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xiàn fǎ dì wèi
zài yīng guó， yī lì suō bái 'èr shì de wáng wèi shì gēn jù 1701 nián de《 wáng wèi jì chéng fǎ》（ ActofSettlement1701） jì chéng de， tā shì yī míng jī dū jiào xīn jiào tú， bìng qiě yě wèi jià gěi yī míng luó mǎ tiān zhù jiào tú。 jìn guǎn yīng guó de wáng wèi yī bān shì xuè yuán jì chéng， dàn shì yīng guó de guó huì zì 1688 nián guāng róng gé mìng yǐ hòu jiù yī zhí yòu quán jué dìng shuí lái jì chéng wáng wèi。（ jiàn yīng guó wáng wèi jì chéng）
zài rèn kě yī lì suō bái 'èr shì wèiguó jiā yuán shǒu de 15 gè yīng lián bāng guó jiā zhōng， tā zuò wéi guó jiā yuán shǒu de dì wèi shì shòu dào xiàn fǎ chéng rèn de。 yuán xiān zhè xiē guó jiā dū céng shì yīng guó de zhí mín dì huò zì zhì lǐng dì。 zhī qián de《 wēi sī mǐn sī tè fǎ lìng》（ StatuteofWestminster） yòng lái qū fēn yīng guó de zhí mín dì hé yīng dì guó de zì zhì lǐng， gēn jù gāi fǎ lìng，“ rèn hé kě néng gǎi biàn wáng wèi jì chéng hé wáng shì tóu xián de fǎ lǜ dū bì
yǐ yī lì suō bái 'èr shì wèiguó jiā yuán shǒu de 16 gè guó jiā：
* ān tí guā hé bā bù dá
* ào dà lì yà
* bā hā mǎ
* bā bā duō sī
* bó lì cí
* jiā ná dà
* gé lín nà dá
* yá mǎi jiā
* xīn xī lán（ zì 1981 nián， zuò wéi xīn xī lán guó jiā yuán shǒu de yīng wáng， jiān rèn kē kè qún dǎo de yuán shǒu）
* bā bù yà xīn jǐ nèi yà
* shèng jī cí hé ní wéi sī
* shèng lú xī yà
* shèng wén sēn tè hé gé lín nà dīng sī
* suǒ luó mén qún dǎo
* tú wǎ lú
* yīng guó
zǎo nián shēng huó
yī lì suō bái 'èr shì chū shēng zài lún dūn wài zǔ fù mǔ de jiā zhōng， tā de zēngzǔ mǔ shì dān mài de yà lì shān dé lā wáng hòu， zǔ mǔ shì mǎ lì wáng hòu。 tā de fù qīn dāng shí hái shì yuē kè gōng jué， 10 nián hòu chéng wèiguó wáng qiáo zhì liù shì。
yī lì suō bái zài qí mǔ qīn yuē kè gōng jué fū rén de dū dǎo xià zài jiā zhōng jiē shòu jiào yù。 tā de lì shǐ lǎo shī C·H·K· mǎ dīng shì yī dùn gōng xué xiào cháng， chú cǐ zhī wài tā hái xué xí gè zhǒng yǔ yán（ tā de fǎ yǔ jiǎng dé hěn liú lì）。 kǎn tè bó léi dà zhù jiào wéi tā tí gōng shén xué fāng miàn de zhǐ diǎn， tā yī zhí shì míng qián chéng de shèng gōng huì huì yǒu。
1936 nián yī lì suō bái de bó fù 'ài dé huá bā shì tuì wèi， tā de fù qīn jì wèi wèiguó wáng， chéng wéi qiáo zhì liù shì， tā yě lì jí chéng wéi wáng wèi de jì chéng rén。 dì 'èr cì shì jiè dà zhàn bào fā shí yī lì suō bái 13 suì， tā yǔ mèi mèi mǎ gé lì tè gōng zhù dū dào sū gé lán de bā 'ěr mò lè 'ěr bìnàn。 dāng shí yòu rén jiàn yì liǎng wèi gōng zhù yīnggāi dào jiā ná dà bìnàn， zāo tā men mǔ qīn fǎn duì：“ hái zǐ men bù néng zài méi yòu wǒ de qíng kuàng xià lí kāi， wǒ bù néng zài méi yòu guó wáng de qíng kuàng xià lí kāi， ér guó wáng bù néng zài rèn hé qíng kuàng xià lí kāi。” 1940 nián yī lì suō bái gōng zhù shǒu cì fā biǎo guǎng bō， duì xiàng de shì suǒ yòu bìnàn zhōng de hái zǐ。
1945 nián yī lì suō bái gōng zhù shuō fú fù qīn， yǔn xǔ tā zhí jiē cānyù xié zhù dǎ yíng zhàn zhēng。 tā cānyù liǎo yī gè zhī yuán zhàn zhēng de fù nǚ tuán tǐ， zài nà lǐ tā de biān hào shì dì 230873 hào yī lì suō bái · wēn suō dì 'èr zhōng wèi。 zhè shì tā dì yī cì yǔ qí tā hái zǐ gòng tóng shòu xùn。 jù shuō tā běn rén fēi cháng xǐ huān zhè cì jīng yàn， yě zhèng shì yīn wéi zhè cì de jīng yàn， shǐ tā zhī hòu jiāng zì jǐ de hái zǐ sòng dào xué xiào shàng xué， ér bù shì ràng tā men zài jiā xué xí。
1947 nián yī lì suō bái shǒu cì wài fǎng， tā yǔ tā de fù mǔ qīn dào liǎo nán fēi。 zài tā 21 suì shēng rì nà tiān tā duì yīng lián bāng hé dì guó zuò liǎo guǎng bō， xuān shì jiāng zhōng shēn tóu rù dào duì yīng lián bāng hé dì guó rén mín de fú wù zhōng。
1947 nián 12 yuè 20 rì yī lì suō bái yǔ xī là de fěi lì pǔ wáng zǐ jié hūn。 fěi lì pǔ shì tā de dì sān dài biǎo gē， tā liǎ de gāo zǔ mǔ dōushì wéi duō lì yà nǚ wáng（ fěi lì pǔ wáng zǐ zài jié hūn qián xuān shì fàng qì xī là wáng wèi de jì chéng quán， zài fěi lì pǔ wáng zǐ zhè gè tóu xián zhī qián tā méi yòu rèn hé tóu xián， jiù jiào zuò fěi lì pǔ · méng bā dùn zhōng wèi）。 yī lì suō bái yòu tóng shí chí yòu 'ài dīng bǎo gōng jué fū rén de chēng hào。 zhè cì hūn shì fēi cháng shì hé yī wèi jí jiāng jì chéng wáng wèi de nǚ xìng， yīn wéi tā de fū jūn jiē shòu guò wáng shì xùn liàn， què yòu bù huì jì rèn lìng yī guó de wáng wèi。 dàn shì zhè zhuāng hūn yīn què bù shì kè yì 'ān pái de， liǎng rén de guān xì jīng lì liǎo xǔ duō kǎo yàn， zuì zhōng yě shì zài tā běn rén de jiān chí xià dá chéng de。 zhè xiē kǎo yàn bāo kuò fěi lì pǔ bù zhōng de liú yán， hé yī lì suō bái zǔ mǔ hé fù mǔ duì yú fěi lì pǔ de sì gè jiě jiě mendōu shì dé guó jí wáng fēi suǒ yǐn qǐ de cāi jì。 dāng shí jiàn zài de sān wèi jiě jiě bù bèi yāo qǐng chū xí dì dì de hūn lǐ mǔ qīn yóu yú zài yīng guó chū shēng jí chéngzhǎng zé huò zhǔn chū xí。
hūn hòu fū fù liǎng rén jū zhù zài lún dūn de kè lāi lún sī gōng（ ClarencePalace）。 tā men yù yòu sì gè hái zǐ（ jiàn xià）。 suī rán yīng guó de wáng cháo bèi chēng wéi wēn suō wáng cháo， dàn fū fù liǎng rén tóng yì tā men de hái zǐ yīnggāi shǐ yòng méng bā dùn - wēn suō（ Mountbatten-Windsor） zuò wéi tā men de xìng shì。
cóng 1951 nián qǐ qiáo zhì liù shì de jiàn kāng zhuàng kuàng měi kuàng yù xià， yī lì suō bái kāi shǐ dài tì fù qīn chū xí zài gōng kāi chǎng hé zhōng。 nà nián tā fǎng wèn liǎo xī là、 yì dà lì hé mǎ 'ěr tā（ dāng shí fěi lì pǔ suí jūn zhù zhā zài cǐ）。 10 yuè tā yòu fǎng wèn liǎo jiā ná dà hé měi guó huá shèng dùn。 1952 nián 1 yuè yī lì suō bái hé fěi lì pǔ yòu fǎng wèn liǎo 'ào dà lì yà yǔ xīn xī lán。 2 yuè 6 rì tā men zài fǎng wèn kěn ní yà shí dé zhī yī lì suō bái de fù qīn yǐ jīng qù shì， zài jì wèi yī kè tā shēn chù yī jiā shù shàng lǚ guǎn。 tā de jiā miǎn diǎn lǐ yú 1953 nián 6 yuè 2 rì zài xī mǐn sì jǔ xíng。
nǚ wáng shēng yá
zài jiā miǎn zhī hòu yī lì suō bái hé zhàng fū fěi lì pǔ bān dào liǎo lún dūn shì zhōng xīn de bái jīn hàn gōng。 dàn shì xiàng zhī qián suǒ yòu de guó wáng yī yàng， yī lì suō bái bìng bù xǐ huān jū zhù zài bái jīn hàn gōng。 duì tā 'ér yán， wèi yú lún dūn xī bù de wēn suō chéng bǎo cái shì tā de jiā。 tā yě yòu xiāng dāng yī duàn shí jiān shì zài sū gé lán de bā 'ěr mò lè 'ěr chéng bǎo dù guò de。
yī lì suō bái nǚ wáng shì yīng guó lì shǐ shàng wài fǎng zuì duō de guó jūn。 1953 nián zhì 1954 nián tā hé fěi lì pǔ huā liǎo bàn nián shí jiān zhōu yóu shì jiè， tā yě chéng wéi dì yī gè fǎng wèn 'ào dà lì yà、 xīn xī lán hé fěi jì de zài wèi jūn zhù。 1957 nián 10 yuè tā dào měi guó jìn xíng guó shì fǎng wèn， 1959 nián zé yòu fǎng wèn liǎo jiā ná dà。 1961 nián tā shǒu cì fǎng wèn yìn dù hé bā jī sī tǎn。 tā fǎng wèn guò dà duō shù 'ōu zhōu guó jiā hé xǔ duō 'ōu zhōu yǐ wài de dì qū， bìng jīng cháng chū xí yīng lián bāng shǒu nǎo huì yì。
zài yī lì suō bái jì wèi chū qī yòu xǔ duō rén rèn wéi yī gè“ xīn yī lì suō bái shí qī” jí jiāng dào lái。 dàn shì shì shí shàng tā bì xū miàn duì de yīng guó shì yī gè fēn bēng lí xī de luò rì dì guó、 zhú jiàn shuāi ruò de jūn shì yǔ jīng jì qiáng quán hé zhú jiàn wǎ jiě zhōng de sōng sàn zǔ zhì yīng lián bāng。 tā bù duàn nǔ lì shì tú bǎo chí qián zhí mín dì yǔ yīng guó de tè shū guān xì， zài yī xiē shí hòu héng héng lì rú nán fēi héng héng tā wéi bǎo chí zhè zhǒng guān xì zuò chū liǎo zhòng yào de gòng xiàn。
yī lì suō bái nǚ wáng zài zōng jiào、 dào dé biāo zhǔn hé jiā tíng shì wù shàng fēi cháng bǎo shǒu。 tā duì dài zōng jiào zé rèn shí fēn yán sù， bìng jiāng tā de jiā miǎn shì yán kàn dé hěn zhòng。 zhè shì wèishénme tā bù tài kě néng tuì wèi de yuán yīn zhī yī。 xiàng tā de mǔ qīn yī yàng， yī lì suō bái nǚ wáng cóng lái méi yòu yuán liàng 'ài dé huá bā shì xuǎn zé tuì wèi， yīn wéi zài tā kàn lái tā pāo qì liǎo zì jǐ de zhí zé， bìng pò shǐ zì jǐ de fù qīn fù dān qí zhè gè zé rèn， ér zhè yī zé rèn yòu bèi shì wéi shì suō duǎn qí fù qīn shòu mìng de zuì kuí huò shǒu。 tā lì yòng zì jǐ de quán wēi zǔ zhǐ liǎo tā de mèi mèi mǎ gé lì tè jià gěi yī gè lí guò hūn de nán rén。 ér duō nián lái tā yě jù jué chéng rèn tā de 'ér zǐ chá 'ěr sī wáng chǔ yǔ qíng rén kǎ mǐ lā · pà kè · bào lè sī de guān xì。
zhèng zhì shàng， tā de lì chǎng zé bǐ jiào mó hú， suī rán tā bìng fēi cóng wèi zài gōng kāi chǎng hé shàng biǎo dá guò tā duì zhèng zhì de kàn fǎ。 tā yǔ suǒ yòu zhèng dǎng zhōng de xǔ duō zhèng zhì rén wù dū bǎo chí zhe yǒu hǎo de guān xì。 yī bān rèn wéi tā zuì xǐ huān de shǒu xiāng shì wēn sī dùn · qiū jí 'ěr、 hā luó dé · mài kè mǐ lún hé hā luó dé · wēi 'ěr xùn。 tā zuì bù xǐ huān de shǒuxiàng dāng rán shì mǎ gé lì tè · sǎ qiē 'ěr。 tā yǔ qián rèn shǒuxiàng， yě shì dì yī wèi zài tā jì chéng wáng wèi zhī nián chū shēng de shǒuxiàng tuō ní · bù lāi 'ěr de guān xì zé xiāng dāng bù cuò。
nǚ wáng zhǐ yòu zài nà xiē kě néng yǐng xiǎng dào yīng guó tǒng yī de yì tí shàng gōng kāi tā de lì chǎng。 tā céng biǎo shì zhī chí yīng gé lán yǔ sū gé lán jì xù bǎo chí tǒng yī， yīn cǐ jī nù liǎo yī xiē sū gé lán mín zú zhù yì zhě。 tā duì běi 'ài 'ěr lán《 bèi 'ěr fǎ sī tè xié yì》 de zàn yù yě yǐn qǐ liǎo hěn duō lián bāng zhù yì zhě de fǎn duì。
suī rán wáng shì qí tā chéng yuán jīng cháng yǐn qǐ xǔ duō zhēng yì， tè bié shì nǚ wáng de hái zǐ men zài 1980 nián dài hé 1990 nián dài suǒ jīng lì de hūn yīn wèn tí， dàn nǚ wáng běn rén jiào shǎo yǐn fā zhēng yì， bìng shòu dào yīng guó rén mín de zūn jìng hé 'ài dài。 suī rán yǔ guò qù xiāng bǐ yòu suǒ fàng sōng， dàn tā zài gōng kāi chǎng hé zhōng biǎo xiàn dé yǐ rán shí fēn zhèng shì。 yóu yú tā zài gōng kāi chǎng hé zhōng bù yuàn biǎo dá zì jǐ de qíng gǎn， shǐ dé yīng guó gōng zhòng wú fǎ duì tā chǎn shēng gēngshēn de gǎn qíng。
yī lì suō bái 'èr shì cóng láidōu méi yòu bù shòu dào huān yíng， zhì shǎo méi yòu bǐ wéi duō lì yà nǚ wáng zài qí tǒng zhì shí qī gèng bù shòu huān yíng。 wéi yī yī cì yǐn qǐ gōng zhòng bù mǎn de shì zài 1997 nián dài 'ān nà wáng fēi qù shì hòu， nǚ wáng hé wáng shì qí tā chéng yuán bìng méi yòu cān jiā gōng zhòng dào niàn huó dòng。 zhè yǐn qǐ xǔ duō yī bān dōushì qīn wáng shì de xiǎo bào de pī píng， ràng yīng guó rén jué dé wáng shì lěng mò、 bù jìn rén qíng。
xǔ duō rén rèn wéi， nǚ wáng bù tài xǐ huān dài 'ān nà， rèn wéi tā pò huài wáng shì。 zuì hòu yóu yú jù dà de gōng zhòng yā lì， quán tǐ wáng shì chéng yuán bù dé bù zài wáng fēi de líng jiù jīng guò bái jīn hàn gōng shí xiàng tā jū gōng。 nǚ wáng yě hǎn jiàn dì yǐ diàn shì zhí bō de xíng shì biǎo dá duì dài 'ān nà qù shì de 'āi dào。 yī lì suō bái 'èr shì de zhè zhǒng gǎi biàn kě néng shì wáng tài hòu hé bù lāi 'ěr yóushuì de jiēguǒ。
1997 nián yǐ hòu yī lì suō bái 'èr shì jiù chóngxīn huò dé liǎo zhī qián nà zhǒng shòu rén zūn jìng de guó jiā yuán shǒu zhī xíng xiàng。 2002 nián quán guó wéi tā qìng zhù dēng jī 50 nián dà diǎn， dāng nián tā xún yóu liǎo quán yīng guó， duì duō gè yīng lián bāng guó jiā zuò liǎo guó shì fǎng wèn， hái chū xí liǎo duō chǎng yóu xíng huó dòng yǔ yīnyuè huì。 6 yuè， shù qiān rén jù jí zài bái jīn hàn gōng wài cān jiā míng wéi“ wáng gōng pài duì” de huó dòng， quán yīng gè dì de xǔ duō yīnyuè jiādōu yún jí zài cǐ biǎo yǎn。 qìng zhù huó dòng qī jiān wáng tài hòu què bù xìng qù shì。
zài mǔ qīn hé mèi mèi qù shì hòu， tā yǔ zǐ nǚ de guān xì yòu suǒ qīn jìn。 tā yǔ xí fù wēi sài kè sī bó jué fū rén de guān xì tè bié róng qià。 bù guò tā yǔ 'ér zǐ chá 'ěr sī wáng chǔ hái shì hěn shǎo jiàn miàn。 suī rán tā bù zhī chí wáng chǔ yǔ kǎ mǐ lā de guān xì， dàn zuì jìn tā céng duō cì gōng kāi 'àn shì yǐ jīng néng gòu jiē nà kǎ mǐ lā。 lìng yī fāng miàn tā yǔ sūn zǐ sūn nǚ zhī jiān de guān xì fēi cháng qīn mì， tè bié shì wēi lián wáng zǐ hé zhā lā · fěi lì pǔ sī。
2003 nián， yī xiàng shēn tǐ jiàn kāng de nǚ wáng jìn xíng liǎo sān xiàng shǒu shù。 1 yuè tā dòng shǒu shù yí chú liǎo yòu xī gài pò suì de ruǎn gǔ， 12 yuè yòu zài zuǒ xī gài jìn xíng liǎo lèi sì de shǒu shù， bìng yòu xiū bǔ liǎo liǎn bù de qì guān sǔn hài。 wài jiè céng jīng cāi cè zhè shì yóu yú pí fū 'ái yǐn qǐ de， bù guò bái jīn hàn gōng biǎo shì nǚ wáng bìng wú dà 'ài。
zuì jìn de yī xì liè shǒu shù ràng rén dān yōu yī lì suō bái nǚ wáng cāo láo guò dù， yīnggāi duō jiā xiū xī。 suī rán nǚ wáng yǐ jīng nián jiè 80， dàn tā běn rén yǐ jīng gōng kāi biǎo shì wú yì tuì wèi。 xǔ duō jiē jìn yī lì suō bái de rén shuō nǚ wáng bù kě néng zì xíng tuì wèi。 dàn shì tā tóng yì ràng tā de zǐ nǚ fù dān gèng duō guó shì huó dòng。 tā yě kāi shǐ jiǎn shǎo wài fǎng cì shù（ yī bān lái shuō tā měi nián dū huì zuò liǎng cì guó shì fǎng wèn hé liǎng cì yīng lián bāng guó jiā de fǎng wèn）。 dàn xiàng tā de mǔ qīn， tā zhǐ yòu dào shēn tǐ wú fǎ fùhè de nà tiān cái huì tíng zhǐ gōng zuò。
zuì jìn jǐ nián gōng zhòng fā xiàn yī lì suō bái nǚ wáng zài gōng zhòng chǎng hé biǎo xiàn chū gèng duō de qíng xù。 suī rán tā dà duō shù shí hòu hái shì bǎo chí guó jūn de zhuāng yán xíng xiàng， dàn tā kāi shǐ zài gōng zhòng chǎng hé wēi xiào， bìng zài wéi 911 shì jiàn sǐ nán zhě jǔ xíng de xī mǐn sì dào niàn huì shàng liú lèi。
2007 nián， nǚ wáng de zhuān yòng pín dào zài duǎn piàn fēn xiǎng wǎng zhàn YouTube qǐ bō， chú bō fàng duō ji wáng shì zhēn guì piàn duàn wài， gèng shǒu cì zài wǎng shàng bō fàng nǚ wáng de shèng dàn wén gào， jì niàn tā shǒu cì fā biǎo diàn shì shèng dàn wén gào 50 zhōu nián。 bái jīn hàn gōng biǎo shì， nǚ wáng kāi chuàng xiān hé， shàng zài piàn duàn dào wǎng zhàn， shì xī wàng jiāng xùn xī chuán dì gěi gèng duō rén， lā jìn hé nián qīng yī dài de jù lí。。
2008 nián， yīng guó wáng shì gāo jí xiāo xī lái yuán chēng， 82 suì de nǚ wáng yǐ jīng gǎi biàn liǎo“ yǒng bù tuì wèi” de chéng nuò， tā jìhuà zài 2013 nián zì jǐ 87 suì shí zhèng shì tuì wèi， cóng 'ér jiāng wáng wèi chuán gěi chá 'ěr sī wáng zǐ。 wáng shì xiāo xī lái yuán chēng， nǚ wáng yǐ jīng gào sù chá 'ěr sī wáng zǐ， tā zhǔn bèi ràng tā tí qián chéng wéi yīng guó guó wáng。 dàn nǚ wáng běn rén mù qián shàng mò zhèng shí zhè yī diǎn， yì yòu wài jiè duì nǚ wáng jiāng huì tuì wèi de shuō fǎ bào yòuhuái yí。 ér bái jīn hàn gōng fā yán rén zé biǎo shì nǚ wáng guò qù yī zhí biǎo shì， tā bù huì tuì wèi， tā de zhè yī guān diǎn mù qián bìng méi yòu fā shēng gǎi biàn。。
zhèng zhì juésè
zuò wéi guó jiā yuán shǒu， nǚ wáng bǎo hù xiàn fǎ zhí xíng de。 zài xiàng nèi de zhí zé shàng， nǚ wáng zài yīng guó fā huī guó jiā zhí néng zhōng de yī bù fēn。 lì rú wéi yì huì kāi mù、 pī zhǔn shū mì yuàn lìng、 qiān shǔ yì huì fǎ 'àn yǐ jí huì jiàn shǒuxiàng děng děng。 zài wài xiàng de zhí zé shàng， nǚ wáng zài shì jiè qí tā dì fāng dài biǎo yīng guó。 lì rú jiē shòu wài guó dà shǐ hé gāo jí zhuān yuán， jiē dài lái fǎng de guó jiā yuán shǒu， bìng fǎng wèn hǎi wài qí tā guó jiā， zhī chí yīng guó yǔ shì jiè gè guó de wài jiāo hé jīng jì guān xì。
yī bān rèn wéi， nǚ wáng zài xiàn xíng yīng guó jūn zhù lì xiàn zhì dāng zhōng jù bèi zī xún quán、 bāo jiǎng quán jí jǐng gào quán。 xiàn shí， nǚ wáng zài zhèng zhì shàng réng yòu zhuózhòng yào yǐng xiǎng lì， tè bié shì zài zhèng zhì wēi jī zhōng， nǚ wáng wǎng wǎng fā huī liǎo chāo dǎng pài de wěn dìng hé píng héng de zuò yòng。 zhè zài 1990 nián mǎ gé lì tè · sǎ qiē 'ěr zài bǎo shǒu dǎng yǐng xiǎng xià bèi pò xià tái yī shì kě jiàn yī bān。
nǚ wáng shì lì fǎ chéng shì zhōng de zhòng yào zǔ chéng bù fēn， tā yǔ shàng yì yuàn hé xià yì yuàn gòng tóng gòu chéng liǎo wán zhěng de yīng guó guó huì。 nǚ wáng néng gòu hé fǎ dì pī zhǔn huò fǒu jué fǎ 'àn， dàn shì zì 1707 nián yǐ lái jiù cóng lái méi yòu yī gè yīng guó jūn zhù céng jīng fǒu jué guò fǎ 'àn。 zài měi nián xīn yī jiè yì huì kāi mù shì nǚ wáng yě 'àn guàn lì xū yào fā biǎo jiǎng huà， gòu huá gāi nián dù de lì fǎ yì chéng， dàn shì zhè xiē jiǎng gǎo dū yóu tā de dà chén men fù zé zhuàn xiě。
nǚ wáng zài xíng zhèng shàng yě jù yòu qí dài biǎo xìng。 yīng guó zhèng fǔ bèi chēng wéi“ nǚ wáng bì xià de zhèng fǔ”（ HerMajesty'sGovernment）， chéng shì shàng shì yóu nǚ wáng fù zé rèn mìng dà chén。 dàn shì shí shàng nǚ wáng bù néng rèn yì xuǎn zé dà chén、 guān yuán。 nǚ wáng zài shǒuxiàng yào qiú xià yì kě zhí xíng jiě sàn yì huì de quán lì， yǐ biàn jìn xíng dà xuǎn。 ér zài dà xuǎn zhōng qǔ dé shèng lì de zhèng dǎng lǐng xiù， zé xū dài nǚ wáng yāo qǐng qí chéng wéi xīn yī rèn shǒuxiàng。 shǒuxiàng yī zhí yī bān yóu xià yì yuàn duō shù dǎng lǐng xiù dān rèn， rán hòu yóu shǒuxiàng“ jiàn yì” nǚ wáng rèn mìng qí tā nèi gé chéng yuán。 ér yīng guó zhèng fǔ bìng fēi xiàng nǚ wáng fù zé， tā xiàng xià yì yuàn fù zé， jí jiànjiē dì xiàng yīng guó xuǎn mín fù zé。 nǚ wáng yě cānyù dào guó jiā de sī fǎ tǐ zhì zhōng， fǎ tíng yǐ tā de míng yì xíng shì， zhèng fǔ yì yǐ nǚ wáng de míng yì tí qǐ gōng sù。
dàn shì nǚ wáng zuò wéi guó jiā yuán shǒu bù néng bèi qǐ sù huò kòng gào， tā zuò wéi gè rén yì bù néng bèi kòng gào（ jìn guǎn“ jūn zhù” zuò wéi yī gè fǎ lǜ shí tǐ shì kě yǐ bèi kòng gào de）。 bù guò zài yīng guó fǎ lǜ zhōng nǚ wáng què shì yī gè zì rán rén， bì xū xiàng qí tā suǒ yòu rén yī yàng zūn shǒu fǎ lǜ。 dàn shì nǚ wáng shì fǒu néng gòu zài chù fàn fǎ lǜ shí bèi kòng gào què shì wèi dìng de。 zài 17 shì jì de yīng guó gé mìng qī jiān， yì huì céng jīng kòng gào chá lǐ yī shì pàn guó， dàn zài chá lǐ 'èr shì shàng tái hòu zhěng gè guò chéng bèi xuān gào fēi fǎ。
jīhū měi yī wèi yǔ tā gōng zuò guò de shǒuxiàng dū jǐyǔ nǚ wáng jí gāo de píng jià。 zì tā dēng jī de nà tiān qǐ tā měi tiān píng jūn huā sān gè xiǎo shí zài guó shì shàng， yuè dú gè gè bù mén hé shǒu xiāng fǔ sòng lái de dàng。 zhèng yīn rú cǐ， tā kě yǐ xiàng shǒuxiàng tí gōng xǔ duō yòu yì de zhōng gào。 ér shǒuxiàng bì xū měi zhōu huì jiàn nǚ wáng， zhè zhǒng huì miàn shì shí fēn zhèng shì qiě yán sù de。 duì shǒuxiàng lái shuō， yǔ nǚ wáng de huì miàn kě néng yào bǐ jiē shōu xià yì yuàn zhì xún gèng jiā zhòng yào， yīn wéi shǒuxiàng gěi nǚ wáng de huì bào wǎng wǎng gèng jiā xiáng xì、 tǎn chéng。 jí shǐ shì fǎn duì jūn zhù zhì de shǒuxiàng men yě shí fēn kàn zhòng yǔ nǚ wáng de huì miàn。 shì shí shàng， měi yī rèn shǒuxiàng dōuduì yǔ nǚ wáng de huì miàn jǐyǔ jí gāo píng jià。 qián shǒuxiàng tuō ní · bù lāi 'ěr jiù céng biǎo shì， nǚ wáng de jiàn yì zhī suǒ yǐ fù jià zhí， shì yīn wéi tā chāo rén de jīng míng hé duì shì jiè shì wù de dú tè guān chá。
jūn shì juésè
nǚ wáng dān rèn wǔ zhuāng bù duì de zuì gāo tǒng shuài， shì wéi yī de rén xuān bù zhàn zhēng yǔ hé píng。 yīng guó jūn rén zài rù wǔ shí， zài lù jūn hé kōng jūn dōuyào qiú jūn duì chéng yuán， yīng guó huáng jiā kōng jūn chéng yuán hé huáng jiā hǎi jūn lù zhàn duì chéng yuán xuān shì xiào zhōng nǚ wáng。 nǚ wáng duì suǒ yòu wǔ zhuāng bù duì yòu nóng hòu de xīng qù， wú lùn shì zài yīng guó hé yīng lián bāng。 tā chéng nuò dìng qī fǎng wèn jūn fāng chǎng suǒ hé chuán zhǐ， yǐ mǎn zú zài guó nèi hé hǎi wài de jūn rén hé tā men de jiā tíng。
nǚ wáng hé qí tā wáng shì chéng yuán huì zài wǔ zhuāng bù duì zhōng dān rèn gè zhǒng róng yù zhí wù。 nǚ wáng yì huì yǔ yīng guó guó fáng bù cān móu cháng hé gè cān móu cháng dìng qī kāi huì。 tā yì tòu guò tā de guó fáng shì wù mì shū， bǎo chí yǔ jūn fāng de lián xì。 cǐ wài， dāng yīng guó juǎnrù zhàn zhēng dāng zhōng shí， jūn rén jí qí jiā shǔ wǎng wǎng xǐ huān xiě xìn gěi nǚ wáng， biǎo shì tā men zhī dào zì jǐ shì zài wéi yīng guó hé nǚ wáng 'ér zhàn。
shè huì juésè
nǚ wáng xū yào lǚ xíng zhòng yào de shè huì hé wén huà zhí néng。 nǚ wáng wèimín zú tí gōng liǎo yī gè jiāo diǎn， bìng cù jìn mín zú tuán jié hé zì háo gǎn， shǐ guó jiā jù wěn dìng xìng hé lián xù xìng。 cǐ wài， nǚ wáng yì tè bié zhī chí gōng gòng fú wù hé zhì yuàn bù mén。 tōng guò“ dìng qī zǒu fǎng”， nǚ wáng zǒu dào lián hé wáng guó měi yī bù fēn， bìng gòu zuò wéi yī gè jiāo diǎn， dài biǎo zhe mín zú de tuán jié。
zài guó jiā qìng diǎn huò bēi jù， nǚ wáng gōng kāi dài biǎo guó jiā de qíng xù。 lì rú， zài měi nián zài zhàn zhēng sǐ nán zhě jì niàn rì shàng zhì 'āi， huò zài qìng zhù huó dòng shàng qìng zhù guó jiā de tǐ yù shèng lì。 nǚ wáng hái huì zhù chí“ huā yuán pài duì” yāo qǐng bīn lái zì gè zhǒng bèi jǐng de jiā bīn chū xí， qí zhōng dà duō shù shì shè qū cí shàn jī gòu huò gōng gòng bù mén zǔ zhì de fú wù dài biǎo。 nǚ wáng hái zhī chí rén mín fú wù tā rén， bìng dān rèn gè cí shàn jī gòu de zàn zhù rén huò zuò wéi zhù xí。
zhī chí dù
nǚ wáng yī zhí huò yīng guó mín zhòng de zhī chí jí 'ài dài。 jù 2001 nián yīng guó guǎng bō gōng sī de diào chá xiǎn shì， 83% yīng guó mín zhòng chéng rèn nǚ wáng jí jù zé rèn gǎn； 79% mín zhòng rèn wéi nǚ wáng zài hǎi wài chū sè dì dài biǎo liǎo yīng guó； 90% yǐ shàng mín zhòng rèn wéi nǚ wáng gōng zuò biǎo xiàn chū sè、 liáng hǎo huò yī bān， ér zhǐ yòu 9% mín zhòng rèn wéi nǚ wáng gōng zuò biǎo xiàn chā。 ér jù 2008 nián yīng guó guǎng bō gōng sī wěi tuō mín diào jī gòu de diào chá xiǎn shì， yuē 78% de mín zhòng rèn wéi yīng guó yīnggāi jì xù bǎo yòu wáng shì， 80% de bèi fǎng zhě zé rèn wéi yīng guó zài 30 nián nèi yīnggāi shí xíng jūn zhù zhì。
gè rén xíng xiàng
nǚ wáng zài pǔ biàn yīng guó rén xīn mù zhōng， shì guó jiā tuán jié de xiàng zhēng。 ér tā de duān zhèng pǐn xíng， yì wǎng wǎng shì wéi quán tǐ guó mín shù lì gè rén xíng wéi cāo shǒu de diǎn fàn。 lìng wài， nǚ wáng yì shí cháng zài yī nián yī dù de shèng dàn jié de guǎng bō tán huà dāng zhōng， gǔ lì guó mín hù xiāng bāng zhù jí bǐ cǐ tuán jié。
zuò wéi jūn zhù， nǚ wáng yí tài zhuāng zhòng， yī sī bù gǒu， ér qiě zǒng shì fēi cháng yán sù。 tā cóng lái bù dǎhāqian， yě cóng lái bù huì xiǎn dé zuò lì bù 'ān。 nǚ wáng cóng wèi jiē shòu guò méi tǐ cǎi fǎng， yīn cǐ chú liǎo shǎo shù céng yǔ nǚ wáng duì huà guò de wài guó yuán shǒu wài， hěn shǎo yòu rén zhī dào tā de zhèng zhì lì chǎng yǔ guān diǎn。 jù bào dǎo nǚ wáng de péng yǒu hěn shǎo， tā nìngyuàn yǔ mǎ hé wēi 'ěr shì kē jī quǎn zuò bàn。 nǚ wáng de zhuózhuāng shí fēn bǎo shǒu， bìng yǐ lǎo bǎi xìng néng qīng chǔ kàn jiàn tā wéi zhǔn zé。 nǚ wáng xǐ huān dān sè wài tào hé gè zhǒng bù tóng de mào zǐ。 tā hěn shǎo gǎi biàn zì jǐ de wài xíng， lì rú zài tā jì wèi hòu tā de fàxíng jiù hěn shǎo gǎi biàn。 tā de gè rén xíng xiàng yǔ gōng zhòng shū yuǎn， yīn cǐ jīng cháng chéng wéi màn huà jiā hé mó fǎng yǎn yuán fěng cì de tí cái。
suī rán nǚ wáng jīng cháng chū xí gè zhǒng wén huà huó dòng， dàn jù chēng zài tā de sī rén shí jiān nèi tā duì yì shù bù tài gǎn xīng qù， nìngyuàn jiāng zhěng gè wǎn shàng de shí jiān huā zài pīn bǎn yóu xì shàng yě bù yuàn cóng shì qí tā yì shù huó dòng。 tā duì yīn lè hé huì huà de lěng mò zhāo zhì xǔ duō wén yì píng lùn jiā de pī píng， tā men xíng róng nǚ wáng wéi“ méi yòu shěn měi gǎn de guó jūn”。 nǚ wáng xǐ huān sài mǎ rén suǒ gòng zhī， tā dào mǎ chǎng shí huì xià zhù。 kàn sài mǎ shí， tā cóng bù yǎn shì jǐn zhāng xīn qíng， jiù gēn pǔ tōng mǎ mí yī yàng huì gāo jǔ shuāng bì， wéi xīn shuǐ mǎ pǐ dǎ qì。
wài jiāo chǎng hé shàng nǚ wáng fēi cháng zhèng shì， yǔ tā huì miàn shí de lǐ yí fán duō。 rèn hé jiào qīn mì de jiāo liú， lì rú chù pèng， dōushì bù bèi yǔn xǔ de。 yīn cǐ， qián 'ào dà lì yà zǒng lǐ jī tíng zài yī cì nǚ wáng fǎng wèn 'ào dà lì yà shí qīng qīng lǒu zhe nǚ wáng de yāo， jìn guǎn tā gè rén biàn chēng shì yī zhǒng duì zhǎngzhě de zūn zhòng biǎo xiàn， yì bèi bǎo wáng pài zhǐ wéi“ duì nǚ wáng bù jìng”。
lǐ lùn shàng， dāng miàn jiàn nǚ wáng shí， nán shì xū shēn shēn jū gōng， nǚ shì zé xū xíng qū xī lǐ， ér tuō ní · bù lāi 'ěr fū rén qiē lì · bù lāi 'ěr zé céng yòu xiē mào fàn nǚ wáng zhī jǔ。 1997 nián， qiē lì · bù lāi 'ěr shǒu cì qián wǎng bā 'ěr mò lè 'ěr bǎo， zài jìn jiàn nǚ wáng shí bù jǐn méi xiàng nǚ wáng xíng qū xī lǐ， hái chuān cháng kù méi chuān qún zǐ。 jù chēng， zhè shì lìng wáng tài hòu shēn jué shòu dào mào fàn。 lìng wài， huì jiàn nǚ wáng shí yì bù yīnggāi zhù dòng shàng qián yǔ tā wò shǒu， chú fēi tā shǒu xiān shēn chū shǒu。 cǐ wài， yī dàn nǚ wáng yòng cān wán bì， qí tā bīn kè bì xū tíng zhǐ yòng cān。 suǒ yǐ nǚ wáng wǎng wǎng bǎo chí yòu yī xiē shí wù zài dié zhōng。
bù guò zài sī dǐ xià yòu bào dào què chēng nǚ wáng fēi cháng xǐ huān yī xiē“ yòu shāng fēng huà” de yōu mò， tā de shì nǚ men hái jīng cháng xiàng tā“ bào gào” wáng gōng nèi xīn de xiǎo dào chuán wén。 sī dǐ xià de nǚ wáng fēi cháng píng yì jìn rén， bìng qiě zhēn xīn guān qiē wéi tā gōng zuò de shì cóng men， jù chēng nǚ wáng fēi cháng qīng chǔ tā de shì nǚ men jí shì cóng men de míng zì。 hěn duō yìng yāo cān jiā guò wáng shì huó dòng de rén shì gào sù méi tǐ， qí shí nǚ wáng hěn yòu yōu mò gǎn， hěn xǐ huān bié rén shuō xiào huà， hěn huì mó fǎng míng rén， yě jīng cháng huì pěng fù dà xiào。
zǔ xiān
yī lì suō bái 'èr shì de zǔ shàng jiù dōushì yīng guó jūn zhù， zuì zǎo kě yǐ zhuī sù dào 7 shì jì de wēi sài kè sī wáng cháo。 tā tóng shí yě shì sū gé lán wáng shì de hòu yì， zuì zǎo kě zhuī sù dào gōng yuán 9 shì jì。 tā yǔ 'ōu zhōu lì shǐ zuì yōu jiǔ de dān mài wáng shì yě yòu guān xì， tā de zēngzǔ mǔ yà lì shān dé lā wáng hòu jiù shì dān mài de gōng zhù。 tā hái yǔ 'ōu zhōu dà bù fēn wáng shì dōuyòu xuè yuán guān xì， yǔ tā shì biǎo xiōng dì jiě mèi de guó jūn bāo kuò dān mài nǚ wáng mǎ gé lì tè 'èr shì、 nuó wēi guó wáng hā luó dé wǔ shì、 xī bān yá guó wáng hú 'ān · kǎ luò sī yī shì hé ruì diǎn guó wáng kǎ 'ěr shí liù shì · gǔ sī tǎ fū， ér bǐ lì shí guó wáng 'ài bó tè 'èr shì gèng shì tā de yuǎn fáng táng shū。 cǐ wài tā yǔ zhī qián de xī là wáng shì、 luó mǎ ní yà wáng shì、 dé guó wáng shì hé 'é guó wáng shì yědōu yòu xuè yuán guān xì。
nǚ wáng de zǐ sūn
xià liè shì nǚ wáng de zǐ nǚ jí zǐ sūn：
* chá 'ěr sī · fěi lì pǔ · ā sè · qiáo zhì（ 1948 nián 11 yuè 14 rì chū shēng）， wēi 'ěr shì qīn wáng， 1981 nián 7 yuè 29 rì yǔ sū gé lán guì zú dài 'ān nà · sī bīn sài xiǎo jiě jié hūn， 1996 nián 8 yuè 28 rì lí hūn， zài 2005 nián 4 yuè 9 rì yǔ xiāng liàn duō shí díkǎ mǐ lā jié hūn。
o wēi lián · yà sè · fěi lì pǔ · lù yì sī（ 1982 nián 6 yuè 21 rì chū shēng）
o hēng lì · chá 'ěr sī · ài bó tè · dà wèi（ 1984 nián 9 yuè 15 rì chū shēng）
* ān nī · yī lì suō bái · ài lì sī · lù yì sī（ 1950 nián 8 yuè 15 rì chū shēng）， wáng shì cháng gōng zhù， 1973 nián 12 yuè 14 rì yǔ mǎ kè · ān dōng ní · bǐ dé · fěi lì pǔ sī jié hūn， 1992 nián 4 yuè 28 rì lí yì， 1992 nián 12 yuè 12 rì yòu yǔ dì mǔ xī · láo lún sī jié hūn
o bǐ dé · mǎ kè · ān dé lǔ · fěi lì pǔ sī（ 1977 nián 11 yuè 15 rì chū shēng）
o zhā lā · ān nī · yī lì suō bái · fěi lì pǔ sī（ 1981 nián 5 yuè 15 rì chū shēng）
* ān dé lǔ · ài bó tè · kè lǐ sī tīng · ài dé huá（ 1960 nián 2 yuè 19 rì chū shēng）， yuē kè gōng jué， 1986 nián 7 yuè 23 rì yǔ suō lā · mǎ gé lì tè · fú gé sēn jié hūn， 1996 nián 5 yuè 30 rì lí hūn
o bǐ 'ā tè lì sī · yī lì suō bái · mǎ lì（ 1988 nián 8 yuè 8 rì chū shēng）
o 'ōu jí nī · wéi duō lì yà · hǎi lún nà（ 1990 nián 3 yuè 23 rì chū shēng）
* ài dé huá · ān dōng ní · lǐ chá dé · lù yì sī（ 1964 nián 3 yuè 10 rì chū shēng）， wēi sài kè sī bó jué， 1999 nián 6 yuè 19 rì yǔ sū fěi · lì sī qióng sī jié hūn
o lù yì sī · ài lì sī · yī lì suō bái · mǎ lì（ 2003 nián 11 yuè 8 rì chū shēng）
o zhān mǔ sī · yà lì shān dà · fěi lì pǔ · tí 'ào (2007 nián 12 yuè 17 rì chū shēng )
nǚ wáng de liǎng gè wài sūn， bǐ dé hé zhā lā · fěi lì pǔ sī méi yòu wáng shì tóu xián， zhè zài yīng guó lì shǐ shàng shí fēn hǎn jiàn。 chū xiàn zhè zhǒng qíng kuàng de yuán yīn yòu liǎng gè： dì yī gè shì yīng guó de wáng shì tóu xián shì cóng fù qīn jì chéng de， ér 'ān nī gōng zhù de qián fū mǎ kè · fěi lì pǔ sī shì yī jiè píng mín， suī rán dāng liǎng rén jié hūn zhī shí， nǚ wáng céng jīng yào cè fēng mǎ kè · fěi lì pǔ sī wéi bó jué， dàn shì zāo dào mǎ kè · fěi lì pǔ sī de jù jué， yīn cǐ tā de hái zǐ men yě jiù dōushì píng mín。 dì 'èr gè yuán yīn shì： dāng bǐ dé yǔ zhā lā · fěi lì pǔ sī chū shēng zhī shí， nǚ wáng yě céng jīng yào cè fēng liǎng gè wài sūn yǔ wài sūn nǚ wáng zǐ yǔ jùn zhù de fēng hào， dàn shì zāo dào 'ān nī gōng zhù de fǎn duì， yīn wéi tā bù xiǎng yào tā de 'ér nǚ zài chū shēng de shí hòu jiù yòu wáng shì tóu xián， yīn cǐ bǐ dé yǔ zhā lā · fěi lì pǔ sī zhì jīn réng rán méi yòu wáng shì tóu xián。
zài wèi 1952 nián 2 yuè 6 rì – zhì jīn
(57 suì 238 tiān )
jiā miǎn 1953 nián 6 yuè 2 rì
qián rèn qiáo zhì liù shì
huáng chǔ wēi 'ěr shì qīn wáng chá 'ěr sī
pèi 'ǒu ài dīng bǎo gōng jué fěi lì pǔ qīn wáng
zǐ sì
wēi 'ěr shì qīn wáng chá 'ěr sī
ān nī cháng gōng zhù
yuē kè gōng jué 'ān dé lǔ wáng zǐ
ài dé huá wéi sài kè sī bó jué 'ài dé huá wáng zǐ
quán míng
yī lì suō bái · yà lì shān dé lā · mǎ lì · wēn suō
wáng shì wēn suō wáng cháo
shòu xǐ 1926 nián 5 yuè 29 rì
yīng guó yīng guó lún dūn bái jīn hàn gōng
fù qīn qiáo zhì liù shì
mǔ qīn yī lì suō bái · bào sī - lāi 'áng
chū shēng 1926 nián 4 yuè 21 rì (1926-04-21)（ 83 suì）
yīng guó yīng guó lún dūn méi fěi 'ěr
Elizabeth was educated privately at home. Her father, George VI, became King-Emperor of the British Empire in 1936. She began to undertake public duties during the Second World War, in which she served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. After the war and Indian independence George VI's title of Emperor of India was abandoned, and the evolution of the Empire into the Commonwealth accelerated. In 1947, Elizabeth made the first of many tours around the Commonwealth, and married Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. They have four children: Charles, Anne, Andrew, and Edward.
In 1949, George VI became the first Head of the Commonwealth, a symbol of the free association of the independent countries comprising the Commonwealth of Nations. On his death in 1952, Elizabeth became Head of the Commonwealth, and constitutional monarch of seven independent Commonwealth countries: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon. Her coronation in 1953 was the first to be televised. During her reign, which at 58 years is one of the longest for a British monarch, she became queen of 25 other countries within the Commonwealth as they gained independence. Between 1956 and 1992, half of her realms, including South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon (renamed Sri Lanka), became republics.
In 1992, which Elizabeth termed her annus horribilis, meaning horrible year, two of her sons separated from their wives, her daughter divorced, and a severe fire destroyed part of Windsor Castle. Revelations on the state of her eldest son Charles's marriage continued, and he divorced in 1996. The following year, her former daughter-in-law Diana, Princess of Wales, died in a car crash in Paris. The media criticised the royal family for remaining in seclusion in the days before Diana's funeral, but Elizabeth's personal popularity rebounded once she had appeared in public and has since remained high. Her Silver and Golden Jubilees were celebrated in 1977 and 2002 respectively, and planning for her Diamond Jubilee in 2012 is underway.
Early life
Elizabeth was the first child of Prince Albert, Duke of York (later King George VI), and his wife, Elizabeth. Her father was the second son of King George V and Queen Mary, and her mother was the youngest daughter of Scottish aristocrat Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne. She was born by Caesarean section at 2.40 am (GMT) on 21 April 1926 at her maternal grandfather's London house: 17 Bruton Street, Mayfair; and was baptised in the private chapel of Buckingham Palace by the Archbishop of York, Cosmo Lang, on 29 May.[N 2] She was named Elizabeth after her mother, Alexandra after George V's mother, and Mary after her grandmother. Her close family called her "Lilibet". George V cherished his granddaughter, and during his serious illness in 1929 her regular visits raised his spirits and were credited with aiding his recovery.
Elizabeth's only sibling was Princess Margaret, born in 1930. The two princesses were educated at home under the supervision of their mother and their governess, Marion Crawford, who was casually known as "Crawfie". To the dismay of the royal family, Crawford later published a biography of Elizabeth and Margaret's childhood years entitled The Little Princesses. The book describes Elizabeth's love of horses and dogs, her orderliness, and her attitude of responsibility. Such observations were echoed by others: Winston Churchill described Elizabeth when she was two as "a character. She has an air of authority and reflectiveness astonishing in an infant." Her cousin Margaret Rhodes described her as "a jolly little girl, but fundamentally sensible and well-behaved".
Heiress presumptive
As a granddaughter of the monarch in the male line, Elizabeth's full style at birth was Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth of York. She was third in the line of succession to the throne, behind her uncle, Edward, Prince of Wales, and her father. Although her birth generated public interest, she was not expected to become queen, as the Prince of Wales was still young, and it was widely assumed that he would marry and have children of his own. In 1936, when her grandfather, the King, died and her uncle Edward succeeded, she became second in line to the throne after her father. Later that year, Edward abdicated after his proposed marriage to divorced socialite Wallis Simpson provoked a constitutional crisis. Elizabeth's father became king, and she became heiress presumptive, with the style Her Royal Highness The Princess Elizabeth.
Elizabeth received private tuition in constitutional history from Henry Marten, Vice-Provost of Eton College, and learned French from a succession of native-speaking governesses. A Girl Guides company, the 1st Buckingham Palace Company, was formed specifically so she could socialise with girls her own age. Later she was enrolled as a Sea Ranger.
In 1939, Elizabeth's parents toured Canada and visited the United States. As in 1927, when her parents had toured Australia and New Zealand, Elizabeth remained in Britain as the King thought her too young to undertake public tours. Elizabeth "looked tearful" as her parents departed. They corresponded regularly, and on 18 May, she and her parents made the first royal transatlantic telephone call.
Second World War
From September 1939, with the outbreak of the Second World War, Elizabeth and her younger sister, Margaret, stayed at Balmoral Castle, Scotland, until Christmas 1939, when they moved to Sandringham House, Norfolk. From February to May 1940, they lived at Royal Lodge, Windsor, until moving to Windsor Castle, where they stayed for most of the next five years. The suggestion by senior politician Lord Hailsham that the two princesses should be evacuated to Canada was rejected by Elizabeth's mother; she declared, "The children won't go without me. I won't leave without the King. And the King will never leave." At Windsor, the princesses staged pantomimes at Christmas in aid of the Queen's Wool Fund, which purchased yarn to knit into military garments. It was from Windsor in 1940 that the 14-year-old Elizabeth made her first radio broadcast during the BBC's Children's Hour, addressing other children who had been evacuated from the cities. She stated:
We are trying to do all we can to help our gallant sailors, soldiers and airmen, and we are trying, too, to bear our share of the danger and sadness of war. We know, every one of us, that in the end all will be well.
In 1943, at the age of 16, Elizabeth undertook her first solo public appearance on a visit to the Grenadier Guards, of which she had been appointed Colonel-in-Chief the previous year. In February 1945, she joined the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service, as an honorary Second Subaltern with the service number of 230873. She trained as a driver and mechanic, drove a military truck, and was promoted to honorary Junior Commander five months later. She is the last surviving head of state who served in uniform during the Second World War.
During the war, plans were drawn up to quell Welsh nationalism by affiliating Elizabeth more closely with Wales. Welsh politicians proposed that Elizabeth be made Princess of Wales on her 18th birthday. The idea was supported by Home Secretary Herbert Morrison but rejected by the King on the grounds that such a title belonged solely to the wife of a Prince of Wales, and the Prince of Wales had always been the heir apparent (usually the Sovereign's eldest surviving son) while Elizabeth was only heir presumptive (and could be supplanted in the line of succession if the Sovereign had a son). In 1946, she was inducted into the Welsh Gorsedd of Bards at the National Eisteddfod of Wales.
At the end of the war in Europe, on Victory in Europe Day, Elizabeth and her sister mingled anonymously with the celebratory crowds in the streets of London. She later said in a rare interview, "we asked my parents if we could go out and see for ourselves. I remember we were terrified of being recognised... I remember lines of unknown people linking arms and walking down Whitehall, all of us just swept along on a tide of happiness and relief." Two years later, the princess made her first overseas tour, when she accompanied her parents to Southern Africa. On her 21st birthday, 21 April 1947, in a broadcast to the British Commonwealth from South Africa, she pledged: "I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong."
Marriage
Elizabeth met her future husband, Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, in 1934 and 1937. After another meeting at the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth in July 1939, Elizabeth – though only 13 years old – fell in love with Philip, and they began to exchange letters. They married on 20 November 1947 at Westminster Abbey. The couple are second cousins once removed through King Christian IX of Denmark and third cousins through Queen Victoria. Before the marriage, Philip renounced his Greek and Danish titles, converted from Greek Orthodoxy to Anglicanism, and adopted the style Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, taking the surname of his mother's British family. Just before the wedding, he was created Duke of Edinburgh and granted the style of His Royal Highness.
The marriage was not without controversy: Philip had no financial standing, was foreign-born (though a British subject), and had sisters who had married German noblemen with Nazi links. Elizabeth's mother was reported, in later biographies, to have opposed the union initially, even dubbing Philip "The Hun". In later life, however, she told biographer Tim Heald that Philip was "an English gentleman".
Elizabeth and Philip received 2500 wedding gifts from around the world, but the country had not yet completely rebounded from the devastation of the war. She still required ration coupons to buy the material for her gown, designed by Norman Hartnell. In post-war Britain, it was not acceptable for any of the Duke of Edinburgh's German relations to be invited to the wedding, including Philip's three surviving sisters. Ronald Storrs claimed that another notable absentee, Elizabeth's aunt, Mary, Princess Royal, refused to attend because her brother Edward, the former king, was not invited; she gave ill health as the official reason for not attending.
Elizabeth gave birth to her first child, Prince Charles, on 14 November 1948, less than one month after letters patent were issued by her father allowing her children to enjoy a royal and princely status to which they otherwise would not have been entitled. A second child, Princess Anne, was born in 1950.
Following their wedding, the couple leased Windlesham Moor near Windsor Castle, until 4 July 1949, when they took up residence at Clarence House in London. At various times between 1949 and 1951, the Duke of Edinburgh was stationed in Malta (at that time a British Protectorate) as a serving Royal Navy officer. He and Elizabeth lived intermittently, for several months at a time, in the Maltese hamlet of Gwardamanġia, at the Villa Gwardamanġia, the rented home of Philip's uncle, Lord Mountbatten. The children remained in Britain.
Reign
Succession
George VI's health declined during 1951, and Elizabeth was soon frequently standing in for him at public events. In October of that year, she toured Canada, and visited President of the United States Harry S. Truman in Washington, D.C.; on the trip, her private secretary, Martin Charteris, carried a draft accession declaration for use if the King died while she was on tour. In early 1952, Elizabeth and Philip set out for a tour of Australia and New Zealand via Kenya. On 6 February 1952, they had just returned to their Kenyan residence Sagana Lodge, after a night spent at Treetops Hotel, when word arrived of the death of Elizabeth's father. Philip broke the news to the new queen. Martin Charteris asked her to choose a regnal name, to which she replied: "Elizabeth, of course." She was proclaimed queen throughout her realms, and the royal party hastily returned to the United Kingdom. She and the Duke of Edinburgh moved into Buckingham Palace.
Elizabeth in crown and robes next to her husband in military uniform
Coronation portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, June 1953
With Elizabeth's accession it seemed likely that the royal house would bear her husband's name. Lord Mountbatten thought it would be the House of Mountbatten, as Elizabeth would typically have taken Philip's last name on marriage; however, Queen Mary and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill favoured the retention of the House of Windsor, and so Windsor it remained. The Duke complained,"I am the only man in the country not allowed to give his name to his own children." In 1960, after the death of Queen Mary and the resignation of Churchill, the surname Mountbatten-Windsor was adopted for Philip and Elizabeth's male-line descendants who do not carry royal titles.
In the midst of preparations for the coronation, Princess Margaret informed her sister that she wished to marry Peter Townsend, a divorced commoner 16 years older than Margaret with two sons from his previous marriage. The Queen asked them to wait for a year; in the words of Martin Charteris, "the Queen was naturally sympathetic towards the Princess, but I think she thought – she hoped – given time, the affair would peter out." Senior politicians were against the match, and the Church of England did not permit re-marriage after divorce. If Margaret contracted a civil marriage, she would have to renounce her right of succession. Eventually, she decided to abandon her plans with Townsend. In 1960, she married Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon. They were divorced in 1978. She did not remarry.
Despite the death of Elizabeth's grandmother Queen Mary on 24 March 1953, the coronation went ahead in Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953, in accordance with Mary's wishes. The entire ceremony, except the anointing and communion, was televised, and the coverage was instrumental in boosting the medium's popularity; the number of television licences in the United Kingdom doubled to 3 million, and many of the more than 20 million British viewers watched television for the first time in the homes of their friends or neighbours. In North America, just under 100 million viewers watched recorded broadcasts. Elizabeth wore a gown commissioned from Norman Hartnell, which was embroidered with floral emblems for the countries of the Commonwealth: English Tudor rose, Scots thistle, Welsh leek, Irish shamrock, Australian wattle, Canadian maple leaf, New Zealand silver fern, South African protea, lotus flowers for India and Ceylon, and Pakistan's wheat, cotton, and jute.
Continuing evolution of the Commonwealth
Elizabeth witnessed, over her life, the ongoing transformation of the British Empire into the Commonwealth of Nations. By the time of Elizabeth's accession in 1952, her role as nominal head of multiple independent states was already established. Spanning 1953–54, the Queen and her husband embarked on a six-month around-the-world tour. She became the first reigning monarch of Australia and New Zealand to visit those nations. During the tour, crowds were immense; three-quarters of the population of Australia were estimated to have seen the Queen. Throughout her reign Elizabeth has undertaken state visits to foreign countries, and tours of Commonwealth ones. She is the most widely travelled head of state in history.
In 1956, French Prime Minister Guy Mollet and British Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden discussed the possibility of France joining the Commonwealth. The proposal was never accepted, and the following year France signed the Treaty of Rome, which established the European Economic Community, the precursor of the European Union. In November 1956, Britain and France invaded Egypt in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to capture the Suez Canal. Lord Mountbatten claimed the Queen was opposed to the invasion, though Prime Minister Eden denied it. Eden resigned two months later.
The absence of a formal mechanism within the Conservative Party for choosing a leader meant that, following Eden's resignation, it fell to the Queen to decide whom to commission to form a government. Eden recommended that Elizabeth consult Lord Salisbury (the Lord President of the Council). Lord Salisbury and Lord Kilmuir (the Lord Chancellor) consulted the Cabinet, Winston Churchill, and the Chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee, as a result of which the Queen appointed their recommended candidate: Harold Macmillan. Six years later, Macmillan himself resigned and advised the Queen to appoint the Earl of Home as Prime Minister, advice which she followed.
The Suez crisis and the choice of Eden's successor led in 1957 to the first real personal criticism of the Queen. In a magazine, which he owned and edited, Lord Altrincham accused her of being "out of touch". Altrincham was denounced by public figures and physically attacked by a member of the public appalled at his comments. In 1963, the Queen again came under criticism for appointing the Prime Minister on the advice of a small number of ministers, or a single minister. In 1965, the Conservatives adopted a formal mechanism for choosing a leader, thus relieving her of any involvement.
In 1957, she made a state visit on behalf of the Commonwealth to the United States, where she addressed the United Nations General Assembly. On the same tour she opened the 23rd Canadian Parliament, becoming the first monarch of Canada to open a parliamentary session. Two years later, she revisited the States as a representative of Canada. In 1961, she toured Cyprus, India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Iran. On a visit to Ghana the same year, she dismissed fears for her safety, even though her host President Kwame Nkrumah, who had replaced her as head of state, was a target for assassins. Harold Macmillan wrote: "The Queen has been absolutely determined all through... She is impatient of the attitude towards her to treat her as... a film star... She has indeed 'the heart and stomach of a man'... She loves her duty and means to be a Queen."
Elizabeth and Pat Nixon walk out of a red-brick building in step
Elizabeth (left) with US First Lady Pat Nixon, 1970; President Nixon is hidden from view behind Elizabeth, next to British Prime Minister Edward Heath (far left)
Elizabeth's pregnancies with Princes Andrew and Edward, in 1959 and 1963, mark the only times she has not performed the State Opening of the British Parliament during her reign. Instead, Parliament was opened by Royal Commission and the Lord Chancellor delivered the speech from the throne.
The 1960s and 1970s saw an acceleration in the decolonisation of Africa and the Caribbean. Over 20 countries gained independence from Britain as part of a planned transition to self-government. In 1965, however, Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith declared unilateral independence in opposition to moves toward majority black rule. Although the Queen dismissed Smith in a formal declaration and the international community applied sanctions against Rhodesia, Smith's regime survived for over a decade.
In February 1974, British Prime Minister Edward Heath called a general election in the middle of the Queen's tour of the Austronesian Pacific Rim, and she had to fly back to Britain interrupting the tour. The inconclusive result of the election meant that Heath, whose Conservative party had the largest share of the popular vote but no overall majority, could stay in office if he formed a coalition with the Liberals. Heath only resigned when discussions on forming a cooperative government foundered, after which the Queen asked the Leader of the Opposition, Labour's Harold Wilson, to form a government.
A year later, at the height of the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis, Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam was dismissed from his post by Governor-General Sir John Kerr after the Opposition-controlled Senate rejected Whitlam's budget proposals. As Whitlam had a majority in the House of Representatives, Speaker Gordon Scholes appealed to the Queen to reverse Kerr's decision. Elizabeth declined, stating that it was not appropriate for her to intervene in affairs that are reserved for the Governor-General by the Constitution of Australia. The crisis fuelled Australian republicanism.
Silver Jubilee
In 1977, Elizabeth marked the Silver Jubilee of her accession. Parties and events took place throughout the Commonwealth, many coinciding with the Queen's associated national and Commonwealth tours. The celebrations re-affirmed the Queen's popularity, despite virtually coincident negative press coverage of Princess Margaret's separation from her husband. In 1978, Elizabeth endured a state visit by the communist dictator of Romania, Nicolae Ceauşescu. The following year brought two blows: one was the unmasking of Anthony Blunt, former Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures, as a communist spy; the other was the assassination of her relative and in-law Lord Mountbatten by the Provisional Irish Republican Army.
According to Paul Martin, Sr., by the end of the 1970s the Queen was worried the Crown "had little meaning for" Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Trudeau was suspected of being in favour of a Canadian republic, which he publicly denied. In 1980, Canadian politicians sent to London to discuss the patriation of the Canadian constitution found the Queen "better informed on... Canada's constitutional case than any of the British politicians or bureaucrats". Patriation removed the role of the British parliament in the Canadian constitution, but the monarchy was retained. Trudeau said in his memoirs: "The Queen favoured my attempt to reform the Constitution. I was always impressed not only by the grace she displayed in public at all times, but by the wisdom she showed in private conversation."
1980
During the 1981 Trooping the Colour ceremony, and only six weeks before the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer, six shots were fired at the Queen from close range as she rode down The Mall on her horse, Burmese. Later, it was discovered that the shots were blanks. The 17-year-old assailant, Marcus Sarjeant, was sentenced to five years in prison and released after three. The Queen's composure, and skill in controlling her mount, were widely praised. The following year, the Queen found herself in another precarious situation when she awoke in her bedroom at Buckingham Palace to find an intruder, Michael Fagan, in the room with her. Remaining calm, and through two calls to the palace police switchboard, Elizabeth spoke to Fagan while he sat at the foot of her bed until assistance arrived seven minutes later. From April to September that year, the Queen remained anxious but proud of her son, Prince Andrew, who was serving with British forces during the Falklands War. Though she hosted President Ronald Reagan at Windsor Castle in 1982, and visited his Californian ranch in 1983, she was angered when his administration ordered the invasion of Grenada, one of her Caribbean realms, without her foreknowledge.
Intense media interest in the opinions and private lives of the royal family during the 1980s led to a series of sensational stories in the press, not all of which were entirely true.[N 3][N 4] It was reported that Elizabeth was worried that British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's economic policies fostered social divisions, and was alarmed by high unemployment, a series of riots, the violence of a miners' strike, and Thatcher's refusal to apply sanctions against the apartheid regime in South Africa.[N 5] Thatcher reputedly said the Queen would vote for the Social Democratic Party—Thatcher's political opponents. Despite such speculation, Thatcher later conveyed her personal admiration for the Queen on film and in her memoirs. Further belying reports of acrimony between them, after Thatcher's replacement by John Major, Elizabeth gave two honours in her personal gift to Thatcher: the Order of Merit and the Order of the Garter. She also attended Thatcher's 70th and 80th birthday parties.
By the start of 1991, republican feeling had risen as a result of press estimates of the Queen's private wealth, which were contradicted by the palace, and reports of affairs and strained marriages among her extended family. The involvement of the younger royals in the charity game show It's a Royal Knockout was ridiculed, and the Queen was the target of satire.
1990
In 1991, in the wake of victory in the Gulf War, she became the first British monarch to address a joint session of the United States Congress. The following year, she attempted to save the failing marriage of her eldest son, Charles, by counselling him and his wife, Diana, Princess of Wales, to patch up their differences.
Behind her husband, Elizabeth holds a pair of spectacles to her mouth in a thoughtful pose
Prince Philip and Elizabeth II, October 1992
In a speech on 24 November 1992, to mark the 40th anniversary of her accession, the Queen called 1992 her "annus horribilis", meaning horrible year. In March, her second son Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and his wife Sarah, Duchess of York, separated. In April, her daughter Anne, Princess Royal, divorced her husband Captain Mark Phillips. During a state visit to Germany in October, angry demonstrators in Dresden threw eggs at her, and in November Windsor Castle suffered severe fire damage. The monarchy received increased criticism and public scrutiny. In an unusually personal speech, Elizabeth said that any institution must expect criticism but suggested it be done with "a touch of humour, gentleness and understanding". Two days later, Prime Minister John Major announced reforms of the royal finances that had been planned since the previous year, including the Queen paying income tax for the first time starting in 1993 and a reduction in the civil list. In December, Charles and Diana formally separated. The year ended with a lawsuit as the Queen sued The Sun newspaper for breach of copyright when it published the text of her annual Christmas message two days before its broadcast. The newspaper was forced to pay her legal fees, and donated £200,000 to charity.
Charles and Diana
In the ensuing years, public revelations on the state of Charles and Diana's marriage continued. At the end of December 1995, in consultation with Prime Minister Major, Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, her private secretary Robert Fellowes, and her husband, she wrote to both Charles and Diana saying that a divorce was now desirable. A year after the divorce, which took place in 1996, Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997. At the time, the Queen was on holiday at Balmoral with her son and grandchildren. Diana's two sons wanted to attend church, and so their grandparents took them that morning.
After that single public appearance, for five days the Queen and the Duke shielded their grandsons from the intense press interest by keeping them at Balmoral where they could grieve in private. The royal family's seclusion caused public dismay. Pressured by the hostile public reaction, the Queen returned to London and agreed to a live broadcast to the world on 5 September, the day before Diana's funeral. In the broadcast, she expressed admiration for Diana, and her feelings "as a grandmother" for Princes William and Harry. As a result, much of the public hostility evaporated.
Golden Jubilee and beyond
In evening wear, Elizabeth and President Bush hold wine glasses of water and smile
Elizabeth II and George W. Bush share a toast during a state dinner at the White House, 7 May 2007
Elizabeth II (centre, in pink) during a walkabout in Queen's Park, Toronto, 6 July 2010
In 2002, Elizabeth marked her Golden Jubilee as queen. Her sister and mother died in February and March, respectively, and the media speculated whether the Jubilee would be a success or a failure. She again undertook an extensive tour of her realms, which began in Jamaica in February, where she called the farewell banquet "memorable" after a power cut plunged the King's House, the official residence of the Governor-General, into darkness. As in 1977, there were street parties and commemorative events, and monuments were named to honour the occasion. A million people attended each day of the three-day main Jubilee celebration in London, and the enthusiasm shown by the public for Elizabeth was greater than many journalists had predicted.
Though Elizabeth has enjoyed good health throughout her life, in 2003 she had keyhole surgery on both knees, and in June 2005 she cancelled several engagements after contracting a bad cold. In October 2006, the Queen missed the opening of the new Emirates Stadium because of a strained back muscle that had been troubling her since the summer. Two months later, she was seen in public with a plaster on her right hand, which led to press speculation of ill health. She had been bitten by one of her corgis while she was separating two that were fighting.
In May 2007, The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported claims from unnamed sources that the Queen was "exasperated and frustrated" by the policies of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, that she had shown concern that the British Armed Forces were overstretched in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that she had raised concerns over rural and countryside issues with Blair repeatedly. She was, however, said to admire Blair's efforts to achieve peace in Northern Ireland. On 20 March 2008, at the Church of Ireland St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh, the Queen attended the first Maundy Service held outside of England and Wales.
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in 2007; their marriage is the longest of any British monarch. The Queen's reign is longer than those of her four immediate predecessors combined (Edward VII, George V, Edward VIII, and George VI). She is the third-longest-reigning monarch of the United Kingdom, the second-longest-serving current monarch of a sovereign state (after King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand), and the oldest reigning British monarch. She has no intention of abdicating, though the proportion of public duties performed by Prince Charles may increase as Elizabeth reduces her commitments.
Elizabeth addressed the United Nations for a second time in 2010, 53 years after her first address, again in her capacity as queen of all of her realms and Head of the Commonwealth. She was introduced by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon as "an anchor for our age". In her speech, which followed a tour of Canada and was considered by her staff to be one of her most important recently, she said that she had "witnessed great change, much of it for the better... But", she continued, "The aims and values which inspired the United Nations Charter endure." She concluded, "In tomorrow's world, we must all work together as hard as ever if we are truly to be united nations." While in New York, she also officially opened a memorial garden for the British victims of the 11 September attacks.
Elizabeth plans to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee in 2012, marking 60 years as Queen. Elizabeth could become the longest-lived British head of state (surpassing Richard Cromwell) on 29 January 2012 at age 85, and the longest-reigning monarch in the history of any of her realms as well as the longest-reigning queen regnant in world history (surpassing Queen Victoria, who celebrated her Diamond Jubilee in 1897) on 10 September 2015 at age 89.
Public perception and character
Since Elizabeth rarely gives interviews, little is known of her personal feelings. As a constitutional monarch, she has not expressed her own political opinions in a public forum. She does have a deep sense of religious and civic duty, and takes her coronation oath seriously. Aside from her official religious role as Supreme Governor of the established Church of England, she personally worships with that church and with the national Church of Scotland. She has demonstrated support for inter-faith relations, and has met with leaders of other religions, and granted her personal patronage to the Council of Christians and Jews. A personal note about her faith often features in her annual Royal Christmas Message broadcast to the Commonwealth, such as in 2000, when she spoke about the theological significance of the millennium marking the 2000th anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ:
accountability before God provide a framework in which I try to lead my life. I, like so many of you, have drawn great comfort in difficult times from Christ's words and example.
Elizabeth and Ronald Reagan on black horses. He bare-headed; she in a headscarf; both in tweeds, jodhpurs and riding boots.
Elizabeth II and Ronald Reagan riding at Windsor, 1982
Elizabeth is the patron of over 600 charities and other organisations. Her main leisure interests include equestrianism and dogs, especially her Pembroke Welsh Corgis. Her clothes consist mostly of solid-colour overcoats and decorative hats, which allow her to be seen easily in a crowd.
In the 1950s, as a young woman at the start of her reign, Elizabeth was depicted as a glamorous "fairytale Queen". After the trauma of the war, it was a time of hope, a period of progress and achievement heralding a "new Elizabethan age". Lord Altrincham's accusation in 1957 that she was a "priggish schoolgirl" was an extremely rare criticism. In the late 1960s, attempts to portray a more modern image of monarchy were made in the television documentary Royal Family, and by televising Prince Charles's investiture as Prince of Wales. At her Silver Jubilee, the crowds and celebrations were genuinely enthusiastic, but in the 1980s public criticism of the royal family increased, as the personal and working lives of Elizabeth's children came under media scrutiny. Elizabeth's popularity sank to a low point in the 1990s; under pressure from public opinion she began to pay income tax for the first time, and Buckingham Palace was opened to the public. Discontent with the monarchy reached its peak on the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, though the Queen's popularity rebounded after her live broadcast to the world five days after Diana's death. In November 1999, a referendum in Australia on the future of the monarchy favoured its retention in preference to an indirectly elected head of state. Polls in Britain in 2006 and 2007 revealed strong support for Elizabeth, and referendums in Tuvalu in 2008 and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in 2009 both rejected proposals to abolish the monarchy.
Finance
Elizabeth's personal fortune has been the subject of speculation for many years. Forbes magazine estimated her net worth at around US$450 million in 2009, but official Buckingham Palace statements in 1993 called estimates of £100 million "grossly overstated", and Jock Colville estimated her wealth at £2 million in 1971 (the equivalent of about £21 million today). The Royal Collection, which includes artworks and the Crown Jewels, is not owned by the Queen personally and is held in trust, as are the occupied palaces in the United Kingdom such as Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, and the Duchy of Lancaster, a property portfolio valued at £348 million in 2010. As with many of her predecessors, Elizabeth is reported to dislike Buckingham Palace as a residence, and prefers Windsor Castle. Sandringham House and Balmoral Castle are privately owned by the Queen. Income from the British Crown Estate – with holdings of £6.6 billion in 2010 – is transferred to the British treasury in return for Civil List payments. Both the Crown Estate and the Crown Land of Canada – comprising 89% of Canada's area – are owned by the Sovereign in trust for the nation, and cannot be sold or owned by Elizabeth in a private capacity.
Titles, styles, honours, and arm
Elizabeth has held titles throughout her life, as a granddaughter of the monarch, as a daughter of the monarch, through her husband's titles, and eventually as Sovereign. In common parlance, she is The Queen or Her Majesty. Officially, she has a distinct title in each of her realms: Queen of Canada in Canada, Queen of Australia in Australia, etc. In the Channel Islands and Isle of Man, which are Crown dependencies rather than separate realms, she is known as Duke of Normandy and Lord of Man respectively. Additional styles include Defender of the Faith and Duke of Lancaster. When in conversation with the Queen, the practice is to initially address her as Your Majesty and thereafter as Ma'am.
Elizabeth has received honours and awards from countries around the world, and has held honorary military positions throughout the Commonwealth, both before and after her accession.
Arm
From 21 April 1944, Elizabeth's arms consisted of a lozenge bearing the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom, differenced with a label of three points argent, the centre bearing a Tudor Rose and the first and third a cross of St. George. After her accession as Sovereign, she adopted the royal coat of arms undifferenced. The design of the shield is also used on the Royal Standard of the United Kingdom. Elizabeth has personal flags for use in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, and elsewhere.
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