The first child of Albert, the Duke of York, and his wife Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, Elizabeth was born on 21 April 1926 in London.
The young princess, whom the family called Lilibet, was described by her cousin Margaret Rhodes as "jolly little girl, but fundamentally sensible and well behaved".
She was educated at home and began to undertake public duties during the Second World War. In the early days of the conflict, she hosted a radio programme "Children’s Hour", during which she addressed kids who were evacuated from Britain. During the Second World War, while conducting royal engagements, Elizabeth and her mother tried to boost the morale of the public.
In 1945, the final year of the war, Elizabeth joined the armed services full-time. She drove vehicles and repaired them while serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. She was given the rank of honorary junior commander, the female equivalent of captain at the time.
In 1946, Elizabeth’s childhood friend Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark asked King George VI for Elizabeth’s hand in marriage. The couple married on 20 November 1947. The ceremony was recorded and broadcast by BBC Radio to 200 million people around the world.
Queen Elizabeth ascended the throne on 6 February 1952, after King George VI died following a battle with lung cancer. The monarch said that even after 70 years, she still remembers that day "as much for the death of her father as for the start of her reign".
Over the course of her reign Queen Elizabeth has faced major political challenges such as the decolonisation of Africa, sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland, dubbed the Troubles, Canadian patriation and Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union.
Queen Elizabeth is widely seen as one of the most inspiring women in the world. In 2011, she introduced a major change to succession laws, giving sons and daughters of any future British monarch equal rights to the throne. Under the old laws, the heir to the throne was the first-born son of a monarch and only when there were no sons, as was the case with Queen Elizabeth’s father King George VI, would the crown be passed to the eldest daughter.
In her written message to the public, Queen Elizabeth II expressed her "sincere" wish that when the time comes, Camilla, the wife of her eldest son Prince Charles, be known as Queen Consort. She has been a sort of pariah since Charles divorced his first wife Princess Diana following reports of his extramarital affair with Camilla. It is for this reason that Camilla hasn’t used the title of Princess of Wales.
As is customary, the celebrations of the Queen’s jubilee will not be held on the actual date, but in summer when there is less chance that weather will spoil the festivities. According to the statement released by Buckingham Palace, four days of celebrations – from 2 to 5 June – will feature various events, including a parade, a live concert, a big jubilee lunch, and a pageant.
This jubilee is the Queen’s first without Prince Philip, her husband of 73 years who died in April 2021. In her message to the public, the Queen mentioned how much support she had received from the Duke of York, who unselfishly made sacrifices during his service.
The monarch renewed her pledge to dedicate her life to the service of Britain and the Commonwealth and thanked people for the goodwill shown to her by "all nationalities, faiths and ages in this country". Her Majesty signed off the message by writing: "Your servant Elizabeth R".