Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death on the 8th of September 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during her lifetime and 15 at the time of her death. Her reign of 70 years and 214 days is the longest of any British monarch and the longest verified reign of any female sovereign in history.
Elizabeth was born in Mayfair, London. In November 1947, she married Philip Mountbatten, a former prince of Greece and Denmark, and their marriage lasted 73 years until his death in 2021. They had four children: Charles, Anne, Andrew, and Edward.
When her father King George VI died in February 1952, Elizabeth, then 25 years old, became queen of seven independent Commonwealth countries: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, as well as Head of the Commonwealth.
Significant events included Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953 and the celebrations of her Silver, Golden, Diamond, and Platinum jubilees in 1977, 2002, 2012, and 2022. Although she faced occasional republican sentiment and media criticism of her family, support for the monarchy in the United Kingdom remained consistently high throughout her lifetime, as did her personal popularity. Elizabeth died on 8 September 2022 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, at the age of 96, and was succeeded by her eldest child, Charles III.
Her state funeral was held at Westminster Abbey at 11:00 on 19 September 2022 and was broadcast live around the world. It is estimated over 4 billion people watched the state funeral on television.
She was interred at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, part of St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, at around 19:30 the same day. This was a private ceremony, with no cameras, and with only her closest family in attendance.