Queen Elizabeth II Timeline: 70 Years of Her Strong and Beloved Reign

Queen Elizabeth II is the longest-reigning monarch of Britain and its Commonwealth. The queen’s reign is one of the most remarkable and fascinating ones of that of a monarch in the history of the British monarchy. Here are important events in the life of Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away on Thursday, September 8, at the age of 96 in Balmoral Scotland.

Here are important events in the Queen Elizabeth II Timeline

---

More reading: 

• What Will Happen When the Queen Dies?
• Queen Elizabeth II Passes Away at 96
• Our Beloved Queen Elizabeth has Passed Away..What Now?

---

Queen Elizabeth II Timeline – 1920s:

• 21 April 1926. Elizabeth was born on 21 April 1926 to Albert Frederick Arthur GeorgeDuke of York (later King George VI) and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon Duchess of York (later Queen Consort Elizabeth, The Queen Mother).
• 29 May 1926. Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary (Queen Elizabeth II) was baptised in a private chapel of Buckingham Palace.

Queen Elizabeth II Timeline – 1930s:

• 21 August 1930. Her sister, Princess Margaret Rose, was born.
• 1933. You know how much the Queen loved corgis, right? Her father brought home her first corgi – Dookie!
• 1934. She met Philip, her soon-to-be husband at a wedding.
• 20 January 1936. King George V dies. Her uncle, Prince David, ascended to the throne and was named Edward VIII.
• 10 December 1936. King Edward VIII abdicated the throne to marry American twice-divorcee Wallis Simpson. Edward VIII was the first British monarch to do so. Elizabeth’s father, Albert, the Duke of York, became King George VI. Elizabeth also became an heir apparent to the throne at 10 years old.
• 12 May 1937. King George VI was coronated at Westminster Abbey.
• 21 April 1939. Princess Elizabeth studied under the guidance of the vice-provost of Eton College.
• 22 July 1939. Elizabeth met Philip again at the Royal Dartmouth Naval College. Philip escorted her during the royal family’s visit. Their romance began.
• 1939. The fight in Germany became worse. Britain declared war on the said country.

Queen Elizabeth II Timeline – 1940s:

• September 1940. Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret were evacuated to Windsor Castle. The King and the Queen Mother stayed in the city to boost the morale of the war-front heroes.
• 13 October 1940. Elizabeth made her first public speech on BBC Children’s Hour for the children who were separated from their parents.
• 21 April 1942. Her first royal engagement to the Grenadier Guards. She also got her first and very own corgi – Susan!
• 4 March 1945. Elizabeth joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service and trained as a mechanic.
• May 1945. Victory in Europe Day – end of World War II in Europe.
• 1946. Became secretly engaged to Philip.
• 1947. Celebrated her 21st birthday in South Africa and made a broadcast about dedicating herself to service.
• 20 November 1947. Elizabeth and Philip married in Westminster Abbey. King George VI bestowed the title of Duke of Edinburgh to Philip.
• 14 November 1948. Prince Charles Philip Arthur George (now King Charles III) was born.
• 1949. Elizabeth lived with Philip in Malta.

Queen Elizabeth II Timeline – 1950s:

• 15 August 1950. Princess Anne, the second child and only daughter of the royal couple, was born.
• 6 February 1952. While on a royal tour in Kenya, Africa, Prince Philip broke the news that King George VI died. Elizabeth automatically ascended to the throne at the age of 25.
• 15 February 1952. King George VI was laid to rest.
• 2 June 1953. Queen Elizabeth’s coronation at Westminster Abbey.
• 1953. After her coronation, Queen Elizabeth embarked on a royal tour of the Commonwealth such as: Australia, Bermuda, Fiji, Gibraltar, and Tonga.
• 1957: Queen Elizabeth II went to New York for the UN Assembly.

Queen Elizabeth II Timeline – 1960s:

• 19 February 1960. Prince Andrew Albert Christian Edward, Duke of York, was born.
• 10 March 1964. Prince Edward Antony Richard Louis, Earl of Wessex, was born.
• 1965. Queen Elizabeth II went to Germany. The first British monarch to do so after over 50 years.

Queen Elizabeth II Timeline – 1970s:

• April 1970. State visits to Australia and New Zealand.
• 20 October 1973. Opened the Sydney Opera House in Australia.
• February 1974. Tour in Australia was disrupted.
• November 1975. Australian constitutional crisis.
• 2 June 1977. Silver Jubilee. The Queen celebrated her 25th anniversary on the throne.

Queen Elizabeth II Timeline – 1980s:

• 1981. Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales.
• 13 June 1981. An attempt over the life of Queen Elizabeth was made during the Trooping of the Colours.
• 21 June 1982. Prince Willian, now heir assumptive to the throne, was born.
• July 1982. A certain Michael Fagan broke into the Queen’s bedroom where they chatted for 10 minutes. While nobody knew what their talks were about, it was assumed it was about Thatcher and the economic crisis during that time in Britain. Fagan was later arrested by the police.
• 15 September 1984. Prince Harry, the younger son of Princess Diana and Prince Charles, was born.

Queen Elizabeth II Timeline – 1990s:

• 20 November 1992. Windsor Castle was on fire. The flames reportedly damaged 115 rooms and nine staterooms.
• 24 November 1992. For her 40th anniversary on the throne, the Queen said that the recent years were “annus horribilis,”, especially in the case of Lady Diana and Prince Charles.
• 9 December 1992. Prince Charles and Princess Diana were to separate.
• 28 August 1996. The marriage of Prince Charles and Princess Diana was officially dissolved.
• 31 August 1997. Princess Diana died in a car crash.
• 20 November 1997. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip celebrated their 50th golden wedding anniversary.

Queen Elizabeth II Timeline – 2000s:

• 9 February 2002. Princess Margaret, the Queen’s beloved sister died after experiencing complications from her illness.
• 30 March 2002. The Queen Mother died at 101.
• 7 June 2002. The Queen reached her Golden Years on the throne.
• 21 April 2006. Prince Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles.
• 19 Nov 2007. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.
• 29 April 2011. Prince William married Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey.
• 17 May 2011. Queen Elizabeth was the first monarch to visit to the Republic of Ireland in 100 years.
• 4 June 2012. The Queen celebrated her 60th anniversary on the throne.
• 27 July 2012. The Queen opened the London Olympics.
• 9 September 2015. Marked as Britain’s longest-reigning monarch after Queen Victoria.
• 21 April 2016. The Queen’s 90th birthday.
• 2 August 2017. Prince Philip retired from his royal duties.
• 6 February 2017. The Queen celebrated her Sapphire Jubilee.
• 20 November 2017. The Queen and Prince Philip celebrated their Platinum Wedding Anniversary.
• 19 May 2018. Prince Harry married Meghan Markle.
• 9 April 2021. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, died at the age of 99.
• 17 April 2021. Prince Philip was laid to rest.
• 2 June 2022. The Queen celebrated her Platinum Jubilee on the throne.
• 6 September 2022. The Queen appointed Liz Truss as the new Prime Minister at Balmoral, after the resignation of PM Boris Johnson.
• 8 September 2022. The Queen died at the age of 96 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.

How do you remember Queen Elizabeth II?