Elizabeth II

Elizabeth II was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022, queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during her lifetime and monarch of 15 realms at her death; her reign of 70 years and 214 days is the longest of any British monarch. She was born in Mayfair, London, the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York, later George VI and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and became heir presumptive at age ten when her father acceded to the throne after the abdication of his brother Edward VIII; in 1947 she married Philip Mountbatten, and they had four children. She became queen in February 1952 at age 25, reigning as a constitutional monarch through the Troubles in Northern Ireland, devolution in the United Kingdom, the decolonisation of Africa, and Britain's accession to and later withdrawal from the European Communities, advised across her reign by more than 170 prime ministers. Significant events included her 1953 coronation and her Silver, Golden, Diamond and Platinum jubilees, and despite occasional republican sentiment and media criticism following her children's divorces and the 1997 death of Diana, support for the monarchy remained consistently high. She died aged 96 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland and was succeeded by her eldest son, Charles III.