On the 6th February this year, Queen Elizabeth II became the first British Monarch to celebrate Platinum Jubilee – 70 years of service on the throne. To celebrate this, the UK will receive a four day bank holiday weekend from Thursday 2nd to Sunday 5th June. If you’re not a budding royalist, you may not know the intensity of Her Majesty The Queen’s history so I wanted to give you a run-down!
Heir to the throne
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born in 1926 as the third in line of succession to the British throne, below her uncle Edward and her father George VI. In 1936, her grandfather (King George V) died, and very briefly Edward became King after abdicating the same year. Elizabeth’s father then became King George VI and she was next in line (heir presumptive).
The Second World War
Both Elizabeth and her sister Margaret stayed with their mother during WWII. They moved around continuously throughout the years, where by 1945 when she was 19 she was appointed to the Auxiliary Territorial Service and trained as a driver and a mechanic.
Marriage to Philip Mountbatten
The recently passed Duke of Edinburgh, Philip Mountbatten, met Elizabeth on multiple occasions over the course of 1934 – 1939. When she was 21, they announced their engagement in 1947. They were married on the 20th November 1947 (having celebrated their 73 year anniversary before his passing) at Westminster Abbey. They then went on to have four children; Prince Charles (born 1948), Princess Anne (born 1950), Prince Andrew (born 1960) and Prince Edward (born 1964).
Reign
When King George VI passed away in 1952, Elizabeth and Philip were on tour in Kenya where she became immediate accession to the throne. Her coronation took place on the 2nd June 1953 (over a year since her father passed away as tradition) where she was proclaimed queen by her privy and executive councils. Celebrations took place across the Commonwealth realms. As of this year, she will be celebrating 70 years on the throne where similar celebrations to her silver, golden and diamond jubilees took place. Street parties and a four-day bank holiday is the result of such a joyous event!
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