Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, born 21 April 1926), styled Her Majesty The Queen, is the Queen regnant of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, and Saint Kitts and Nevis. About 125 million people live in the countries of which she is Head of State. She is thirty-eighth in line of descent from Egbert, King of Wessex.

Life as Queen

After the Coronation, Elizabeth and Philip moved to Buckingham Palace in central London. It is believed, however, that like many of her predecessors she dislikes the Palace as a residence and considers Windsor Castle, west of London, to be her home. She also spends time at Balmoral Castle in Scotland and at Sandringham House in Norfolk.

Related Topics:
Buckingham Palace - Windsor Castle - Balmoral Castle - Scotland - Sandringham House - Norfolk

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Queen Elizabeth is the most widely travelled head of state in history (in front of Pope John Paul II). In 1953–54 she and Philip made a six-month round-the-world tour, becoming the first reigning monarch to circumnavigate the globe, and also the first to visit Australia, New Zealand and Fiji (which she visited again all at once during the 1977 jubilee). In October 1957 she made a state visit to the United States, and in 1959 she made a tour of Canada. In 1961 she toured India and Pakistan for the first time. She has made state visits to most European countries and to many outside Europe. She regularly attends Commonwealth Heads of Government meetings.

Related Topics:
Pope John Paul II - 1953 - 54 - Australia - New Zealand - Fiji - 1977 jubilee - 1957 - United States - 1959 - Canada - 1961 - India - Pakistan

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At the time of Elizabeth's accession there was much talk of a "new Elizabethan age". Elizabeth's role has been to preside over Britain as it has shared world economic and military power with a growing host of independent nations and principalities. As nations have developed economically and in literacy, Queen Elizabeth has witnessed over the past 50 years a gradual transformation of the British Empire into its modern successor, the Commonwealth. She has worked hard to maintain links with former British possessions, and in some cases, such as South Africa, she has played an important role in retaining or restoring good relations.

Related Topics:
British Empire - South Africa

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Views and Perceptions

Elizabeth is a conservative in matters of religion, moral standards and family matters. She has a strong sense of religious duty and takes seriously her Coronation Oath. This is one reason why it is considered highly unlikely that she will ever abdicate. Like her mother, she blamed Edward VIII for, as she saw it, abandoning his duty and forcing her father to become King — a strain which she believed shortened his life by many years. She used the authority of her position to prevent her sister, Princess Margaret, from marrying a divorced man, Peter Townsend. For years she refused to acknowledge her son Prince Charles's relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles but since their marriage an appearance of acceptance has been established.

Related Topics:
Abdicate - Princess Margaret - Prince Charles - Camilla Parker-Bowles

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Elizabeth's political views are supposed to be less clear-cut (she has never said or done anything in public to reveal what they might be). She preserves cordial relations with politicians of all parties. It is believed that her favourite Prime Ministers have been Winston Churchill, Harold Macmillan and Harold Wilson. Her least favourite was undoubtedly Margaret Thatcher, whom she has said to "cordially dislike". She was thought to have very good relations with her current Prime Minister, Tony Blair, during the first years of his term in office; however, there has been mounting evidence in recent months that her relationship with Blair has hardened. She reportedly feels that he does not keep her informed well enough on affairs of state.

Related Topics:
Winston Churchill - Harold Macmillan - Harold Wilson - Margaret Thatcher - Tony Blair

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The only public issue on which Elizabeth makes her views known are those affecting the unity of each of her Realms, including Canada and the United Kingdom. She has spoken in favour of the continued union of England and Scotland, angering some Scottish nationalists. Her statement of praise for the Northern Ireland Belfast Agreement raised some complaints among some Unionists in the Democratic Unionist Party who opposed the agreement, Ian Paisley calling her a parrot of Tony Blair. Also, while not speaking directly against Quebec Sovereignty in Canada, she has publicly praised Canada's unity and expressed her wish to see the continuation of a unified Canada. This desire was also revealed in her acceptance of advice to call for Canadian unity during a separatist referendum campaign when she was tricked into speaking with a DJ pretending to be then Canadian prime minister Jean Chrétien.

Related Topics:
Realms - Canada - United Kingdom - England - Scotland - Scottish nationalists - Northern Ireland - Belfast Agreement - Unionists - Democratic Unionist Party - Ian Paisley - Tony Blair - Quebec Sovereignty - Jean Chrétien

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Despite a series of controversies about the rest of the royal family, particularly the marital difficulties of her children throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Queen Elizabeth remains a remarkably uncontroversial figure and is generally well-respected by the people of her Realms. However, her public persona remains formal, though more relaxed than it once was.

Related Topics:
1980s - 1990s

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Queen Elizabeth has never suffered from severe public disapproval. However, in 1997 she and other members of the Royal Family were perceived as cold and unfeeling when they were seen not to participate in the public outpouring of grief at the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. This brought sharp criticism from the normally royalist tabloid press.

Related Topics:
1997 - Royal Family - Diana, Princess of Wales - Tabloid press

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It is widely believed that Elizabeth held negative feelings towards Diana and thought that she had done immense damage to the monarchy. However, the sight of the entire Royal Family bowing to Diana's coffin as it passed Buckingham Palace, together with a rare live television broadcast by Queen Elizabeth, addressed the public grief. Elizabeth's change of attitude is believed to have resulted from strong advice from the Queen Mother and Tony Blair.

Related Topics:
Queen Mother - Tony Blair

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Elizabeth remains a highly respected head of state. However, she and her family have come under increasing pressure from U.K. based newspapers. In 2002 she celebrated her Golden Jubilee, marking the 50th anniversary of her accession to the Throne. The year saw an extensive tour of the Commonwealth Realms, including numerous parades and official concerts.

Related Topics:
2002 - Golden Jubilee - Commonwealth Realms

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The Jubilee year coincided with the deaths, within a few months, of Elizabeth's mother and sister. Elizabeth's relations with her children, while still somewhat distant, have become much warmer since these deaths. She is particularly close to her daughter-in-law Sophie, Countess of Wessex. She is known to have disapproved of Prince Charles's long-standing relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles, but with their recent marriage, has come to accept it. On the other hand, she is very close to her grandchildren, noticeably Prince William and Zara Phillips.

Related Topics:
Mother - Sister - Sophie, Countess of Wessex - Prince Charles's - Camilla Parker-Bowles - Prince William - Zara Phillips

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In late February 2003, Queen Elizabeth II's reign, then just over 51 years, surpassed the reigns of all four of her immediate predecessors (King Edward VII, King George V, King Edward VIII and King George VI) combined.

Related Topics:
February - 2003 - King Edward VII - King George V - King Edward VIII - King George VI

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In 2003 Elizabeth, who is often described as robustly healthy, underwent three operations. She had two operations by the end of the year concerning both of her knees, and also had several lesions removed from her face. This had prompted some debate in the media about whether the evolving monarchy should have monarchs abdicating as in some other nations, or even enforce a retirement age for reigning monarchs. In June 2005 she was forced to cancel several engagements after contracting what the Palace described as a bad cold.

Related Topics:
2003 - June - 2005

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As Elizabeth approaches her 80th birthday, she has made it clear that she has no intention of abdicating. Those who know her best have stated that she intends to reign as Queen until the day she dies. She has, however, begun to hand over some public duties to her children, as well as other members of the royal family. It was rumoured in 2005, that she and Prince Philip would be reducing their international travel. The subsequent, perhaps pointed, announcements that they would be visiting Canada, Malta, Australia, and Singapore in the space of the next year served to effectively deny these rumours, however. It is often made clear that she intends to do as much as she can until she is physically unable.

Related Topics:
Abdicating - 2005 - Prince Philip - Canada - Malta - Australia - Singapore

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Should she still be reigning on September 9, 2015 at 89 years old, her reign will surpass that of Queen Victoria.

Related Topics:
September 9 - 2015 - Queen Victoria

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Elizabeth's public image has noticeably softened in recent years, particularly since the death of the Queen Mother. Although she remains reserved in public, she has been seen laughing and smiling much more than in years past, and to the shock of many she has been seen to shed tears during emotional occasions such as at Remembrance Day services, the memorial service at St Paul's Cathedral for those killed in the 11 September terrorist attacks and in Normandy, France for the 60th anniversary of D-Day, where, for the first time, she addressed the Canadian troops.

Related Topics:
Queen Mother - Remembrance Day - St Paul's Cathedral - 11 September terrorist attacks - Normandy, France - D-Day

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