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.

Titles

• See main article List of Titles and Honours of Queen Elizabeth II

In the United Kingdom, her official title is Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith. In common practice Queen Elizabeth II is referred to simply as "The Queen", "Her Majesty" or in conversation as "Ma'am".

Related Topics:
Commonwealth - Defender of the Faith

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At her succession, the title Elizabeth II caused some controversy in Scotland, where there has never been an Elizabeth I. In a rare act of sabotage in Scotland, new Royal Mail post boxes bearing the initials E.R.II were blown up. As a result, post boxes in Scotland now bear only a crown and no royal initials. A legal case, MacCormick v. Lord Advocate (1953 SC 396), was taken to contest the right of the Queen to style herself Elizabeth II within Scotland, arguing that to do so would be a breach of the Act of Union (1707). The case was lost on the grounds that the pursuers had no title to sue the Crown, and also that the numbering of monarchs was part of the royal prerogative and not governed by the Act of Union. There are also two other matters of controversy, which are much less publicised. Firstly, the argument that the monarch was addressed as Your Grace, rather than Majesty, in pre-Union Scotland and secondly, that the preferred title had been King/Queen of Scots rather than of Scotland (although this was by no means unknown).

Related Topics:
Scotland - Royal Mail - MacCormick v. Lord Advocate - Act of Union - 1707 - Royal prerogative

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At the royal opening of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, the presiding officer David Steel introduced her to the assembled parliamentarians as 'Elizabeth, Queen of Scots'. Use of this style seems to have increased in Scotland subsequently.

Related Topics:
Scottish Parliament - Presiding officer

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Future British monarchs are now to be numbered according to either that of their English or Scottish predecessors, whichever number is higher. Applying this policy retroactively to monarchs since the Act of Union yields the same numbering. See List of regnal numerals of future British monarchs.

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Following a decision by Commonwealth Prime Ministers at the Commonwealth conference of 1953, Queen Elizabeth uses different styles and titles in each of her realms. In each state she acts as the monarch of that state regardless of her other roles.

Related Topics:
Commonwealth - Prime Ministers - 1953

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Properly styled as "Her Majesty The Queen" (and when the distinction is necessary e.g. "Her Britannic Majesty" or "Her Canadian Majesty"), her previous styles were -:

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• Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth of York ( 21 April1926 – 11 December1936 )
• Her Royal Highness The Princess Elizabeth ( 11 December1936 – 12 June 1947 )
• Her Royal Highness The Princess Elizabeth, CI ( 12 June1947 – 11 November 1947 )
• Her Royal Highness The Princess Elizabeth, KG, CI ( 11–20 November 1947 )
• Her Royal Highness The Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, KG, CI ( 20 November1947 – 5 March1951 )
• Her Royal Highness The Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, KG, CI, CD ( 5 March – 4 December1951 )
• Her Royal Highness The Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, KG, CI, CD, PC ( 4 December1951 – 6 February1952 )

Though now the postnominal letters "LG" are used by Ladies of the Garter, a Lady of the Garter was not a full member of the Order back then. Thus, the postnominal letters "LG" were not used, so "KG" was used by Princess Elizabeth.

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