Queen Elizabeth II: Her life in pictures from 1926 - 2022

Queen Elizabeth II has died aged 96, Buckingham Palace has announced.

The Queen, who was crowned in 1953, was both the longest-lived British monarch and the longest-reigning British monarch, reigning queen and female head of state in the world.

Queen Elizabeth was born in Mayfair on April 21 1926, as the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York.

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 his death in April 2021.

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

When her father died in February 1952, Elizabeth - then 25 years old - became queen regnant of seven independent Commonwealth countries.

Significant global events during her reign as monarch included the Troubles in Northern Ireland; the apartheid regime in South Africa; and the United Kingdom’s accession to the European Communities, and its withdrawal from the European Union.

While other personal highlights included the births of her eight grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

At the time of her death support for the monarchy in the United Kingdom remained consistently high, as did her personal popularity.