Queen Elizabeth II: A timeline of her life

Article content

The Queen was born just eight years after the end of the First World War. William Lyon Mackenzie King was Canadian prime minister. Here’s a snapshot of her life and times:

— The Queen was born April 21, 1926. William Lyon Mackenzie King was Prime Minister of Canada. Calvin Coolidge was president of the U.S. and Stanley Baldwin was the British prime minister.

— 1936: When she was 10 years old, Germany hosted the now infamous Berlin Olympics, which Adolf Hitler hoped would show the superiority of the Aryan race. Instead, the Games were dominated by African-American athlete Jesse Owens, who humiliated Hitler on his own turf. That year, Bing Crosby crooned about Pennies from Heaven and Fred Astaire wowed with The Way You Look Tonight.

— 1939: The Second World War broke out on Sept. 3 1939, when the Princess Elizabeth was 13 years old. She and her sister, Margaret, were sent to Windsor for safety. Her parents, George VI and his wife, Elizabeth, stayed at Buckingham Palace. The passenger liner SS Athenia is the first British ship to be sunk by Nazi Germany in the war. Carrying 1,103 civilian passengers, including 300 Americans, she had departed Liverpool bound for Montreal. 98 passengers and 19 crew members killed. When Buckingham Palace took a direct hit from a German bomb in 1940, Princess Elizabeth declared she could, “look the east end in the face.” The working class east-end of London was bombed nightly during the London Blitz and suffered many casualties. Later on in the war, Elizabeth joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service, serving as a mechanic and driver.

— 1947: Elizabeth wed her handsome war hero husband, Prince Philip, in Westminster Abbey. Elsewhere win the world, India and Pakistan gained independence from Britain. The UN voted to create an independent Jewish state of Israel. Jackie Robinson became the first African-American to play baseball in the major leagues, playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers. An alleged UFO was found in Roswell, New Mexico. The movie Miracle on 34th Street premiered in May. William Lyon Mackenzie King was Canada’s PM. Clement Attlee was Prime Minister of Britain and Harry Truman was President of the U.S.

— 1953: The Queen is crowned at Westminster Abbey. That same year, Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay were the first humans to reach the summit of Everest. The U.S. and North Korea signed an armistice ending the Korean War. Josef Stalin died. Louis St. Laurent was Prime Minister of Canada. Sir Winston Churchill was PM of Britain and Dwight Eisenhower was sworn in as U.S. President. Top of the pops was Patti Page’s The Doggie In the Window and Perry Como with Don’t Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes.

— 1965: The Queen made her first official visit to West Germany, for a parade of British troops. It was the first official visit to Germany of any royal since 1913. The Queen issues a royal proclamation, effective February 15, making the Maple Leaf flag the National Flag of Canada.

— 1979: Margaret Thatcher became the first woman to be prime minister in the U.K. She won three consecutive elections, serving from 1979 to 1990, making her the longest serving U.K. Prime Minister since 1827. Thatcher fought with Queen Elizabeth over the issue of sanctions against the racist South African regime. Thatcher opposed sanctions. Elizabeth pushed in favour of them.

— 1981: Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer married in St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Toggle full screen modePrevious Gallery Image

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 

10. 

11. 

12. 

13. 

14. 

15. 

16. 

17. 

18. 

19. 

20. 

21. 

22. 

23. 

24. 

25. 

26. 

27. 

28. 

29. 

30. 

31. 

Next Gallery ImageToggle gallery captions

View All 31 Photos

1 of 31

All 31 Photos for Gallery

1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 
7. 
8. 
9. 
10. 
11. 
12. 
13. 
14. 
15. 
16. 
17. 
18. 
19. 
20. 
21. 
22. 
23. 
24. 
25. 
26. 
27. 
28. 
29. 
30. 
31. 

Function Not Available

Full Screen is not supported on this browser version.

You may use a different browser or device to view this in full screen.

OK

— 1982: The Queen visited Canada in April, to sign a proclamation giving Canada full control of its constitution. The Constitution Act, part of the Canada Act, was signed by the Queen, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and Justice Minister Jean Chretien. Britain fought the undeclared Falklands War against Argentina over British dependent territories in the South Atlantic. Her son, Prince Andrew, served in the Royal Navy as a helicopter pilot. She welcomed him home as a dashing war hero. That same year, Charles and Diana’s son, Prince William was born. Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister of the UK. Pierre Trudeau was Prime Minister of Can-ada. Ronald Reagan was President of the U.S.

— 1984: Diana gives birth to Prince Harry, a red-headed bundle of joy. That same year, the original Apple Macintosh was introduced, the first mass-produced Apple computer that was operated by a mouse. The summer Olympics were held in Los Angeles.

— 1992: A devastating fire destroyed large parts of the Queen’s favourite residence, Windsor Castle. The marriages of three of her children broke down, causing her to call the year her, “annus horribilis.” While the 1990s were generally considered a decade of peace and prosperity around the world, it was a turbulent time for the Royals. Diana and Charles fought numerous spats, in what has been dubbed The War of the Waleses.

— 1995: Diana gave an interview on BBC in which she revealed she admitted having an affair and revealed details of the affair between Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles. The interview was the final straw and the Queen told Charles and Diana to divorce, which they did.

— 1997: The tragic death of Diana, Princess of Wales in a car crash in Paris caused a crisis not just within her family but also brought the monarchy to the brink of disaster, as the family struggled to cope with both the personal and the national fall-out from her tragic death.

— 2002: Another sad year for the Queen. First, her sister, Princess Margaret died of lung cancer. Shortly thereafter, the Queen Mother also died. Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, American President George W. Bush and U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair attended the funeral.

— 2005: Prince Charles finally married Camilla Parker-Bowles.

— 2011: Prince William wed commoner Kate Middleton in Westminster Abbey.

— 2015: Queen Elizabeth becomes the longest reigning monarch, surpassing the record of her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria.

— 2017: Queen Elizabeth celebrates 65 years on the Throne.

— 2019: The Queen’s son, Prince Andrew, gives a car crash interview to the BBC about his al-leged connection to U.S. pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019. Andrew in-tended to vindicate himself with the interview. Instead he came across as defensive, arrogant and entitled.

— 2021: Prince Harry, the Queen’s grandson, gives a highly controversial interview with his wife, Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex to Oprah, including accusations of racism against un-named members of the Royal Family. Buckingham Palace responds with a statement that “some recollections may vary” and said it would take the accusations seriously, but deal with them “privately.” Prince Philip dies. The Queen misses the Cenotaph Remembrance Day service due to a “sprained back.” Boris Johnson was British Prime Minister. Justin Trudeau was Prime Minister of Canada and Joe Biden was President of the U.S.

— 2022: Britain erupts in a joyful celebration of the Queen’s 70 years on the throne. While the monarch skipped most of the celebrations, her subjects made it clear with their enthusiastic cheers how much they adore her. Harry and Meghan, meanwhile, continue their assault on the Royal Family, continuing to lob “truth bombs” from the safety of their multimillion dollar California home.