Queen Elizabeth II Biography

Queen Elizabeth II has been the United Kingdom's reigning monarch since 1952. Elizabeth was proclaimed queen on 6 February 1952 following the death of her father, George VI; she was formally crowned the next year, on 2 June 1953. Her husband, Prince Philip, comes from the royal family of Greece and was created Duke of Edinburgh prior to their wedding on 20 November 1947. Elizabeth and Philip had four children: Charles (b. 1948), Anne (b. 1950), Andrew (b. 1960) and Edward (b. 1964); as the eldest, Prince Charles is heir to the throne. Queen Elizabeth is the sister of the late Princess Margaret, daughter of the late Queen Mother, mother-in-law to the late Princess Diana, and grandmother to the princes William and Harry. She also shares a name with a famous predecessor, Queen Elizabeth I. The queen celebrated her Golden Jubilee in 2002, marking 50 years on the throne.