Queen Elizabeth II will celebrate her 65th year on the throne, after nearly a lifetime of service to country and crown, on Monday. Elizabeth surpassed Queen Victoria as Britain’s longest-serving monarch in 2015 and will become the only British monarch ever to celebrate her Sapphire Jubilee.
Official celebrations of Elizabeth’s Sapphire Jubilee are expected to include ceremonial cannon fusillades at a central London park and at the riverside Tower of London as well as a procession of military horses pulling World War I-era artillery pieces.
But Buckingham Palace confirmed Britain’s longest-serving monarch plans to spend Monday’s ceremonies far from the spotlight at her Sandringham House estate in Norfolk, 110 miles north of London where her father, George VI, after a 15-year-long reign, died of lung cancer at age 56 on Feb. 6, 1952.
Elizabeth never expected to be queen but her life changed forever in 1936 when her uncle, Edward VII, abdicated the throne and his brother, Albert, became king, adopting for his reign the name George VI. Thus, Princess Elizabeth found herself first in line to the throne.
Her father fell ill in Feb. 1952, following which she along with Prince Philip, her husband, went on an official visit to Kenya instead of her father. George VI died on Feb. 6, 1952 and being the heir to the throne, Elizabeth was announced queen at the age of 25.
“For the first time in the history of the world, a young girl climbed into a tree one day a princess and after having what she described as her most thrilling experience she climbed down from the tree the next day a queen — God bless her,” her bodyguard, a hunter named Jim Corbett, reportedly wrote in the visitor’s log book.
After returning to England she met with the Lords of the Council for the formal proclamation of her reign as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, on Feb. 8, 1952.
On June 2, 1953, her coronation was televised in spite of being advised otherwise and that was huge step forward in the history of British monarchs.
“Televising the coronation was groundbreaking for its time — to bring the monarchy into millions of peoples’ homes against all of the advice of her advisers who said this makes the monarch look too day-to-day, too real. She realized actually this is what she wanted to do, set the tone for her entire reign, making the monarchy relevant and bringing it to the people,” said Roya Nikkhah, the royal correspondent for the Sunday Times.
Elizabeth’s ways of performing her duties with dignity, a major part of her job, has defined her throughout her reign. She had not said anything publicly inappropriate through the 65 years on the throne.
Here’s a look at Queen Elizabeth’s 65 years in the monarchy:
Princess Elizabeth aged 3, 1929. Photo: Time Magazine Cover, April 29, 1929.
Princesses Elizabeth and Mary on the footplate during the 1947 Royal Visit to South Africa. Photo: SAR&H photo journal – Ian Pretorius collection
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Coronation portrait, June 1953, London, England. Photo: Library and Archives Canada
A hand reaches out to greet Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II after she walked through the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin Oct. 21, 1992. Queen Elizabeth was on the 3rd day of her visit to Germany. Photo: Reuters
President of the United States Ronald Reagan and Queen Elizabeth II Horseback Riding at Windsor Castle, England in 1982. Reagan is riding Centennial and the Queen is on Burmese. Photo: Michael Evans
Queen Elizabeth II & Prince Phillip visiting Harmon Air Force Base in 1959. Photo: Charles Lefevre
President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush escort Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, from the Grand Staircase of the White House, prior to attending the State Dinner in the Queen’s honor, May 7, 2007. Photo: White House photo by Lynden Steele
Scan of United Kingdom 3-pence stamp of 1952, bearing Queen Elizabeth II’s photo. Photo: Stan Shebs
Queen Elizabeth II and her host Hungarian President Arpad Gonz smile during a banquet, May 4, 1993. The Queen was on a four days state visit to Hungary. Photo: Reuters
The Duchess of Cornwall, the Prince of Wales, Queen Elizabeth II, the Duke of Edinburgh, and Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (L-R) arrive for the annual evening reception for members of the Diplomatic Corps at Buckingham Palace in London, Dec. 8, 2016. Photo: REUTERS/Dominic Lipinski
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