A part of Royal watching I miss is informative posts about the BRF. Which is why, every week I’ll be spotlighting a different Royal and posting a biographical thread about their lives!

And frankly, who better to start with, than Her Majesty The Queen

/ 𝑻𝑯𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑫

𝑸𝑬𝑰𝑰 was born Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary on April 21, 1926, to the Duke and Duchess of York

At the time of her birth, nobody expected the princess to ascend to the throne, and the first few years of her life were relatively peaceful

Elizabeth, nicknamed Lilibet, and her family spent the first decade of her life splitting their time between the Royal Lodge in Windsor’s Great Park, and their home in London

Her and her sister, Margaret, were educated by tutors in French, maths, history, art and other subjects

In 1936, 𝑸𝑬𝑰𝑰’s grandfather, King George V, died and her uncle ascended to the throne as King Edward VIII — this making the 10 y/o Elizabeth the heir presumptive, changing the course of her life forever

Not long after becoming King, her uncle Edward abdicated from the throne to marry American divorcée, Wallis Simpson

The abdication prompted Elizabeth’s father to be crowned King George VI in 1937, making her the next heir to the throne at age 11

In 1939, with the outbreak of WWII, Elizabeth and her sister stayed out of London and later relocated to Windsor Castle

From there, Elizabeth made the first of her famous wartime broadcasts, in 1940, aged 14, to reassure the children of Britain evacuated from their homes

The 14 year old Princess Elizabeth, showing her calm and firm personality, and unwavering strength and care for her people, told them "that in the end, all will be well; for God will care for us and give us victory and peace."

Soon after, Elizabeth began taking on other public duties and was appointed the colonial-in-chief of the Grenardier Guards, whom she inspected at her first public appearance in 1942

During this time, Elizabeth also accompanied her parents on domestic visits within Britain

In 1945, aged 19, Elizabeth joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service arm of the British military to help in the war effort

During her service in the military, she trained as a mechanic and expert driver of large vehicles

In 1947, Princess Elizabeth embarked on her first overseas tour, accompanying her parents through Southern Africa

It was on this tour that the Princess made the following pledge:

“I pledge before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.”

In July 1947, the engagement of Princess Elizabeth to Philip Mountbatten was announced to the public

The couple had first met in 1934, and after their third meeting in 1939 began to exchange letters with one another

Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten were married at Westminster Abbey in November 1947

Almost exactly a year after their wedding, Princess Elizabeth gave birth to the couple’s first child: Prince Charles Philip Arthur George

In 1950, two years after their first child was born, the couple welcomed their second child: Princess Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise

During this time, Elizabeth’s father suffered from serious health issues related to his lungs, and in 1952 Elizabeth’s father, King George VI passed away — the event prompting a prolonged period of nationwide mourning and grief

Upon her father’s death, Elizabeth became queen

In 1953, Elizabeth was crowned Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II at the age of 27

Her Coronation was the first to be televised, allowing people outside of the event to witness the Royal spectacle of a Queen being crowned and anointed

Seven years after her coronation, the Queen welcomed her third child: Prince Andrew Albert Christian Edward in 1960

Four years after Andrew’s birth, the Queen then welcomed her fourth and youngest child: Prince Edward Antony Richard Louis in 1964

Elizabeth's long and mainly peaceful reign has been marked by vast changes in her people's lives, in her country's power, how Britain is viewed abroad and how the monarchy is regarded and portrayed

As a constitutional monarch, Elizabeth does not weigh in on political matters

When she became queen, post-war Britain still had a substantial empire, dominions and dependencies. However, during the 1950s and 1960s, many of these countries achieved independence and the British Empire evolved into the Commonwealth of Nations

To this day, the queen, her children and some of her great-grandchildren continue to strengthen the Commonwealth of Nations through diplomatic tours and receptions to celebrate the value of this network of countries

During the 1970s and 1980s, Elizabeth continued to travel extensively

In 1973 she attended the Commonwealth Conference in Ottawa, Canada, and in 1976 traveled to the United States for the 200th anniversary celebration of America’s independence from Britain

More than a week later she was in Montreal, Canada, to open the Summer Olympics

In 1979, she traveled to Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, which garnered international attention and widespread respect

After the death of Princess Diana, the Queen did a public broadcast in tribute to the late mother of her grandsons. She also inspected and viewed the tributes from the public at the gates of Buckingham Palace

In 2011, Queen Elizabeth showed that the crown still had tremendous symbolic and diplomatic power when she became the first British monarch to visit the Republic of Ireland since 1911 (when all of Ireland was still part of the United Kingdom)

In 2012, the Queen celebrated her Diamond Jubilee — marking 60 years since her ascension to the throne

As queen, Elizabeth has been a key influence in modernising the monarchy, dropping some of its formalities and making certain sites and treasures more accessible to the public

During her reign, the world has changed immensely, and with her leadership, so too has the monarchy

God save our gracious Queen!

“I cannot lead you into battle. I do not give you laws or administer justice but I can do something else - I can give my heart and my devotion to these old islands and to all the peoples of our brotherhood of nations,” 𝑸𝑬𝑰𝑰

*** 𝑰𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒔, 𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘! 𝑶𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒆, 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒅𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑸𝒖𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒘! ***