Queen Elizabeth II - 91�ȱ� Bitesize

This is Queen Elizabeth II

On 6 February 1952, Princess Elizabeth became Queen of the United Kingdom, when her father King George VI died.
Queen Elizabeth II came to the throne when she was 25-years-old.
In 2022 Queen Elizabeth II became the first British monarch to celebrate a platinum jubilee, marking 70 years on the throne.
Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle on 8 September 2022.

Britain is a monarchy, meaning it has a king or queen.
The monarch is the head of state, the Church of England and the armed forces.
The monarch is not voted in. The crown is inherited. This means the heir becomes monarch the moment their parent dies.
They are crowned in a coronation ceremony.
By 1066, most of England was ruled by one royal family.
In 1603, the crowns of England and Scotland were united under James I.
The British Royal Family has ruled over the United Kingdom for many hundreds of years.

The Queen’s uncle, King Edward VIII, abdicated (gave up) the throne in 1936. He passed it to his brother, the Queen’s father, George VI. As King George’s oldest child, this meant that Princess Elizabeth would one day be Queen.
In 1947 Princess Elizabeth married Prince Philip. He was a member of the Greek royal family and a Royal Naval officer in World War Two.
In 1948 the royal couple’s first child, Prince Charles, was born. He is now King Charles III.
In June 1953, after the death of her father, Princess Elizabeth was crowned in Westminster Abbey. 27 million people in the UK watched it on television. 11 million people listened on the radio.
The Queen was Head of the Commonwealth and the Head of State for 16 member states.
Over 20 countries were part of the British Empire when the Queen became monarch. Many gained independence during her reign.

Queen Elizabeth was related to the ancient kings of Wessex, including Alfred the Great.
15 different British Prime Ministers served during Queen Elizabeth's reign.
Only four other monarchs have ever been Queens in their own right: Mary I, Elizabeth I, Anne and Victoria. This is because the crown was always inherited by the eldest male heir, unless there was only a daughter, or niece.
One of the roles of head of state is the opening of Parliament. The monarch is not allowed to enter the House of Commons, so it is done in the House of Lords.
During World War Two, when she was a young girl, Princess Elizabeth and her sister Princess Margaret took part in a special episode of a radio programme called 'Children's Hour'.