Remembering Queen Elizabeth II

On Thursday, September 8th, Buckingham Palace confirmed the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

Despite her declining health, the Queen kept up appearances and fulfilled her royal duties until the very end. On June 13th, she celebrated a record-breaking 70 years on the throne, becoming the second-longest reigning monarch in history. Her appearances for the Platinum Jubilee were mostly confined to the balcony and she missed the National Service of Thanksgiving due to discomfort. To open the Jubilee concert, she took part in a sketch with Paddington Bear. In early September, just days before her passing, the Queen appointed her 15th British prime minister, Lizz Truss, at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, which marked the first time she did not receive a new prime minister at Buckingham Palace during her historic reign.

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born on April 21st, 1926, and became queen at just 25 years old when her father died in February 1952. Before that, she and Prince Philip became the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh when they married in November of 1947. Prince Philip passed on April 9th, 2021, just weeks before his 100th birthday.

Queen Elizabeth's coronation was the very first to be televised and was watched by a whopping 27 million people in the UK alone, setting the precedent for the seven historic decades to follow.

The Queen is survived by her four children: Charles, Prince of Wales (who will now take the throne); Anne, Princess Royal; Prince Andrew, Duke of York; and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex; as well as eight grandchildren including Prince William and Prince Harry. The two brothers have given her five great-grandchildren with their respective wives Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle.

To celebrate her nearly 100 years of life and 70 years on the throne, here's a look at Queen Elizabeth II's extraordinary life from the 1930s to the 2020s.