How old is elizabeth 2nd

Elizabeth has emerged as a devoted grandmother to William and Harry. Prince William has said that she offered invaluable support and guidance as he and Kate Middleton planned their wedding. She is also a great-grandmother to Her mother was Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. Elizabeth has ties with most of the monarchs in Europe.

Elizabeth's long and mainly peaceful reign has been marked by vast changes in her people's lives, in her country's power, how Britain is viewed abroad and how the monarchy is regarded and portrayed. As a constitutional monarch, Elizabeth does not weigh in on political matters, nor does she reveal her political views.

However, she confers regularly with her prime ministers. When Elizabeth became queen, post-war Britain still had a substantial empire, dominions and dependencies. However, during the s and s, many of these possessions achieved independence and the British Empire evolved into the Commonwealth of Nations. Elizabeth II has thus made visits to other countries as head of the Commonwealth and a representative of Britain, including a groundbreaking trip to Germany in She became the first British monarch to make a state visit there in more than five decades.

During the s and s, Elizabeth continued to travel extensively. More than a week later she was in Montreal, Canada, to open the Summer Olympics. Britain went to war with Argentina over the Falkland Islands, a clash that lasted for several weeks.

While more than British soldiers died in the conflict, Prince Andrew returned home safe and well, much to his mother's relief. In , Elizabeth showed that the crown still had symbolic and diplomatic power when she became the first British monarch to visit the Republic of Ireland since when all of Ireland was still part of the United Kingdom.

As queen, Elizabeth has modernized the monarchy, dropping some of its formalities and making certain sites and treasures more accessible to the public. As Britain and other nations struggled financially, Britain abolished the Civil List in , which was a public funding system of the monarchy dating back roughly years. The royal family continues to receive some government support, but the queen has had to cut back on spending.

Despite the occasional call to step aside for Charles, Elizabeth remained steadfast in her royal obligations as she passed her 90th birthday. She continued making more than engagements per year, maintaining her support of hundreds of charitable organizations and programs. However, in late the monarchy took what was considered a major step toward transitioning to the next generation: On November 12, Charles handled the traditional Remembrance Sunday duty of placing a wreath at the Cenotaph war memorial, as the queen watched from a nearby balcony.

In August , Elizabeth made a rare intrusion into political matters when she agreed to a request by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to prorogue suspend Parliament until October 14, less than three weeks before Britain's planned departure from the European Union.

Elizabeth has had 14 prime ministers placed into power during her reign, with queen and PM having a weekly, confidential meeting.

Elizabeth has also met about a quarter of all the U. She enjoyed a father-figure relationship with the iconic Winston Churchill and was later able to loosen up a bit and be somewhat informal with Labour leaders Harold Wilson and James Callaghan. In contrast, she and Margaret Thatcher had a very formal, distant relationship, with the PM tending to be a grating lecturer to the queen on a variety of issues.

Tony Blair saw certain concepts around the monarchy as somewhat outdated, though he did appreciate Elizabeth making a public statement after the death of Diana. Later, Conservative leader David Cameron, who is Elizabeth's fifth cousin removed, enjoyed a warm rapport with the queen. He apologized in for revealing in a conversation that she was against the Scottish referendum to seek independence from Great Britain. Theresa May was described as being tight-lipped about Brexit plans to leave the European Union, with a rumor circulating that Elizabeth was perturbed over not being informed about future exit strategies.

He decided his birthday festivities would be combined with a military parade known as Trooping the Colour , which was held in spring.

She also makes a public appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. In April , the Queen said her final goodbye to her husband, Prince Philip , just days before her 95th birthday.

The Queen is 95, making her the oldest monarch to have reigned in Britain with second place going to Queen Victoria who lived to the age of Apart from when it is a milestone celebration, the Queen traditionally spends her actual birthday privately.

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Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 94th birthday on April 21, This year's celebrations will be slightly different as the monarch and her husband Prince Philip are on lockdown at Windsor Castle instead of taking part in Her Majesty's usual birthday traditions.

In celebration of her birthday, we've found a photo from every single year of her remarkable life. This is an updated version of a story by Charles Clark. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. She was named Elizabeth after her mother, Mary after her grandmother Queen Mary, and Alexandra after her great-grandmother Queen Alexandra.

This became apparent only once her father's elder brother Edward abdicated, putting her father on the throne and making her first in line. She also learned French after spending time with French and Belgian governesses and regularly speaks the language when delivering speeches abroad. Here's a photo of the baby Margaret, Elizabeth, and their parents at a garden party the following year. Start your Independent Premium subscription today.

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