Queen Elizabeth II: biography, photo

The modern Queen of England Elizabeth 2, whose biography is a description of the life of a man who has witnessed a variety of eras, has been on the throne since 1952. Her reign is the longest in British history.

Family and childhood

April 21, 1926 was born the future Queen of England Elizabeth 2. Biography of a member of the ruling dynasty is difficult to imagine without her family tree. The girl was the daughter of Prince Albert, who wore the title of Duke, and his wife Elizabeth Bose-Lyon. The father of the child was the son of King George V.

When in 1936 the monarch died, the throne inherited his oldest son Edward VIII (Uncle Elizabeth). However, he ruled for months. According to the laws of the state, he had to marry a person who was equal to him by belonging to an aristocratic family. However, the king chose to bind himself by marriage with a divorced woman from a non-royal circle - Bessie Simpson. It was the fact that she had already been married twice, angered by the government, which suggested Edward abdicate. He really refused power, and the throne suddenly passed to his younger brother, who took the crown name of George VI.

This castling made the ten-year-old Elizabeth the heiress of the world's largest British empire. If George had a boy, the title would have passed to him, but this did not happen. The future Queen Elizabeth 2 in her childhood was in the center of attention of the public as a representative of the new generation of the ruling Windsor dynasty.

Heir to the throne

The early biography of the Queen of England Elizabeth 2 was consistent with her status as Princess of York. Together with her parents she lived in Kensington. One of her main hobbies since childhood was horseback riding. The queen was faithful to this hobby throughout her youth. Simultaneously, the girl was taught a complete set of sciences. Widespread knowledge was an indispensable attribute for the members of the Windsor dynasty, as they represented the best that the monarchy could give to the state. A special emphasis in the education of Elizabeth was made on the humanities: religious studies, jurisprudence and art history. The child showed an unusual interest in the French language, which was encouraged by teachers.

Biography of Elizabeth 2 made a sharp turn when she became the heir of her father-king. Together with her parents, she moved to Buckingham Palace. Three years later, the Second World War began, and a carefree life ended with the first volleys of German guns on the continent.

Britain supported Poland and, together with its main ally, France declared war on the Third Reich. Despite the fact that the main political decisions were made by the government and parliament, the royal family became an important symbol of the unity of the nation against the growing Nazi threat. Elizabeth 2 in childhood collided with completely non-children's dangers and impressions, which had to be experienced by all her peers.

During the Second World War

Despite the fact that Hitler never decided to send ground forces to the British Isles, his aircraft conducted regular bombing of English cities. Especially persistent and frequent raids were in the first years of the war, when the Wehrmacht triumphantly occupied almost all of Europe. Father Elizabeth regularly visited the troops. Already in 1940, the heiress spoke for the first time to compatriots with a public speech addressed to the country's children.

In this atmosphere, the future Queen of England, Elizabeth II, grew up. Her biography became an illustrative cast of the era. In 1943, she first visited the troops, after visiting the Grenadier regiment. A few months before the capitulation of Germany, Elizabeth joined the army and became a mechanic-driver of an auxiliary ambulance in the women's self-defense squad. The princess got the rank of lieutenant, and since today she is an active monarch, her military rank remains in force. This means that Elizabeth is the last participant of the Second World War, not a military pension, all over the world.

Wedding with Philip

With the onset of the world, the future Queen of England, Elizabeth II, also returned to her standard duties. Her biography in 1947 was marked by a wedding with Philip Mountbetten.

In the first half of the XX century, all the ruling European dynasties were closely intertwined. Philip was the grandson of the Greek King George I, and also a member of the Danish royal family and a descendant of the British Queen Victoria. Newlyweds met as a child in the 30s. After his marriage, Philip received the honorary title of the Duke of Edinburgh. Despite the fact that he was born in the distant 1921, he is still in good health and regularly performs his dynastic duties. It is interesting that the queen's husband did not accept the customary title of Prince Consort for his position, but remained the Duke of Edinburgh.

Philip and Elizabeth had four offspring: Charles, Anna, Andrew, and Edward. All of them today have children and grandchildren, who, in turn, constitute the vast royal family of Great Britain. Charles as the eldest son became the heir of the mother in 1952, when she took the royal throne, and remains to this day.

Coronation

Queen Elizabeth II ascended the throne under unusual circumstances. In 1952, together with her husband, she went to Kenya, at that time a colony of Great Britain, to rest. It was in this exotic country that the heiress of the throne received the sad news of the death of his father, George V, who ruled the country for sixteen years.

It took several months to organize a coronation that would become a symbol of the beginning of the reign of the new monarch. The solemn ceremony was held in the traditional place for her - Westminster Abbey. The new queen became Elizabeth 2. When the young 25-year-old ruler ascended the throne, the views of the whole world were turned in her direction in the literal sense of the word, because at that time the cameras transmitting the event were used for the first time at such an event.

The first years of government

British Queen Elizabeth 2 in her youth traveled a lot. This habit did not leave her from the first days of her reign. With the accession to the throne, the ruler visited the countries that were part of the Commonwealth of the British colonies. In the 1950s and 1960s, the process of granting independence to these states, which were in all parts of the world, began. Most of them were in Africa. In addition, for the first time in history, the British monarch visited Australia and New Zealand. This person was Queen Elizabeth 2. The fascinating biography of the ruler was superimposed on her unique status, which attracted the attention of the whole world to her person.

The queen also did not forget about internal affairs in her homeland. She met regularly with representatives of parliament and discussed the agenda. In 1957, the first political crisis broke out in the ruling party in the era of its being on the throne. Then they were conservatives. Prime Minister Anthony Eden resigned. Since the party did not have well-established mechanisms to elect its leader, the queen had to take responsibility into his own hands.

In her first steps in power, Elizabeth often consulted the legendary Winston Churchill. After consulting with the venerable politician, it was decided to propose Harold Macmillan, who was accepted. He became the 65th prime minister of Great Britain from 1957 to 1964.

Relations with the Commonwealth of Nations

Even in his youth, it became clear that the future fate of Queen Elizabeth 2 would be related only to serving the native country. She became ruler at a time when in other countries the power of monarchs was either swept away by revolutions or became merely a decorative appendage.

In Britain the situation was different. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were several empires, somewhat similar to its state structure. For example, Germany, Russia and Austria-Hungary. In all these countries, the monarchical institutions of power were dismantled after the bloody wars. Britain avoided this.

Nevertheless, after the Second World War it was clear that the imperial consciousness would have to be abandoned. Even under Elizabeth's father George VI, India gained independence - the pearl of the British crown. Now the young ruler had to consistently abandon the remaining remnants of the past imperial era.

The most important tool for the realization of this goal was the Commonwealth of Nations. British diplomacy has done everything to establish friendly relations with its former colonies, while giving them a platform for conversation on an equal footing. Especially many problems were in the African region, where after the departure of the British authorities, revolutions and civil wars began.

Traditionally, Elizabeth devoted much time to the relationship of her country with Canada. Until 1982, the British government had some weight in making decisions within this country. After reforms, such a system remained in the past, which was another step towards abandoning the old British policy of interfering in the affairs of its former colonies. Nevertheless, Elizabeth remains today the nominal queen of Canada. In 1976, she as the monarch opened the Olympic Games, held in Montreal. After many years, she will attend the same ceremony in London. The opening of the Olympics took place in 2012.

As for the current state of the Commonwealth of Nations, Elizabeth remains today the head of this system, although all organizational issues can be resolved without her participation, while the queen is a symbolic figure.

The tragedies of the royal family

Over the years, the personal life of the royal family, headed by Elizabeth, has become increasingly obnoxious and shocking news. In 1979, terrorists from the Irish Republican Army killed the uncle of Prince Philippe Luis Mountbetten. He was not only a close relative of the queen, but also an important statesman even under George VI, in particular, was the last vice-king of India.

Mountbatten was on his yacht, when it exploded radio-controlled bomb, laid by terrorists. Together with him, several of his relatives were killed and the Irish boy who worked on the ship. On the same day, the radicals' violence was supplemented by their organized attack on British soldiers, which killed 18 people.

A couple of years after this terrible tragedy, the heir to the throne, Elizabeth's son Charles married Diana Spencer. The Princess of Wales enjoyed great popularity among the people due to her charitable and secular activities.

The couple had two children - William and Harry. The eldest son is the next contender for the royal title after his father. However, the family life of Charles and Diana still failed. They had a difficult relationship. In the early 90's, the prince began to meet with another woman. This state of affairs was unacceptable for Elizabeth, who believed that the confused personal life of the couple cast a shadow over the entire royal family. On her initiative in 1996, Charles and Diana divorced. This gave rise to a huge secular scandal.

No sooner had the passion subsided, as in 1997, Britain shook the shocking news of the death of Diane in a car crash in Paris. A few years after this event, Prince Charles married a second time on his longtime friend Camille Parker Bowles. The wedding took place in 2005, when his children from the first marriage had already grown up and lived an independent life.

80th

Despite scandals and tragedies, which from time to time shook Buckingham Palace, Elizabeth successfully coped with her royal duties for several decades. The British monarch by tradition was also the head of the Anglican church, which was formed during the reformation in the 16th century.

In the old days, between Catholics and Protestants, there was a long conflict. In a new era, it was time for a historic reconciliatory meeting between the heads of two churches - the Pope and the British Queen. John Paul arrived in London in 1982. The Queen of England herself met him. Photos of these people flew around the world.

At the same time, the Falklands war broke out between Britain and Argentina. The Queen did not take any formal decisions related to tactics and strategy. However, this conflict could not pass by her. Younger son of Elizabeth - Andrew - served in the British army during this conflict and was a member of the crew of the helicopter.

The war began because of the uncertainty of belonging to the Falkland Islands, located off the coast of Argentina. After almost three months of sea battles, Great Britain won and retained this archipelago.

Elizabeth and Margaret Thatcher

While Elizabeth did not make decisions related to the war, this burden fell on the shoulders of another influential Briton, Margaret Thatcher. She was the leader of the Conservative Party and the Prime Minister of the country in 1981-1990. For the tough nature and decisiveness of the politician was nicknamed "Iron Lady". Thus, in the 80 years a women's tandem was formed, which was at the head of the British state.

According to the laws and traditions, the head of government held a working meeting every week, attended by Elizabeth 2. The Queen of Great Britain and her dynasty maintained close relations with Thatcher. Periodically throughout the country rumors spread that between the Prime Minister and the monarch fundamental differences in domestic and foreign policy were formed. These conversations were actively exaggerated by the press. Despite this, Thatcher herself and Elizabeth's officials each time denied such judgments.

At the same time, in the 80s, British society did not experience the simplest times. First of all, this was due to the tense social situation. Because of the policy of economy, privatization and monetarism, whose adherence was Thatcher, the country wandered on the verge of an economic crisis. Such measures were necessary for state reforms. The queen, due to her status, as a rule, was on the sidelines of a wave of criticism of the public.

Diamond Jubilee of Government

In 2012 came the diamond anniversary of the government (60 years), which was noted by the Queen of England. Photos of the festivities of the country were on the front pages of newspapers around the world. Elizabeth became the second after Queen Victoria, who managed to live up to this landmark date.

The apogee of the feast was the parade of several hundred ships descending the Thames in London. According to statistics, this is the largest water procession in history. On June 4, a solemn musical concert took place at the walls of Buckingham Palace. The Queen was personally congratulated by such legendary British artists as Paul McCartney, Elton John and others.

A year before, the biography of Elizabeth 2 and the entire royal family was marked by another joyful event. He married the elder grandson of the ruler and heir William. His wife was Catherine Middleton. In 2013 Elizabeth became a great-grandmother for the third time. William had a son and heir to the throne, George.

The modern status of the queen

The eventful biography of the Queen of England Elizabeth 2 is an example of the life of a monarch who, over the years, increasingly abandoned his former privileges and became a state figure performing representative functions. Today the ruler continues to follow the traditions of her time on the throne. Once a year, she organizes a speech before the parliament.

Also the queen regularly meets ambassadors and diplomatic delegations. In previous years, she often traveled to the most diverse corners of the planet, but with age, the intensity of travel fell. However, most recently, in 2011, Elizabeth went to Ireland. It was a historic visit. The United Kingdom and its western neighbor have been in conflict for many centuries. In the twentieth century, the struggle of the Irish for independence (including in Northern Ireland) took the form of terrorist attacks, witnessed by herself was Elizabeth 2. England, however, overcame this crisis and established relations with Dublin.

Over the decades of being on the throne the ruler acquired her own style in dealing with the parliament. As a rule, she tries to stay away from political battles between parties and supporters of different programs.

But it was the cold-blooded and unapproachable queen who had to make important decisions when there were crises in the parliament. For example, this happened in 1957 and 1963. In both cases, the Prime Minister resigned, and the ruling party could not decide on a successor. Then the queen herself chose the chairman of parliament. Each time it allowed to defuse the situation on Downing Street.

Today in the UK, every resident of the country knows about everything connected with the Queen of England Elizabeth 2. Biography, full name and other facts from her life are well known to everyone. She managed, despite the changeability of the modern era, to maintain the authority of the monarchy.