Queen Elizabeth II Turns 89

On April 21, Elizabeth II celebrated her eighty-ninth birthday.

Princess Elizabeth of York was born on 21 April 1926 at 17 Bruton Street in Mayfair, London. She was christened at Buckingham Palace by Cosmo Gordon Lang, the then Archbishop of York. Her full name is Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, however she is known to her family as Lilibet, as she couldn’t pronounce Elizabeth when she was learning how to talk. She had a younger sister, Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon.

The then Princess Elizabeth married Philip Mountbatten (née Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark) on 20 November 1947 at Westminster Abbey. Upon their marriage, the couple became known as the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, until Princess Elizabeth became Queen in the first televised coronation ceremony in 1953.

Elizabeth II and Prince Philip have four children: the Prince of Wales (b. 1948), the Princess Royal (b. 1950), the Duke of York (b. 1960) and the Earl of Wessex (b. 1964). They also have eight grandchildren: Peter Phillips, Zara Phillips, the Duke of Cambridge, Prince Harry of Wales, Princess Beatrice of York, Princess Eugenie of York, Lady Louise Mounbatten-Windsor and Viscount Severn. And four great-grandchildren: Savannah Phillips, Isla Phillips, Prince George of Cambridge and Mia Tindall.

Elizabeth II is currently the oldest reigning monarch of the world and the second longest reigning monarch of Britain, after Queen Victoria. During her reign, she has made many historic visits and meetings and is much loved amongst the British public.

Queen Elizabeth during a visit to Wolverhampton on October 30, 2014.

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