Queen Elizabeth II is well known throughout the world. She is the Queen of sixteen countries but lives in the United Kingdom. Her ancestors have ruled over the UK for over a thousand years. She holds enormous power over her 129 million subjects, but rarely gets involved with politics. She is a hard-working Queen who has adapted to world changes over six decades.

 

Elizabeth has many other positions besides being a monarch. She is Head of the Commonwealth (the collection of 16 nations), Supreme Governor of the Church of England, Chief of Fiji and head of many parts of the UK armed forces. She married a Greek prince in 1947. Her husband is known as the Duke of Edinburgh.

 

Elizabeth was born in London in 1926. She was third in line to the throne and never expected to become queen. She was on safari in Kenya when she received news that her father had died and she was the new Queen. She was crowned in 1953 and soon after the ceremony she went on a six-month world tour to visit her people.

 

Elizabeth has always taken her position as Queen extremely seriously. She has never given a press interview, and no one knows her political views. She has been the ultimate professional throughout her working life. Even her dress has stayed conservative. She is famous for her plain-coloured coats. She continues to attend many cultural events as part of her public role.