Who was Elizabeth II?

1 ANSWERS

1. GiGi
   

   Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary;[N 1] born 21 April 1926) is the queen regnant of sixteen independent states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis. All together, these countries have a combined population, including dependencies, of over 129 million, with their territory extending over every continent, and make Elizabeth currently the only monarch of more than one independent state. She holds each crown separately and equally in a shared monarchy, and carries out duties in and on behalf of all the states of which she is sovereign. Elizabeth is also Head of the Commonwealth, Supreme Governor of the Church of England, Duke of Normandy, Lord of Mann, and Paramount Chief of Fiji. In theory her powers are vast; however, in practice, and in accordance with convention, she rarely intervenes in political matters.
   Her long reign has seen sweeping changes in her realms through the dissolution of the British Empire (a process that began before her accession) and the consequent evolution of the modern Commonwealth of Nations. Elizabeth became Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) upon the death of her father, George VI, on 6 February 1952. As other colonies of the British Empire attained independence from the United Kingdom, she acceded to the newly created thrones as queen of each respective new realm, so that, throughout her 57 years on the throne, she has been the sovereign of 32 individual nations, half of which, after varying periods of time, subsequently installed other persons as their head of state.
   Since 1947, Elizabeth has been married to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The couple have four children and eight grandchildren. She is one of the longest-reigning British monarchs ranking behind Victoria (who reigned over the United Kingdom for 63 years), George III (who reigned over Great Britain for 59 years), and James VI (who reigned over Scotland for 57 years).

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