Queen Elizabeth is the Queen of the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth realms. Elizabeth was born in Mayfair, London, as the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth).

Her father acceded to the throne in 1936 upon the abdication of his brother, King Edward VIII, making Elizabeth the heir presumptive.

She was educated privately at home and began to undertake public duties during the Second World War, serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service.

In November 1947, she married Philip Mountbatten, a former prince of Greece and Denmark, and their marriage lasted 73 years until Philip’s death in 2021.

They had four children: Charles, Prince of Wales; Anne, Princess Royal; Prince Andrew, Duke of York; and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.

Elizabeth’s only sibling, Princess Margaret, was born in 1930. The two princesses were educated at home under the supervision of their mother and their governess, Marion Crawford.

Lessons concentrated on history, language, literature, and music

Why Did Queen Elizabeth Never Marry?

Early on in her reign, Queen Elizabeth proclaimed that she would not marry because she was ‘already bound unto a husband which is the Kingdom of England’.

Nevertheless, numerous candidates were mooted and over the next two decades, Elizabeth found each man unsuitable, for one reason or another.