Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Queen Elizabeth II

Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, 1926 –2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death in 2022.

She had been queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during her lifetime, and was the monarch of 15 realms at her death. Her reign of 70 years and 214 days is the longest of any British monarch, the second-longest of any sovereign state, and the longest of any queen regnant in history.

Born in Mayfair, London during the reign of her paternal grandfather, King George V, Elizabeth was the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother).Her father acceded to the throne in 1936 upon the abdication of his brother Edward VIII, making the ten-year-old Princess Elizabeth the heir presumptive.In November 1947, she married Philip Mountbatten, a former prince of Greece and Denmark. Their marriage lasted 73 years until his death in 2021.They had four children: Charles, Anne, Andrew, and Edward.From Elizabeth’s birth onwards, the British Empire continued its transformation into the Commonwealth of Nations. By the time of her accession in 1952, her role as head of multiple independent states was already established.Elizabeth was known to favor simplicity in court life and was also known to take a serious and informed interest in government business, aside from the traditional and ceremonial duties.Privately, she became a keen horsewoman; she kept racehorses, frequently attended races, and periodically visited the Kentucky stud farms in the United States.

More about Queen Elizabeth II can be found at https://www.royal.uk/queen-elizabeth.