Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th Birthday - Her Life In Pictures
Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her official 90th birthday on 11 June 2016.
Britain is coming together to celebrate, with street parties popping up all over the country and pubs staying open extra late.
On Saturday The Trooping of the Colour will kick off in the morning, along with a carriage parade. The Royal Family will then take to the balcony of Buckingham Palace to watch the RAF flypast.
The next day in London a mass party for 10,000 people will be held on The Mall. Revellers will crack into a giant picnic in honour of Her Majesty.
The longest serving monarch in the history of Britain, Queen Elizabeth was crowned in 1953, aged just 25.
But when she was born in 1926, it was not expected that the baby girl christened Elizabeth Alexandra Mary would ever become queen. She was third in line to the throne after Edward, Prince of Wales, and her father, The Duke of York.
She spent the early part of her life living at 145 Piccadilly, her parent’s London home, and at White Lodge in Richmond Park.
When her grandfather died in 1936, Elizabeth’s uncle was crowned King Edward VIII. But, within a year, Edward abdicated the throne in order to marry the woman he loved. Elizabeth’s father then acceded to the throne as King George VI, and Elizabeth was the first in line.
Elizabeth announced her engagement to Phillip Mountbatten in July 1947, and they married later that year. The couple’s first child, Prince Charles, was born in 1948, and his younger sister Anne two years later.
In 1952, King George VI died following a prolonged illness, and Elizabeth immediately became Queen. Her coronation took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey.
During The Queen’s reign there have been 12 British Prime Ministers, seven Archbishops of Canterbury and seven popes.
Her Majesty has acted as a patron or president of more than 600 charities, and has completed a record number of overseas engagements.
As well as her official engagements, Queen Elizabeth II has always found time to indulge her passions - horses and dogs. She is an owner and breeder of thoroughbred horses, and frequently attends racing meets to watch her horses run.
As she celebrates this milestone birthday, we take a look back at her life with a picture from each year:
1926
The Duke and Duchess of York pose with their newborn baby daughter, Princess Elizabeth, in the year 1926. (PA Archive)
1927
A one-year-old Princess Elizabeth enjoys a ride around the grounds of Windsor Castle, alongside her cousin, the honourable Gerald Lascelles, right. (AP Photo)
1928
The little Princess Elizabeth waves from her carriage as she rides through London. (PA Archive)
1929
Princess Elizabeth goes for a drive in Battersea Park in the year 1929, accompanied by her nanny. (PA Archive)
1930
A young Princess Elizabeth attends the Royal Tournament at Olympia, London, in 1930. (PA Archive)
1931
A five-year-old Princess Elizabeth attends the wedding of Lady May Cambridge and Captain Henry Abel Smith at the 16th Century Church at Balcombe, Sussex in October 1931. (PA Archive)
1932
Edward, Prince of Wales, accompanies his six-year-old niece, Princess Elizabeth, to the Highland Games and Gathering at Braemar. (AP/Press Association Images)
1933
Princess Elizabeth pulls up her socks as she arrives at Olympia station in London in May 1933. (AP-photo)
1934
in 1934, Princess Elizabeth is pictured patting a prize-winning mount during a surprise visit to the Richmond Royal Horse Show in London. (AP Photo/Len Putnam)
1935
At nine years old in the year 1935, Princess Elizabeth attended the wedding of the Duke of Gloucester and Lady Alice Scott. (AP Photo)
1936
Princess Elizabeth takes her dog for a walk in Hyde Park, shortly before her 10th birthday. (AP Photo)
1937
This picture was taken just after the coronation of Princess Elizabeth’s father, King George VI. She is standing with her mother, Elizabeth Queen Consort. Elizabeth became first in line to the throne after her father’s coronation. (PA Archive)
1938
In the summer of 1938, Princess Elizabeth and her companion Shaun Plunket are pictured playing with the penguins at London Zoo. (AP Photo)
1939
Princess Elizabeth, first in line to the throne, accompanies her younger sister Princess Margaret to Olympia for a performance of the International Horse Show in June 1939. (AP Photo)
1940
On her 14th birthday in 1940, Princess Elizabeth rides her horse in the grounds of Windsor Great Park. (AP Photo)
1941
A 15-year-old Princess Elizabeth and her younger sister Princess Margaret are pictured at their wartime country residence in Windsor. Due to the petrol shortage caused by the conflict the sisters are riding in their horse-drawn carriage. (PA Archive)
1942
Princess Elizabeth is pictured in her Girl Guides uniform during WWII. (PA Archive)
1943
Shortly after her 17th birthday, Princess Elizabeth is shown the saluting base during a full inspection of an armoured battalion of her regiment in the souther command. During the war she was a colonel in the Grenadier Guards. (AP Photo)
1944
Princess Elizabeth sports a daring hat on a visit to the Yugo-Slav exhibition at Burlington House in January 1944. (AP Photo)
1945
Princess Elizabeth sits behind the wheel of an army vehicle during her service in WWII in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. (PA Archive)
1946
An official Cecil Beaton portrait shows Princess Elizabeth smiling in Buckingham Palace. (PA Archive)
1947
In 1947, Princess Elizabeth announced her engagement to Phillip Mountbatten. They married later the same year. Here the bride, Princess Elizabeth, and her groom, now The Duke of Edinburgh, wave from the balcony of Buckingham Palace after their wedding ceremony at Westminster Abbey. (PA Archive)
1948
Princess Elizabeth gave birth to her first child in 1948. This picture shows her as a new mother, holding her son Prince Charles. (PA Archive)
1949
Dressed in a silver gown and diamond tiara, Princess Elizabeth poses for an official portrait in 1949. (AP Photo)
1950
Now a mother of two, Princess Elizabeth poses with two-year-old Charles and her newborn baby Princess Anne. (PA Archive)
1951
Princess Elizabeth clutches a huge bouquet of flowers as she attends the film premiere of ‘The Lady With The Lamp’ at the Warner Theatre, Leicester Square. (PA Archive)
1952
King George VI, Elizabeth’s father, died on 6 February 1952. Princess Elizabeth immediately became queen at the age of 25. Here she takes part in her first Trooping of the Colour as monarch. (PA Archive)
1953
Elizabeth II was crowned Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon on 2 June 1953. The ceremony took place at Westminster Abbey in London, and the entire British nation came together to celebrate. Here she beams as she leaves the Coronation in her carriage. (PA Archive)
1954
On her first Royal Tour as the Queen, Elizabeth II waves to the crowds at Te Kuiti, New Zealand. (PA Archive)
1955
Sir Winston Churchill and his wife, Lady Churchill, greet the Queen as she arrives for a dinner party at 10. Downing Street. (PA Archive)
1956
Queen Elizabeth II beams after presenting her husband the Duke of Edinburgh with a trophy following an exhibition polo match. (PA Archive)
1957
During a state visit to Denmark, the Queen smiles as she arrives at Copenhagen Town Hall in an open top car. (PA Archive)
1958
In 1958 Queen Elizabeth II made her first descent of a coal mine, at Rothes Colliery in Fifeshire. She spent half an hour beneath the ground. (PA Archive)
1959
President Dwight D. Eisenhower accompanies the Queen at the airstrip at St. Hubert, Quebec, where her Majesty greeted the President and his wife on their arrival in Canada. (PA Archive)
1960
A smiling Queen Elizabeth II waves to the crowds as she leaves the Royal Variety Show at Victoria Palace in 1960. (PA Archive)
1961
John Diefenbaker, Prime Minister of Canada, receives the first ever phone call to Ottawa from the Queen. She was inaugurating CANTAT (Canadian Trans-Atlantic Telephone). (PA Archive)
1962
Accompanied by the Queen Mother, Elizabeth attends a race meeting at Sandown Park, wearing a fashionable leopard-print coat. (PA Archive)
1963
The Queen returns to Buckingham Palace on horseback after attending the Trooping of the Colour parade to mark her official 37th birthday. (PA Archive)
1964
The Duke of Edinburgh accompanies The Queen to the Braemar Royal Highland Society Games in Aberdeenshire. (PA Archive)
1965
On her 39th birthday, The Queen poses with her family at Frogmore House, Windsor. (PA Archive)
1966
A smiling Queen presents the Jules Rimet Trophy to England captain Bobby Moore, following his team’s 4-2 victory over West Germany in the World Cup final at Wembley Stadium. (PA Archive)
1967
Her Majesty attends a garden party in the grounds of the Royal Hospital in Chelsea, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Women’s Services. (PA Archive)
1968
Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh leave St. Paul’s Cathedral after the 150th Anniversary of the Order of St. Michael and St. George. (PA Archive)
1969
The Queen crowns her son, Prince Charles, as the Prince of Wales, during an investiture ceremony at Caernarfon Castle. (PA Archive)
1970
Queen Elizabeth II is pictured in her living room at Buckingham Palace during the filming of her Christmas Day address to the Commonwealth. (PA Archive)
1971
Her Majesty visits the Chelsea Flower Show in London in 1971. (PA Archive)
1972
Prince Andrew and his mother The Queen walk the dogs in the grounds of Balmoral Castle in Scotland. (PA Archive)
1973
Chief Harold Cardinal, the president of the Indian Association of Alberta, escorts The Queen from a teepee in Calgary, Canada. (AP Photo)
1974
On her 48th birthday, Queen Elizabeth II laughs during celebrations at Windsor Castle. (PA Archive)
1975
The Queen stands in the gardens of Buckingham Palace to record her 1975 Christmas broadcast. This was the first time she had made her address outdoors. (PA Archive)
1976
Queen Elizabeth II during a State visit to Luxembourg. (PA Archive)
1977
Young schoolgirls in Brisbane greet The Queen during her Silver Jubilee tour of Australia. She celebrated the 25th anniversary of her accession to the throne this year. (PA Archive)
1978
Bright bunting and waving flags welcome Queen Elizabeth II to Guernsey for a state visit. (PA Archive)
1979
Queen Elizabeth II talks to the Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, at a reception for the 39 heads of delegations attending the Commonwealth Conference in Lusaka, Zambia. (AP Photo)
1980
Elizabeth and her mother share a joke as they watch a race from the Royal Box at Epsom Racecourse. (PA Archive)
1981
Prince Charles and her then-fiancee Lady Diana Spencer pose for a photograph with The Queen at Buckingham Palace. (PA Archive)
1982
The Queen is carried in a Canoe to the shore of Tuvalu at the end of her visit to the South Sea Islands in 1982. (PA Archive)
1983
The Queen is offered food by girls in traditional Indian dress at the Mahatma Gandhi memorial at Raj Ghat, Delhi. Gandhi was cremated here following his assassination. This was the Queen’s second visit to the site, the first was in 1961 when she planted a tree. (PA Archive)
1984
The Queen and her grandchildren Peter and Zara Phillips attend the Horse Society Centenary Display at Smith’s Lawn, Windsor Great Park. (PA Archive)
1985
The Prince of Wales with Princess Diana, baby Prince Harry, Prince William, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Edward, Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Anne all gather on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to watch the fly past following the Trooping of the Colour. (PA Archive)
1986
Queen Elizabeth II smiles as she leaves St Georges Chapel, Windsor in the glass sided Scottish State coach following a thanksgiving service at the chapel to mark her 60th birthday. (PA Archive)
1987
Queen Elizabeth II meets wellwishers outside Ely Cathedral after presenting Maundy Money to pensioners. (PA Archive)
1988
The Queen smiles as she accepts congratulations in Paisley, near Glasgow, following the birth of her fifth grandchild, Princess Eugenie, to the Duke and Duchess of York. (PA Archive)
1989
Queen Elizabeth II watches intently as the Duke of Edinburgh tackles the marathon section of the Harrods International Grand Prix at the Royal Windsor Horse Show. (PA Archive)
1990
The Queen arrives at Ascot for the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes. (PA Archive)
1991
Her Majesty hands the Rugby World Cup trophy to a victorious Nick Farr-Jones, Australian captain, at Twickenham Stadium. (PA Archive)
1992
Queen Elizabeth II watches proceedings at the Royal Windsor Horse Show. (PA Archive)
1993
Dressed in her full regalia, The Queen sits in the House of Lords for the state opening of parliament. (PA Archive)
1994
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth smiles as she cuts a ribbon in the engine of the Royal Yacht Britannia, to mark the ship’s one millionth mile on the same engine. (PA Archive)
1995
Using a Leica camera The Queen snaps a picture of her husband, The Duke of Edinburgh, as he competes in the dressage section of the Carriage Driving Championships at the Royal Windsor Horse Show. (PA Archive)
1996
Nelson Mandela, President of South Africa, rides alongside The Queen in a carriage along the Mall on the first day of his state visit to Britain. (PA Archive)
1997
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh view the floral tributes to Diana, Princess of Wales, at Buckingham Palace, following her tragic death. (PA Archive)
1998
The Queen encounterS an old acquaintance during a visit to the Roman site of Vindolanda in Northumberland, a corgi bred by her and now owned by Lady Beaumont who lives in the area. (PA Photos)
1999
The Queen is welcomed by traditional Mozambican dancers at the Polana Hotel, Maputo, Mozambique, the newest of the Commonwealth countries. (PA Archive)
2000
Queen Elizabeth celebrates her mother’s 100th birthday. They are pictured together on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, as thousands of people flock to the streets outside the Palace to cheer the Queen Mother. (PA Archive)
2001
Her Majesty drops in on the Eastenders set at Elstree Studios. Here she stands outside the Queen Victoria pub with actress and longstanding cast member Barbara Windsor. (PA Archive)
2002
The Queen and Prince Charles walk behind the Queen Mother’s coffin following her funeral at Westminster Abbey in central London. Royal dignitaries and politicians from around the world gathered at Westminster Abbey to pay their respects. (PA Archive)
2003
Queen Elizabeth II pays a visit to The Royal Veterinary College in Hertfordshire. (PA Archive)
2004
Queen Elizabeth II peers round a corner during a visit to the Royal Albert Hall in London, following the end of an eight-year restoration program. (PA Archive)
2005
During a state visit to Canada, The Queen sits next to Chief Alphonse Bird of the Federation of Indian Nations, at the First Nations University. (PA Archive)
2006
Raising her glass, Her Majesty makes a toast during a state banquet at the Presidential Palace, Singapore. (Gareth Fuller/PA)
2007
The Queen arrives for the 2007 Royal Variety Performance at the Empire Theatre in Liverpool. (Anna Gowthorpe/WPA/PA Wire)
2008
Something catches The Queen’s attention as she takes a tour of the Royal Institution of Great Britain, London. (Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire)
2009
A member of the public presented The Queen with a bunch of flowers as she toured the city of Hull, Yorkshire. (Anna Gowthorpe/PA Wire)
2010
Queen Elizabeth II laughs along with her grandson Prince William and her husband the Duke of Edinburgh as they watch a flypast from the balcony of Buckingham Palace, following the Trooping the Colour ceremony at Horse Guards Parade. (Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire)
2011
The Queen watches her horse compete in the Veteran Horse class at the Royal Windsor Horse Show. (Steve Parsons/PA Wire)
2012
The Duchess of Cambridge accompanies The Queen to watch a fashion show at De Montfort University in Leicester during a visit to the city as part of the Diamond Jubilee Tour. (Oli Scarff/PA Wire)
2013
Queen Elizabeth II inspects the Royal Scots Borderers at the gates to Balmoral as she takes up residence there for the summer of 2013. (Andrew Milligan /PA Wire)
2014
Her Majesty visits the Tower of London’s ‘Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red’ installation in October 2014. (Chris Jackson/PA Wire)
2015
On the day she became the longest reigning monarch in British history, The Queen travelled by steam train to inaugurate the new £294 million Scottish Borders Railway. (Owen Humphreys/PA Wire)
2016
At the site of the new Bond Street Crossrail station, The Queen this year formally unveiled a new roundel for the Crossrail line which is to be renamed the “Elizabeth line” from December 2018 when it opens to passengers. (Richard Pohle/The Times/PA Wire)
