Queen Elizabeth II: Above All Else

Queen Elizabeth II has been on the throne for over 60 years, the longest reign in British history. She took over at age 25 from her father, King George VI, and has since seen the world change drastically. She’s fought illness and even death, but has remained a calm and beloved head of state.…

Queen Elizabeth II has spent over 20% of her life as the reigning monarch of England. As the longest-reigning monarch in history, she’s been through quite a lot in her time on the throne. She has seen her country go from a world power to a nation rebuilding after war and trade with the rest of the world grow and shift. When she was born, there were still parts of the British Empire that hadn’t declared their independence (Newfoundland, which would later become part of Canada). By the time she became queen in 1952, England had lost all its colonies and was struggling to reestablish itself after World War II.

The Queen’s position was actually much different when she came to power than it is today. In 1952, Princess Elizabeth didn’t have much power at all compared to what we see from her today. She had some freedom to make small decisions regarding Britain’s government but didn’t have any control over foreign policy or military affairs. It wasn’t until later that she began receiving briefings on major national issues and started having more agency in other areas.

Over the course of her reign, Queen Elizabeth has seen everything from changes in marriage law to advances in technology that were revolutionary at the time but are now taken for granted by most people. She’s