Queen Elizabeth II dies at 96: A look back
Queen Elizabeth II, who wasn’t expected to ascend to the throne when she was born but went on to become the longest-lived and longest-reigning monarch in British history, has died. She was 96.
Her death ended a remarkable 70-year rule — so long that most of Britain’s 68 million people have known no other sovereign.
As Britons celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, questions swirl about the next steps for the world’s most famous monarchy.
Britain’s longest-reigning monarch is spending her latest birthday at her private Sandringham estate in eastern England.
Britain will celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s 70 years on the throne with a military parade, neighborhood parties and a contest to create a new dessert.
Queen Elizabeth II is marking her 95th birthday in low-key fashion at Windsor Castle, just days after the funeral of her husband, Prince Philip.
The Duke of Edinburgh, Queen Elizabeth II’s husband, was the undisputed master of the British royal household for more than seven decades.
Queen Elizabeth II wove personal reflections into the latest edition of her annual Christmas message, saying she hoped her long life brought a measure of wisdom and noting her grandchildren’s contributions to Britain’s royal family.
Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, celebrated her 90th birthday on Thursday with a day full of pomp, ceremony and pageantry.
Queen Elizabeth II became the longest-reigning monarch in British history on Wednesday, spending 63 years and 216 days on the throne and surpassing the record set by her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria.
Queen Elizabeth II visited the West Coast for the first time in February and March of 1983. Her trip started in San Diego and moved north: Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Sacramento and Yosemite. She then went on to Seattle and Victoria, British Columbia.
It was the reign that launched a thousand ships, a vast flotilla that sailed down the Thames on Sunday to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s 60 years on the throne.
British money will look a bit different in the coming months: Coins will bear an updated, age-appropriate portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.
Queen Elizabeth II’s first tweet garnered a sizable response, receiving over 40,000 retweets and more than 40,000 favorites.
For Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, royalty and celebrity don’t overlap, a distinction observers credited with helping to preserve the monarchy’s appeal.
In a statement on the royal website, the queen pledged continued service to her people and extended gratitude for the ‘wonderful support and encouragement that you have given me and [husband] Prince Philip over these years.’
Instead of secluding herself as usual, the monarch opened a cancer ward on the anniversary of the day her father died.
Until February 1992, only two British monarchs since Queen Elizabeth I had lived to see a 40th anniversary — George III and Queen Victoria.
