1947, she married Philip Mountbatten, a former prince of Greece and Denmark, their marriage lasted 73 years until his death in April 2021. They had four children together: Charles, Prince of Wales, Anne, Princess Royal, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.
When she was 25 she became queen regnant of the United Kingdom as well as head of the Commonwealth. Elizabeth reigned as a constitutional monarch through major political changes such as the troubles in Northern Ireland, devolution of the UK, the decolonization of Africa, and the United Kingdom's accession to the European Communities and withdrawal from the European Union. The number of her realms has varied over time as territories have gained independence and some realms have become republics.
Prince Philip died on 9 April 2021, She was at her husband's bedside when he died, and remarked in private that his death had "left a huge void".
Due to the COVID-19 restrictions in place in England at the time, the Queen sat alone at Philip's funeral. On September 8, 2022, Buckingham Palace announced the Queen was under medical supervision at Balmoral Castle. She peacefully passed away at 6:30 pm. She graciously ruled over the United Kingdom and of 14 other sovereign countries for 70 years and 214 days. This is her inspirational story in her own words.
