Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor (1926 - 2022)

Born 21 Apr 1926 in Mayfair, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Wife of Philip (Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg) Mountbatten — married 20 Nov 1947 (to 9 Apr 2021) in Westminster Abbey, London, England

Descendants

Died 8 Sep 2022 at age 96 in Balmoral Castle, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, United Kingdom

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Queen Elizabeth II was the constitutional monarch of the 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms, as well as their territories and dependencies. ^[1]

Biography

Elizabeth II Windsor is a member of the House of Windsor.

Princess Lilibet

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born on 21 April 1926 at 17 Bruton Street, Mayfair, London W1, the London home of her maternal grandparents the Earl and Countess of Strathmore. ^{[2] [3]} She was the daughter of Prince Albert, Duke of York (later King George VI) Windsor, King of the United Kingdom and Lady Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon. ^[1] (As a child, she was called 'Lilibet' because she could not pronounce 'Elizabeth'.)

On July 17, 1917, Queen Elizabeth's grandfather, King George V, announced "Now, therefore, We, out of Our Royal Will and Authority, do hereby declare and announce that as from the date of this Our Royal Proclamation Our House and Family shall be styled and known as the House and Family of Windsor, and that all the descendants in the male line of Our said Grandmother Queen Victoria who are subjects of these Realms, other than female descendants who may marry or may have married, shall bear the said Name of Windsor:
And do hereby further declare and announce that We for Ourselves and for and on behalf of Our descendants and all other the descendants of Our said Grandmother Queen Victoria who are subjects of these Realms, relinquish and enjoin the discontinuance of the use of the Degrees, Styles, Dignities, Titles and Honours of Dukes and Duchesses of Saxony and Princes and Princesses of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and all other German Degrees, Styles, Dignities. Titles, Honours and Appellations to Us or to them heretofore belonging or appertaining." In 1952, Queen Elizabeth II said "that I and my children shall be styled and known as the house and family of Windsor, and that my descendants who marry and their descendants, shall bear the name of Windsor." This confirmed the Royal Family name of Windsor. ^[4]

After her father succeeded to the throne in 1936 and Princess Elizabeth became heir presumptive (first in line to the throne), she started to study constitutional history and law as preparation for her future role. She received tuition from her father, as well as sessions with Henry Marten, the Vice-Provost of Eton. She was also instructed in religion by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Princess Elizabeth learned French from a number of French and Belgian governesses. It is a skill which has stood The Queen in good stead, as she often has cause to use it when speaking to ambassadors and heads of state from French-speaking countries, and when visiting French-speaking areas of Canada.

Princess Elizabeth also studied art and music, learned to ride, and became a strong swimmer. She won the Children's Challenge Shield at London's Bath Club when she was thirteen. ^[5]

Princess Elizabeth, 1945

During World War II, she joined the ATF (Auxiliary Territorial Service) and trained as a driver and a mechanic.

She held the rank of junior commander (female equivalent of captain).

After the War, she was able to return to her studies, and she graduated from London University, London, England, in 1946 with a Honorary Bachelor of Music (B.Mus.)

Philip and Elizabeth

She married Philip Mountbatten, 1st Duke of Edinburgh, son of Andrew zu Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, Prince of Greece and Denmark and Victoria Alice Elisabeth Julie Marie Mountbatten, Princess of Battenberg, on 20 November 1947 at Westminster Abbey, Westminster, London, England. Her name at marriage remained Windsor. ^[6] After her marriage, she and Philip lived both in Clarence House and in Malta, where Philip was stationed.

Princess Elizabeth was invested as a Fellow, Royal Society (F.R.S.) in 1947 and awarded several honorary degrees, including:

Doctor of Civil Law (D.C.L.) by Oxford University, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, in 1948.

Doctor of Music (Mus.D.) by University of Wales, Wales, in 1949.

Doctor of Law (L.L.D.) by London University, London, England, in 1951.

Doctor of Law (L.L.D) by University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland, in 1951.

Princess Elizabeth heard of the death of her father while she and Philip were at Sagana Lodge, their home in Kenya (given to her by Kenyan officials as a wedding present), and so she succeeded to the title of monarch of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952.

Queen Elizabeth II

She was crowned Queen of the United Kingdom on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey, Westminster, London, England, and styled 'By the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and of her other Realms and Territories, Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.'

In 1960, she and Prince Philip stated that their heirs would bear the name 'Mountbatten-Windsor'. ^[7]

Her Majesty had four children, eight grandchildren, and twelve great-grandchildren born during her lifetime, the last being her great-granddaughter Sienna Elizabeth, daughter of Princess Beatrice.

Elizabeth was the first British monarch to reach a Platinum Jubilee (70 years as Queen), the longest-lived and longest-reigning British monarch. She was the longest-serving female head of state in world history, and at the time of her death was the world's oldest living monarch, longest-reigning monarch, and oldest and longest-serving head of state. ^[1]

The Queen saw public and voluntary service as one of the most important elements of her work. The Queen had links - as Royal Patron or President - with over 600 charities, military associations, professional bodies and public service organisations. Those varied from well-established international charities to smaller bodies working in specialist areas or on a local basis only. ^[5]

The Queen's last constitutional duty was to meet Elizabeth (Liz) Truss MP, the new leader of the Conservative Party at Balmoral Castle on 6 September 2022 and appoint her as Prime Minister in succession to Boris Johnson.

The Queen died at Balmoral Castle in the afternoon of 8 September 2022. At her death, the crown passed immediately to her eldest son Charles, who succeeded his mother as Charles III. She was buried in the Royal Vault of St George's Chapel, Windsor, on Monday 19 September 2022, after a service in Westminster Abbey.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Wikipedia: Elizabeth II
2. ↑ Royal Collections Trust catalogue listing accessed 25 March 2023
3. ↑ England & Wales birth registration: St George Hanover Square [district], Volume 1a, Page 583, mother's maiden surname Bowes-Lyon
4. ↑ The London Gazette
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Royal Biography: Her Majesty The Queen
6. ↑ YourDictionary: Queen Elizabeth II
7. ↑ Royal Name Change on royal.uk

See Also:

• Wikipedia contributors, Elizabeth II, Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Elizabeth_II&oldid=999013738 (accessed January 9, 2021).
• Wikipedia contributors, Commonwealth of Nations, Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Commonwealth_of_Nations&oldid=999169553 (accessed January 9, 2021).
• The Commonwealth.org