The Queen: A regal figure of stability as nation’s longest reigning monarch

At the centre of national life, Elizabeth II was head of state, head of the armed forces, head of the Commonwealth, and supreme governor of the Church of England.

Her knowledge and professionalism were unprecedented and her reign as a constitutional monarch saw more than a dozen prime ministers.

She symbolised the stability of the nation, and most people had known no other monarch on the British throne.

At her side for 73 years was the Duke of Edinburgh – her outspoken consort – with whom she fell in love as a teenager when he was a handsome naval cadet. His death in 2021 at the age of 99 was devastating for the Queen.

Elizabeth II was also a mother of four, granny to eight grandchildren and great-granny – or Gan-Gan – to a large brood of great-grandchildren.

The Queen was the royal family’s rock and, untainted by royal scandals, her own personal popularity remained solid when the antics of others shook the House of Windsor.

Even after the divorces of three of her four children, the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, when the monarchy faced its gravest crisis since the abdication of Edward VIII, the trials and tribulations of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and the controversy surrounding the Duke of York, the Queen was a steadfast figure.

Stoical, composed, pragmatic, private and with an unshakeable Christian faith, she possessed a dry sense of humour and a sharp wit – and was known for her love of outdoor life, horses, racing and corgis.

Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born on April 21 1926 – the eldest child of the Duke and Duchess of York.

She was not expected to be Queen, but the abdication of her uncle David, as Edward VIII, changed everything when Elizabeth’s father acceded to the throne as George VI.

Ten-year-old Elizabeth became the heiress presumptive. Nicknamed Lilibet, she was a sensible soul, a bright, methodical and tidy child who led a sheltered early life.

She spent the Second World War in the safety of Windsor Castle with her younger sister, Princess Margaret, and delivered her first radio broadcast, speaking on Children’s Hour in 1940, at the age of 14.

During the war, she joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service and learned to drive, and at 18 became No 230873 Second Subaltern Elizabeth Windsor in 1945.

Elizabeth was already in love with the man she would marry – Prince Philip of Greece. They eventually married in Westminster Abbey on November 20 1947.

Within a year of marriage, they produced an heir to the throne – Prince Charles – on November 14 1948, and a second child, Princess Anne, on August 15 1950.

Then, on February 6 1952, George VI died. The princess and Philip, who were away in Kenya on an official tour, had been married less than five years and their lives were to change irrevocably.

She was crowned 16 months later in Westminster Abbey on June 2 1953.

The Queen’s reign saw 15 prime ministers. After Churchill, she appointed Sir Anthony Eden, Harold Macmillan, Sir Alec Douglas-Home, Edward Heath, Harold Wilson, James Callaghan, Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.

She made her first visit to Ireland in May 2011, becoming the first British monarch to travel to the Republic in 100 years and the first since the nation gained independence from Britain.

This paved the way for a watershed moment in Anglo-Irish relations a year later, when, during trip to Northern Ireland in June 2012, the Queen shook hands with Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness.

Sometimes the strenuous succession of tours and duties led to concern about her health, particularly during a visit to Canada in the late summer of 1959.

But this time there was cause – the Queen was expecting her third child, and, on February 19 1960, Prince Andrew was born. The Queen’s fourth child, Prince Edward, was born on March 10 1964.

The Queen was determined that her children should get the widest possible education, sending them to boarding school.

Twenty-five years on the throne was marked with the Silver Jubilee in 1977.

In 1981 the Queen was the target of a shooting incident in The Mall, as she rode in the Trooping the Colour ceremony, but the teenager who fired the blanks missed and was arrested.

It was not just security problems that threatened the royals, but also the Windsors’ turbulent private lives.

In 1981, the Prince of Wales captivated the nation with his marriage to shy 19-year-old Lady Diana Spencer, while Prince Andrew married the vivacious Sarah Ferguson in 1986.

But behind the scenes, Charles ended up having an affair with his former mistress, Camilla Parker Bowles, and Diana had turned to cavalry officer James Hewitt.

1992 marked the Queen’s 40th year on the throne – a celebration which should have been the focal point – but it famously became her “Annus horribilis”.

The princess collaborated with Andrew Morton on his explosive book Diana – Her True Story, which catalogued her unhappy marriage and eating disorder.

Tape recordings of an intimate conversation, dubbed “Squidgygate”, between Diana and admirer James Gilbey added fuel to the fire.

Then came another bombshell – Camillagate. An excruciatingly embarrassing tape of an intimate conversation between Charles and Mrs Parker Bowles found its way into the papers.

With the Waleses at loggerheads, then-prime minister John Major announced in December that Charles and Diana were to separate.

Andrew had already split from the Duchess of York and, in the summer of 1992, Fergie was pictured having her toes sucked in the south of France by her Texan “financial adviser” John Bryan.

Princess Anne and Captain Phillips also divorced earlier in the year.

Then, amid it all, came the fire at Windsor Castle.

The Queen was pictured in her raincoat, grimly surveying the devastation at her beloved royal residence.

The Queen made the historic announcement that she would pay tax on her income, cut down the size of the Civil List, and open Buckingham Palace to the paying public to help fund the restoration.

But there was more trouble in the coming years when Charles and Diana did the un-royal thing by talking publicly about private matters.

The Queen urged the couple to divorce and, in August 1996, they finally did.

Less than a year later came Diana’s shocking death in a car crash in Paris as she was pursued by the paparazzi.

The royals were perceived as being unemotional and were criticised for their reserve.

At the time, the Queen, a stickler for tradition, was doing her duty as a grandmother, consoling the heartbroken Princes William and Harry at Balmoral.

Finally, she returned to London and addressed the nation on television.

Royal popularity recovered, however, when millions turned out to mark the Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 2002.

2005 was another royal wedding year and this time it was Charles and his former mistress, Camilla.

In April 2011, the Queen witnessed grandson and future king William marry his former university housemate, Kate Middleton, at Westminster Abbey as millions joined in with the celebrations.

In 2012, the royal family, including newest recruit Kate, were out in force for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, with celebrations including a pageant of 1,000 boats down the River Thames.

But the Duke of Edinburgh, then 90, was forced to miss the majority of the events after falling ill with a bladder infection.

In 2013, the Queen was introduced to a new king in waiting when she met great-grandson Prince George of Cambridge – William and Kate’s firstborn son – with Princess Charlotte arriving two years later, followed by Prince Louis in 2018.

2018 saw Prince Harry wed American former actress Meghan Markle – the first mixed race person to marry a senior royal for centuries.

The duke’s death when the Queen was about to turn 95 left her without her lifelong companion.

But she remained stoic while on public view at his funeral, sitting alone, symbolic of her loss, amid the uncompromising restrictions in place to halt the spread of coronavirus.

Even in the aftermath of Philip’s death, her family’s problems continued. The Queen’s second son, Andrew, was facing a civil sexual assault case in the US.

The Queen, never one for rash decisions, finally stripped Andrew of his honorary military roles in January, and he gave up his HRH style as he prepared to go to trial.

On the eve of her historic Platinum Jubilee, the Queen delivered a masterstroke by endorsing the Duchess of Cornwall to be known as Queen when Charles became King.

Her Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June 2022 saw millions take to the streets in her honour during four days of festivities.

But by then the Queen was noticeably frailer and facing ongoing mobility problems, meaning her Jubilee engagements during the weekend were limited to a beacon lighting and three appearances on the Palace balcony.

It was a moment for the history books when the monarch – flanked by her three heirs – stepped out to bid farewell to the vast crowds on the final day.