The Queen's Jubilee: Celebrating 70 years of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has been on the throne for 70 years, longer than any other King or Queen in Britain's history.

This year celebrations are taking place to mark those 70 years, in what is known as the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

During her time on the throne lots of things have changed in Britain.

Becoming Queen

Princess Elizabeth with her father King George VI

Elizabeth II was born in London on 21 April 1926, but she wasn't expected to ever become queen.

Her uncle Edward was King and the rules meant that if he had children, they would one day succeed him.

However, when Elizabeth was 10 years old, her life changed forever.

Edward gave up the throne and, on 12 May 1937, her father took over to become King George VI.

When her father died in February 1952, Elizabeth who was 25 at the time, became the Queen.

Queen Elizabeth II was crowned on 2 June 1953

Sixteen months later The Queen was crowned at her coronation on 2 June 1953, at Westminster Abbey in London.

A coronation is a big ceremony that includes the ritual placement of a crown on the monarch's head.

It's thought 27 million people across the UK watched the Coronation ceremony, with many families, friends and neighbours gathering around a single television set at a time when TVs were not as common as they are today!

The Commonwealth

Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip arrive in Tasmania during their Commonwealth Tour of Australia in 1954

When Elizabeth became Queen in 1952 she did not just become the Queen of Great Britain.

A big part of her role involves being head of a special group of countries called the Commonwealth, which includes Australia, India, Jamaica and Canada.

At the start of her reign, just eight countries were part of this group, now in 2022 the Commonwealth includes 54 countries all over the world.

During her reign, The Queen has visited every country in the Commonwealth, except for Cameroon, which joined in 1995 and Rwanda which joined in 2009.

Here, the Queen is meeting people in Nairobi while on a tour in Kenya - one of the countries of the Commonwealth - in 1983

Almost a third of the world's population live in Commonwealth countries, that's about 2.6 billion people. Many of these countries used to be part of the British Empire but now govern themselves.

The Queen's face also appears on money in more than 30 countries, more than any other living monarch in the world.

As part of her job she's also Head of the Armed Forces, Defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

The Queen and her prime ministers

Another part of The Queen's job is to offer guidance to politicians in the UK.

She has met with every prime minister, 14 in total, almost every week during the course of her reign, to discuss the big issues facing Britain and the world.

The Queen with famous British prime minister Winston Churchill in 1952

As Head of State, though, the Queen never publicly shares her political opinion.

The Queen often meets with other world leaders too and is seen as important in maintaining good relationships with Britain and other countries.

The Queen speaking to US President Barack Obama during a state visit to the UK in 2011

She is also required to open Parliament every year - although she missed this in 1959 and 1963, while expecting children, and most recently in May 2022 when she pulled out due to mobility problems.

Another yearly duty involves delivering a Christmas message to the nation.

The Queen has delivered a Christmas message to the nation every single year of her reign apart from 1969, when a documentary was planned instead. She had to issue a written message that year instead

Difficult years

Elizabeth II has faced tough moments during her time as Queen.

Thirty years ago The Queen described 1992 as an "annus horribilis", which is a Latin phrase meaning horrible year.

Marriages of three of her children Prince Charles, Prince Andrew and Princess Anne had all broken down and, at the end of the year, there was a terrible fire at Windsor Castle, where she had spent a lot of her childhood during the war.

There was a terrible fire at Windsor Castle in 1992

After this, one of the most difficult periods in her reign came in 1997, following the death of Princess Diana, who had been married to her son Prince Charles and who was the mother of the Queen's grandsons, Prince William and Prince Harry.

Princess Diana had been very popular and when she died there was an outpouring of sadness. Thousands of people left flowers and cards at the gates of Buckingham Palace in London.

The Queen on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with Princess Diana

At the time, the Queen was in Scotland with the young princes. She decided the family should stay there and grieve in private, rather than go to London where crowds had gathered, or make statements.

Many people thought this showed she didn't understand their feelings and that the Queen was out of touch with her people.

The Queen and her husband Prince Phillip The Duke of Edinburgh look at flowers left outside of Buckingham Palace following the death of Princess Diana

Eventually, she spoke to the public on live TV, calling Diana "an exceptional and gifted human being" whom she admired and respected "for her energy and commitment to others, and especially for her devotion to her two boys".

It had been one of the few times in Queen Elizabeth's reign that large numbers of the public had been against her - and the experience left her shaken.

The Queen with Meghan and Harry in 2018, the royal couple stepped down from royal duties in 2021

More recently in 2021, The Queen faced difficulties when her grandson Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markel gave a public interview where they talked about a difficult relationship with other members of the Royal Family.

It followed a decision by the couple to step down from royal duties.

The Queen sits alone at Prince Phillip's funeral

Then in April 2021, The Queen's husband, Prince Phillip The Duke of Edinburgh died at the age of 99.

Prince Phillip's death came at a time when there were strict rules due to the coronavirus pandemic and meant that The Queen had to sit alone during her husband's funeral.

Back in 1997 when The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were celebrating their 50th Wedding anniversary, Her Majesty gave a speech about her husband, saying: "He has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years".

The coronavirus pandemic

During the pandemic, the Queen encouraged people in the United Kingdom to keep going during a time of national crisis.

"While we have faced challenges before, this one is different," she said in a televised message.

"This time we join with all nations across the globe in a common endeavour.

"We should take comfort that while we may still have more to endure, better days will return: we will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again," she added referencing a famous wartime song from her youth called We'll Meet Again.

Celebrations

Family is extremely important to the Queen. As well as having four of her own children, she has eight grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

The family has often gathered for big celebrations and one of the biggest was in 2011 with the wedding of Prince William to Catherine Middleton - now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

William and Catherine's wedding was a huge national celebration

Around a million people gathered on the streets of London. Some even camped out for days to see the royal couple.

A year later, 2012 was another big year of celebration for the Royal Family as it marked an important milestone for the Queen - her Diamond Jubilee - her 60th year on the throne.

Queen Elizabeth II visited many parts of the UK as part of her Diamond Jubilee Tour

There were parties around the country, a parade of boats known as a flotilla along the River Thames in London, and even a pop concert at Buckingham Palace.

A parade of boats known as a flotilla sailed down the River Thames in London to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations

The Jubilee came in the same year as the 2012 London Olympics and the Queen decided to show people her sense of fun by making a special appearance in a film made for the Olympic opening ceremony.

In the film, it looked as though the Queen parachuted out of a helicopter along with James Bond!

A stunt-double of The Queen parachutes from a helicopter during the 2012 Olympic opening ceremony in London

Record breaker!

The Queen has broken many records.

In 2015, she officially overtook her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria by becoming Britain's longest-reigning monarch.

At 96 she is also the oldest, which was - again - a record previously held by Queen Victoria, who died at the age of 81.

Not only that, but Queen Elizabeth II is the longest reigning female monarch in world history!

The Platinum Jubilee

This year to mark the Queen's 70 years on the throne there will be street parties, a special music concert and a special four-day Bank Holiday weekend from Thursday 2 to Sunday 5 June 2022.

You can find out more about the Queen's Platinum Jubilee here