Today s Birthday 21 4

Today's Birthday, April 21: Queen Elizabeth II (1926 - ).

The world's oldest reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II has overseen vast changes to her realm and family in her 64 years on the throne, including her own grandson quitting royal duties.

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born in Mayfair, London, to the Duke and Duchess of York. Her father was the second son of King George V.

Elizabeth was third in line to the throne and few expected she would eventually be queen.

However, after her uncle, King Edward VIII, kynghidongduong.vn abdicated in 1936, Elizabeth's father became King George VI and she became his presumptive heir.

Elizabeth and Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark became engaged in July 1947 and married that November.

The first of their four children, Charles, was born in late 1948.

In 1952, while in Kenya at the start of a royal tour hồ ba bể that would have taken them to Australia, Elizabeth learnt of her father's death from lung cancer.

She was immediately proclaimed queen and her coronation took place on June 2, 1953.

The British Empire evolved into the Commonwealth of Nations under her rule and half of the 32 countries that the Queen initially reigned over became republics.

The death of Diana, first wife of Charles and mother of princes William and Harry, tour hồ ba bể từ hà nội in a car accident in 1997 sparked intense media scrutiny of the Queen. Almost a week after Diana's death, the Queen broke her sharply criticised silence and delivered a televised statement about the late princess.

The Queen's stance on some issues has softened over the years. She consented to the marriage of her eldest son to Camilla Parker Bowles and cut back on spending amid the Global Financial Crisis.

Shortly before the 2012 London Olympics, the Queen celebrated her Diamond Jubilee.

Elizabeth became the longest serving British monarch on September 9, 2015, surpassing Queen Victoria's reign. As of March 12, 2020, she became the fourth longest reigning monarch ever.

In 2020, the Queen gave her blessing to her grandson Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle to step back from royal duties.

"My family and I are entirely supportive of Harry and Meghan's desire to create a new life as a young family," she said in a statement.

The Queen and Prince Philip have eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.