It was February 6, 1952 when a young princess, not yet 26 years old, ascended the throne of the United Kingdom. On that throne Elizabeth II, born Elizabeth Alexandra Mary and daughter of King George VI, she is still there, 69 years later: when she is about to turn 95 (she will do so in April), she is still Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of the other Commonwealth Realms.
In 1936, just 10 years old, Elizabeth already officially became heir to the throne. She was only 13 when World War II broke out, yet in 1945 she convinced her father to allow her to participate personally in the war effort. She joined the Territorial Auxiliary Service (Auxiliary Territorial Service, ATS) where it was known with the identifier “n. 230873” Second Subaltern Elizabeth Windsor, e she was trained as a driver and mechanic. She was promoted to honorary junior commander five months later.
But it was on the death of her father, on February 6, 1952 precisely (struck by a heart attack), that her legendary story as queen began. She was among other things the first British monarch since the Act of Union 1800 to be outside the UK at the time of succession to the throne. That day she was in Kenya and the hotel where she stayed with her husband Filippo, the "Treetops Hotel", became a tourist attraction in the following years.
To this day, his kingdom is the longest in all of British history, having surpassed on 9 September 2015 the previous record held by her great-great-grandmother Victoria of 63 years, 7 months and 2 days (equal to 23 days), and is the longest ever for a queen, worldwide. She had four children: Charles, Prince of Wales and heir to the throne, Anne, Princess Royal, Andrew, Duke of York, and Edward, Earl of Wessex.
His reign was long but also important from a political point of view, as it was marked by various international events. He has contributed to important changes including the devolution of power to the United Kingdom, the story of the repatriation of the Canadian constitution and above all the decolonization in Africa and the Caribbean, with the strengthening of the Commonwealth of nations of which he is Head. Under Elizabeth II more than 20 states have gained independence from the United Kingdom, following a planned process of transition to self-government.
Included Winston Churchill, in government at the time of her accession to the throne, Elizabeth II had 14 Prime Ministers: Churchill until '55 then in the order Anthony Eden, Harold Macmillan, Alec Douglas-Home, Harold Wilson, Edward Heath, James Callaghan, Margaret Thatcher , John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Theresa May, and now Boris Johnson.
