Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Queen Elizabeth II is the longest-reigning monarch in British history. Hide Caption 1 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth was born April 21, 1926, in London. She is held here by her mother, also named Elizabeth. Her father would later become King George VI. Hide Caption 2 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Princess Elizabeth poses for a photo at her London home in 1928. Hide Caption 3 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Princess Elizabeth is seen with her uncle Edward, Prince of Wales, during a visit to Balmoral, Scotland, in September 1933. He would go on to become King Edward VIII in 1936. But when he abdicated later that year, Elizabeth's father became King and she became heir presumptive. Hide Caption 4 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II From left, Princess Elizabeth, King George VI, Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret wave to the crowd from the balcony of Buckingham Palace on June 22, 1939. Hide Caption 5 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth rides a horse in Windsor, England, in 1940. Her love of horses has been well documented. Hide Caption 6 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II A 14-year-old Elizabeth, right, sits next to her sister for a radio broadcast on October 13, 1940. On the broadcast, her first, she said that England's children were full of cheerfulness and courage. Hide Caption 7 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Princess Elizabeth shakes hands with an officer of the Grenadier Guards on May 29, 1942. King George VI made Elizabeth an honorary colonel in the Royal Army regiment. Hide Caption 8 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth, right, and Princess Margaret wear summer dresses circa 1942. Margaret is Elizabeth's only sibling. Hide Caption 9 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II With the Drakensberg Mountains behind her, Princess Elizabeth sits in South Africa's Natal National Park on April 21, 1947. It was her 21st birthday. Hide Caption 10 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II On November 20, 1947, Elizabeth wed Prince Philip, a lieutenant in the British Navy who had been born into the royal families of Greece and Denmark. After becoming a British citizen and renouncing his Greek title, Philip became His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. His wife became the Duchess of Edinburgh. Hide Caption 11 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Princess Elizabeth arrives at a state banquet in London in March 1950. Hide Caption 12 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth ascended to the throne in February 1952, when her father died of lung cancer at the age of 56. Here, she walks to the altar during her coronation ceremony on June 2, 1953. Hide Caption 13 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Queen Elizabeth II is photographed on the balcony of Melbourne's Government House during her tour of Australia in March 1954. Hide Caption 14 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II From left, Princess Margaret, Queen Elizabeth II and the Queen Mother visit Epsom Downs Racecourse in June 1958. Hide Caption 15 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II The Queen holds her son Prince Andrew while his sister, Princess Anne, watches during a family holiday at Scotland's Balmoral Castle in September 1960. The Queen has four children, including sons Charles and Edward. Hide Caption 16 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Queen Elizabeth II is seen during the state opening of Parliament in April 1966. Hide Caption 17 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Queen Elizabeth II with her oldest son, Prince Charles, in 1969. Charles is next in line for the throne. Hide Caption 18 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Prince Charles adjusts his coronet during his investiture ceremony as Prince of Wales in 1969. Hide Caption 19 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II The Queen and Prince Philip wave from a plane ramp shortly before taking off from Tokyo in May 1975. Hide Caption 20 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II The Queen takes a portrait at Windsor Castle for her 50th birthday on April 21, 1976. Hide Caption 21 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II The Queen meets the crowds during her royal tour of New Zealand in 1977. Hide Caption 22 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth walks with some of her corgis at the Windsor Horse Trials in May 1980. Hide Caption 23 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II The Queen stands next to Prince Charles as he kisses his new bride, Princess Diana, on July 29, 1981. Hide Caption 24 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth takes pictures of her husband during a horse show in Windsor in May 1982. Hide Caption 25 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth drives her Land Rover during the Royal Windsor Horse Show in May 1992. Hide Caption 26 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II While at Buckingham Palace, the Queen and Prince Philip view the floral tributes to Princess Diana after her tragic death in 1997. Hide Caption 27 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II The Queen addresses the nation on the night before Princess Diana's funeral in 1997. Hide Caption 28 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Prince Charles looks back at his mother after wedding Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, in April 2005. Hide Caption 29 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II The Queen, second from right, greets a crowd from the balcony of Buckingham Palace on April 29, 2011. Her grandson Prince William, third from left, had just married Catherine Middleton. Hide Caption 30 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II The Queen's signature is seen in the visitors book at Aras An Uachtarain, the Irish President's official residence in Dublin in May 2011. Hide Caption 31 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Madame Tussauds London reveals a wax figure of the Queen in May 2012. Hide Caption 32 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Prince Charles kisses his mother's hand on stage as singer Paul McCartney, far right, looks on at the Diamond Jubilee concert in June 2012. The Diamond Jubilee celebrations marked Elizabeth's 60th anniversary as Queen. Hide Caption 33 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II The Queen tours the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London in December 2012. Hide Caption 34 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II A boy in Belfast, Northern Ireland, takes a selfie in front of the Queen in June 2014. Hide Caption 35 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II The Queen enters the Great Hall at Edinburgh Castle after attending a commemorative service for the Scottish National War Memorial in July 2014. Hide Caption 36 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II The Queen waits to give her speech during the state opening of Parliament in May 2015. Hide Caption 37 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth listens to her great-grandson, Prince George, outside a church where George's sister, Charlotte, was being christened in July 2015. George and Charlotte are the children of Prince William, left, and Duchess Catherine. Hide Caption 38 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II The Queen and Prince Philip wave to guests in London who were attending celebrations for her 90th birthday in 2016. Hide Caption 39 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth speaks to Evie Mills, 14, at a hospital in Manchester, England, in May 2017. Evie was injured in a bombing that took place as people left an Ariana Grande concert. Hide Caption 40 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II The Queen sits at a desk in Buckingham Palace after recording her Christmas Day broadcast in 2017. Hide Caption 41 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II The Queen arrives for the wedding of her grandson Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in May 2018. Hide Caption 42 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II The Queen laughs with Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, during a bridge-opening ceremony in Halton, England, in June 2018. It was Meghan's first royal outing without her husband, Prince Harry, by her side. Hide Caption 43 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II The Queen and US President Donald Trump inspect a guard of honor during Trump's visit to Windsor Castle in July 2018. Hide Caption 44 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II The Queen looks at her new great-grandchild, Archie, in May 2019. Archie is the first child of Prince Harry, second from left, and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex. Prince Philip is on the far left. Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland, is next to her at right. Hide Caption 45 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II The Queen welcomes Boris Johnson at Buckingham Palace, where she formally invited him to become Prime Minister in July 2019. Johnson won the UK's Conservative Party leadership contest and replaced Theresa May, who was forced into resigning after members of her Cabinet lost confidence in her inability to secure the UK's departure from the European Union. Hide Caption 46 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II The Queen speaks to Johnson from Windsor Castle in March 2020. Earlier in March, Buckingham Palace announced that the Queen would be postponing engagements in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Johnson later announced on Twitter that he had tested positive for the virus. Hide Caption 47 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II An image of the Queen appears in London's Piccadilly Square, alongside a message of hope from her special address to the nation during the coronavirus pandemic, on April 18. Hide Caption 48 of 50

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II The Queen, aged 94, is pictured riding on horseback in Windsor, England, west of London, in her first public appearance since the coronavirus lockdown began in the UK. The images, released on May 31, feature the monarch riding Balmoral Fern, a 14-year-old fell pony, according to a Buckingham Palace news release. Hide Caption 49 of 50