How old is Queen Elizabeth II and how long has she been on the throne of England?
Queen Elizabeth II is the longest-reigning British monarch and the longest-lived in history. She is the only monarch to have celebrated a Platinum Jubilee.
Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the British throne 6 February 1952 and was the ruling monarch for over 70 years. She is the longest-serving British monarch in history, becoming the only one to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee.
Before her, the next longest serving monarch was her great-great grandmother Queen Victoria who reigned for 63 years. The two also have the title of longest-lived British monarchs, but at 96, Queen Elizabeth II was fifteen years older than her ancestor when she died.
Queen Elizabeth II, however, was not the longest serving monarch in the world but the second longest. The title goes to French King Louis XIV who rule for 72 years. He had a head start, ascending to the throne at the tender age of four.
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How Queen Elizabeth came to the throne
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born 21 April 1926 in Mayfair, London when Great Britain still reigned over an empire that stretch around the globe. She was the first daughter of the Duke and Duchess of York. This didn’t immediately put her in line for the throne though.
Her father’s older brother, King Edward VIII, was sitting on the throne but she was still in line to wear the crown. When he abdicated to avoid a constitutional crisis, he wished to marry an American woman who was twice divorced and both ex-husbands were still alive, something very much frowned upon at the time, the Duke of York became King George VI and she the heir presumptive in 1936 being that King Edward VIII had no children at the time.
Sixteen years later Elizabeth’s father died a couple months before her 26th birthday and she became queen regent. The following year, she was crowned Queen Elizabeth II 2 June 1953. She ruled until her death 8 September 2022.