Queen Elizabeth II Biography

Early Life

Queen Elizabeth II was born Maria Alejandra Princess Elizabeth on April 21, 1926 in London, England. At the time of his birth, most did not realize Elizabeth someday become queen of Britain. His father, Prince Albert, was the second son of King George V and Queen Mary. Elizabeth came to enjoy the first decade of his life with all the privileges of being real and without the pressure of being the heir apparent.

His father and mother, also known as the Duke and Duchess of York, divide their time between a home in London and the Royal Lodge, the family house on the grounds of Windsor Great Park. Elizabeth, nicknamed Lilied, and her younger sister Margaret were educated at home by tutors. Academic courses include French, math and history, with dance lessons, singing and art made well.

Father Becomes King

In 1936, the lifetime of Isabel changed with the death of his grandfather, George V, with whom he was said to be close. His uncle became King Edward VIII, but she was in love with Wallis Simpson and she had to choose between the crown and the heart. In the end, he chose Edward Simpson and Elizabeth's father became King George VI.

Service in World War II

With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Elizabeth and her sister Princess Margaret were largely outside London, after being moved to Windsor Castle. From there he became the first of his famous radio programs with this particular speech; reassure the children of Britain who had been evacuated from their homes and families. The 14-year-old princess, showing her calm and steady personality, told them "that, in the end, everything will be fine, because God will take care of us and give us victory and peace."

Elizabeth soon began to take on other public functions. Colonel in Chief of the Grenadier Guards named by his father, Elizabeth made her first public appearance reviewed the troops in 1942. It also began accompanying his parents on the official visits within Britain.

 Elizabeth joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service to assist in the war effort in 1945. Side by side was formed with other British women to be an expert driver and mechanic. While their volunteer work lasted only a few months, Elizabeth offered a vision of a different world, not real. She had another lived experience outside of the monarchy when she and Margaret were allowed to mingle anonymously among citizens of Victory in Europe Day.

Marriage and Accession

Elizabeth knows Philip Mountbatten (a surname adopted by his mother), son of Prince Andrew of Greece, when he was only 13, and was wounded with him from the beginning. Distant cousins, the two kept in touch over the years and eventually fell in love. They made an extraordinary pair. Elizabeth was cool and reserved, while Felipe was noisy and open. His father, King George VI, had doubts about the party because, while Mountbatten had ties to both the Danish and Greek royal families, who did not possess great wealth and was a bit rough in his personality.

At the time of her marriage in the fall of 1947, Britain was still recovering from the ravages of World War II. Elizabeth actually collected clothing coupons for fabric for her dress. The ceremony took place at Westminster Abbey in London on November 20, the couple wasted no time in producing an heir. Her Son Charles was born the following year and his daughter Anne came in 1950.

On February 6, 1952, King George VI died and Elizabeth assumes the responsibilities of the reigning monarch. (She and Prince Philip had been in Kenya at the time of the death of his father.) His official coronation took place on June 2, 1953 in Westminster Abbey. The ceremony was broadcast on television for the first time, allowing people around the world to witness the pomp and show of the event.

World Traveler

Long and especially peaceful reign of Queen Elizabeth has been marked by great changes in the lives of his people, in the power of your country, how Britain is seen abroad and how they considered the monarchy and portrayed. As a constitutional monarch, Elizabeth does not weigh on political issues, nor are their political views revealed. However, she regularly confers with prime ministers, after having working relationships with 12 MPs during his reign, including Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair and David Cameron.

When Elizabeth became queen, postwar Britain still had a real empire, domains and dependencies. However, during the 1950s and 1960s, many of these possessions gained independence and the British Empire became the Commonwealth. therefore Elizabeth II has visited other countries as head of the Commonwealth and a representative of Great Britain, including an unprecedented trip to Germany in 1965. He became the first British monarch to go there in over five decades.

During the 1970s and 1980s, she continued to travel extensively. In 1973 he attended the Commonwealth Conference in Ottawa, Canada, and in 1976 traveled to the United States to celebrate the 200th anniversary of American independence from Britain. I was more than a week later in Montreal, Canada, to open the Summer Olympics. In 1979, he traveled to Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE and Oman, which attracted international attention and widespread respect.

A Royal Family

Elizabeth had two more children-sons Andrew and Edward they born in 1960 and 1964 respectively. She worked tirelessly to protect the image of the monarchy and prepare for their future. In 1969, Prince Charles officially became his successor, giving him the title of Prince of Wales. Hundreds of millions of people tuned in to watch the ceremony on television.

In 1981 Charles married 19-year-old Diana Spencer; with rumors that emerge later he was pressured into the marriage of his family. The wedding attracted huge crowds in the streets of London and millions attended the proceedings on television. Public opinion of the monarchy was particularly strong at that time.

The following year, Elizabeth worried about her second son Prince Andrew, who served as a helicopter pilot in the Royal Navy during the Falklands War in 1982. Britain went to war with Argentina over the Falkland Islands, a confrontation that it lasted several weeks. While more than 250 British soldiers died in the conflict, Prince Andrew returned home safely to the relief of his mother.

Threats and Scandals

Elizabeth, as queen, the monarchy has been attacked during his lifetime. The once revered institution has passed a series of storms and death threats against the royal family. Elizabeth suffered a great personal loss when Lord Mountbatten, uncle of her husband, killed in a terrorist attack in 1979. Mountbatten and several members of his family were aboard their boat on 29 August, off the west coast of Ireland, when the ship exploded. He and three others, including one of his grandchildren were killed. The IRA (Irish Republican Army), who opposed British rule in Northern Ireland, claimed responsibility for the attack.

In June 1981, the same Isabel had a dangerous encounter. In her official birthday a special military parade to celebrate carrying the flag salute,  then a man in the crowd pointed a weapon. He fired, but fortunately, the gun was loaded with blanks. In addition to receiving a shock, the queen was not hurt. She had a further call the following year when an intruder broke into Buckingham Palace and confronted Elizabeth in her bedroom. When reporters learned from the fact that Prince Philip was nowhere in sight during this incident, they speculated on the state of the royal marriage.

The love life of her children has caused Elizabeth pain as well. The rocky marriage of the couple (Prince Charles and Princess Diana) made headlines for years before the couple announced plans to divorce in 1992. And the husband of Queen himself has inspired numerous headaches public relations with its outside sleeve, nervous comments and rumors of infidelities.

In 1997, Isabel was under intense media scrutiny itself as a result of the death of Princess Diana. His incredibly popular ex-daughter-in-law, sometimes dubbed the people's princess, died from injuries in a car crash in Paris on August 31 The Queen was on his estate at Balmorals in Scotland with Prince Charles and Diana's two sons, prince William and prince Harry and Prince Charles at the time. For days, Elizabeth remained silent as the country mourned the death of Diana, and she was heavily criticized for his lack of response. The Queen did not want to give Diana a royal funeral - stories circulated that, which only fueled public sentiment against the monarch. Almost a week after the death of Diana, Elizabeth returned to London and issued a statement in late princess.

Loss and Change

After the start of the 21st century, Queen Elizabeth was experiencing two major losses. Both he said goodbye to his sister Margaret and her mother in 2002, the same year that celebrates its golden jubilee, or 50th year on the throne. Margaret, known to be more of an adventurous soul than other royals and was prohibited from marrying an early love, who died after suffering a stroke in February. A few weeks later, Elizabeth's mother, known as the Queen Mother, died in the Royal Lodge on March 30 at the age of 101.

Known for being a stickler for ceremony and tradition, Elizabeth has shown signs of softening its position. She had opposed the relationship between Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles, with the pair being involved while the prince was married. When the two married in 2005, Elizabeth and Prince Philip had a reception in his honor at Windsor Castle.

Elizabeth has also emerged as a grandmother dedicated to William and Harry. Prince William has said that she provides support and invaluable guidance as he and Kate Middleton plan your wedding in 2011. That same year, she showed that the crown still had diplomatic and  symbolic  power  when she became the first British monarch to visit the Republic of Ireland.

Elizabeth has also modernized the monarchy. He had dropped some of its procedures and made certain places and more accessible to the public treasures. While Britain and other nations have had financial problems, has welcomed the removal of the civil list, which was a system of public funding of the monarchy dates back some 250 years. The royal family still receives some government support, but the queen has had to cut spending.

Diamond Jubilee

Despite the occasional call aside to Prince Charles, Elizabeth has remained firmly on the throne. Some of its functions have been passed on to his eldest son, but still maintains a busy schedule. Elizabeth handles about 430 engagements each year and supports hundreds of charitable organizations and programs.

Elizabeth celebrates her Diamond Jubilee in 2012, when she is 60 years as Queen. As part of the jubilee festivities, a special BBC concert took place on June 4 with the likes of Shirley Bassey, Paul McCartney, Tom Jones, Stevie Wonder and Kylie Minogue. Elizabeth and her husband Philip was surrounded by family at this historic event, including son of Charles and grandchildren Harry and William. Then on Sept. 9, 2015, which surpassed his great grandmother Queen Victoria as the longest reigning monarch of Great Britain, who reigned for 63 years.

In 2013, Elizabeth held another happy event. His grandson William and his wife Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, welcomed their first child, George Alexander Louis officially known as "His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge" -on July 22, 2013. Elizabeth visited her new great-grandson William and Kate returned home to Kensington palace hospital.

On May 2, 2015, William and Kate welcomed their second child, Princess Charlotte, who is also the fifth great-grandson of Queen.

Personal Life

Not one of the reflectors, Elizabeth likes quiet pastimes. He enjoys reading mysteries, working on crossword puzzles and even watches wrestling on television.

For much of her life, the queen has been surrounded by dogs. She is known for her love of corgis. Also a horse enthusiast, Elizabeth breeds thoroughbreds and attends various racing events each year.