A look back at the life of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Queen Elizabeth II, at the age of 96, died on September 8 after 70 years on the throne

Queen Elizabeth II attends an armed forces act of loyalty parade in the gardens of the Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh, Scotland, on June 28, 2022.Jane Barlow/Pool via AP

Queen Elizabeth II died on Thursday, marking the end of a momentous reign on the British throne.

We take a look back at the life of the world’s most famous monarch, from the beginning of her days as a princess to Britain’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations marking 70 years of her reign.

Queen Elizabeth, her daughter Princess Elizabeth (4th-L, future Queen Elizabeth II), Queen Mary, Princess Margaret, and King George pose on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, in London, England, on May 12, 1937.CENTRAL PRESS / AFP

Born in 1926, Elizabeth had little expectation of succeeding to the throne until her uncle, King Edward VIII, abdicated in 1936 to marry the divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson. After the death of her father, King George VI, 25-year-old Elizabeth was called upon to assume the throne.

Princess Elizabeth of Britain in her private sitting room in Buckingham Palace, London, England, on December 10, 1946.AP Photo

Queen Elizabeth II (L) and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh wave at their wedding, on November 20, 1947, in London, England.AFP

Queen Elizabeth II, carrying the orb and the scepter, enters Buckingham Palace after the Coronation ceremony in London’s Westminster Abbey, England, on June 2, 1953.AP Photo/pool

Held at the Westminster Abbey royal church, Elizabeth’s coronation ceremony was the first to be broadcast live on television. Some 27 million people in the United Kingdom watched the ceremony, and 11 million more listened on the radio.

President Heinrich Lubke of West Germany (2-R) with Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, the first British monarch to visit Germany for 52 years, after her arrival at Villa Hammerschmidt, West Germany, on May 18, 1965.AP Photo

In the midst of a decade marked by social and political changes, Queen Elizabeth II kept to a busy schedule of diplomatic duties, including a 10-day visit to the Federal Republic of Germany (or West Germany), the first official visit there by a British royal since 1913.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, travel in a carriage during celebrations for the Silver Jubilee in London, England, on June 7, 1977.AP Photo

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip rode in the Gold State Coach from Buckingham Palace to St. Paul’s Cathedral to officially celebrate her 25th year on the throne.

Britain’s Prince Charles (C-R) and Lady Diana Spencer, the new Princess of Wales, kiss after their wedding on the Balcony of Buckingham Palace in London, England, on July 29, 1981, alongside Queen Elizabeth II.Pool Photo via AP, File

Queen Elizabeth II’s hat resembles one of a 2000-year-old terracotta warrior she saw while visiting Xian, China, on October 16, 1986.AP Photo/Bregg

After British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher agreed to return sovereignty over Hong Kong to China, Queen Elizabeth II became the first British monarch to visit the Chinese mainland, touring the terracotta warriors in Xi’an, the Great Wall in Beijing, and other sites.

French First Lady Danielle Mitterrand (2-R) welcomes Prince Philip while French President Francois Mitterrand and Queen Elizabeth II arrive for lunch at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, on June 9, 1992.AP Photo/Michel Lipchitz

1992 was a particularly grim year for the British royal family – Prince Charles and Princess Diana separated, as did Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, and later in the year, a large fire broke out in Windsor Castle.

In a speech delivered to mark the 40th anniversary of her succession, Queen Elizabeth II said 1992 “has turned out to be an “Annus Horribilis” (Latin for “a horrible year.”)

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II (R) and Prince Philip view the floral tributes to the late Diana, Princess of Wales, at London’s Buckingham Palace, England, on September 5, 1997.Pool Photo via AP, File

Above all, there was shock. That’s the word people used over and over again when they remember Princess Diana’s death in a fatal Paris car crash in 1997.

After initially refusing to address her grieving nation, Elizabeth greeted crowds of mourners and delivered an address to a nation devastated by the loss of the “People’s Princess.”

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II meets students and staff at Trinity College Dublin, in Ireland, on May 17, 2011.AP Photo/Tony Maxwell, pool

Widely celebrated as the beginning of a new friendship, this was Elizabeth’s first visit to the Republic of Ireland, and the first by a British monarch in 100 years. During the trip, she expressed her “sincere thoughts and deep sympathy” for the victims of the troubled Anglo-Irish past.

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II (L), Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, and Prince Harry watch a flypast of Royal Air Force aircraft over Buckingham Palace in London, England, on June 10, 2018.AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File

Perhaps no other event during Elizabeth’s reign symbolized the modernizing monarchy more than the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle.

Though the queen reportedly gave her quick approval to the match, the relationship between the couple and the royal family grew increasingly tense after their marriage.

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II sits alone in St. George’s Chapel during the funeral of Prince Philip, the man who was by her side for 73 years, at Windsor Castle, Windsor, England, on April 17, 2021.Jonathan Brady/Pool via AP

Prince Philip died on April 9 at the age of 99, after 73 years of marriage to Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II.

The British monarchy’s longest-running love story began just before World War II, when 18-year-old Prince Philip of Greece met his third cousin, Princess Elizabeth, at the Britannia Royal Naval College at Dartmouth.

Photos of the queen during Philip’s funeral sitting alone – due to Covid restrictions – struck many, not just as a symbol of her loneliness and grief, but also as characteristic of her commitment to serving the British public.

Queen Elizabeth II waves to the crowd during the Platinum Jubilee Pageant at Buckingham Palace in London, England, on June 5, 2022.AP Photo/Frank Augstein, Pool

In February of 2022, Britain began a series of celebrations marking Queen Elizabeth II’s 70 years on the throne. Despite her age and having sustained a case of Covid, the Queen attended each event wearing bright-colored attire and a broad grin.

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II in the Drawing Room at Balmoral, in Scotland, on September 6, 2022.Jane Barlow/Pool Photo via AP, File

Queen Elizabeth II waited in the Drawing Room at Scotland’s Balmoral Castle, where Liz Truss was invited to become Prime Minister and form a new government – the last royal gesture that the enduring queen would ever make.

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