QUEEN ELIZABETH II: A LIFE IN THE SPOTLIGHT Head of State of the United Kingdom and 14 Commonwealth realms Head of the Armed Forces, Judiciary, Civil Service and Church of England State visits to 117 countries – travelling more than one million miles Her Majesty was Patron of over 600 organisations throughout her reign The Queen met 12 of the 13 U.S. presidents since her coronation Weekly audiences with 15 British Prime Ministers, from Churchill to Truss 1926, Apr 21: Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary born at 17 Bruton Street, Mayfair, London, first child of Duke and Duchess of York. Younger sister Princess Margaret born four years later 1929: Wall Street Crash triggers Great Depression of 1930s 1933: Rise to power of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. Suppression of Jews begins in Germany under Third Reich 1934: Mao Tse Tung leads thousands of Chinese on Long March, from which he emerges as undisputed Communist Party leader in China 1936: Abdication crisis in Britain. Elizabeth’s father becomes King George VI. Princess Elizabeth is now first in line to throne 1939: World War II begins when Hitler invades Poland – Britain and France declare war on Germany 1940: Winston Churchill becomes British Prime Minister. Nation suffers its darkest hours – Battle of Britain and Blitz on major cities 1945, May 8: German surrender ends war in Europe. Aug 14: Second World War ends with Japanese surrender following atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 1946: Churchill’s Iron Curtain speech marks onset of Cold War 1947: British rule in India ends. Nov 20: Princess Elizabeth marries Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten at Westminster Abbey 1948: New state of Israel proclaimed in Palestine. London hosts Olympic Games for second time. First wave of Jamaican immigrants starts new life in UK. Prince Charles born 1950: Princess Anne born 1952, Feb 6: King George VI dies. Princess Elizabeth, on safari in Kenya, becomes Queen. World’s first commercial jet service flies from London to Johannesburg 1953: Hillary and Tenzing conquer Mount Everest. News reaches Britain one day before Queen Elizabeth II is crowned on June 2 1954: Elvis Presley releases his first record, That’s All Right, signalling birth of rock ‘n’ roll. Roger Bannister becomes first man to run mile in under four minutes 1956: Suez Crisis – UN forces Britain and France to withdraw troops from Egypt 1957: France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg sign Treaty of Rome to create European Common Market 1960: Prince Andrew born 1962: Cuban Missile Crisis. U.S. President John F. Kennedy imposes blockade until Soviets dismantle nuclear weapons on Cuba 1963: Kennedy assassinated in Dallas, Texas 1964: Prince Edward born. Black activist Nelson Mandela jailed for life in South Africa 1965: U.S. troops sent into combat in Vietnam 1966: At height of Swinging Sixties, England football team beats West Germany to win World Cup 1969: British Army deployed to keep peace in Northern Ireland. Concorde makes maiden test flight. Neil Armstrong walks on moon – Queen’s message of congratulations to Apollo 11 astronauts is micro-filmed and left on moon in metal container 1972: Britain joins European Economic Community. Eleven members of Israeli team killed by Arab terrorists at Munich Olympic Games 1973: Vietnam War ends 1977: Silver Jubilee celebrations mark Queen’s first 25 years on throne 1979: Margaret Thatcher becomes Britain’s first female Prime Minister. Queen’s cousin, Lord Mountbatten, killed in IRA bomb attack 1980: John Lennon shot dead outside his home in New York 1981: First cases of AIDS reported in America’s gay community Jul 29: Marriage of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer watched by 700 million TV viewers worldwide 1982: Prime Minister Thatcher declares war on Argentina. Grandson Prince William born 1985: Mikhail Gorbachev becomes leader of Soviet Union 1986: Chernobyl nuclear disaster 1988: Bomb on Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie kills 270 people 1989: Fall of Berlin Wall 1990: Nelson Mandela released after 27 years in prison 1991: Gulf War – allies evict Iraq from Kuwait. Collapse of Soviet Union 1992: “Annus horribilis” – marriage breakdowns of three of Queen’s children, and fire at Windsor Castle 1994: Channel Tunnel opens 1996: Charles and Diana divorce 1997: Dolly the sheep becomes world’s first cloned animal. Aug 31: Princess Diana killed in car crash in Paris 1998: Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland 2001, Sep 11: Terrorist attacks on United States. Britain joins U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan 2002: Princess Margaret and Queen Mother die at start of Queen’s Golden Jubilee year 2003: U.S.-led invasion of Iraq 2005, Apr: Prince Charles marries Camilla Parker Bowles. Jul: Suicide attacks in London kill 56 people 2008: Global financial crisis 2011, Apr 29: Prince William marries Catherine Middleton. May: Queen makes first state visit to Ireland by reigning British monarch since before independence 2012: Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. London hosts Olympic Games 2015: Queen becomes Britain’s longest reigning monarch 2016: Queen turns 90 – overseas travel and some patronages delegated to family members. Jun: Britain votes to leave EU 2018: Grandson Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle 2020 Queen and Prince Philip relocate to Windsor Castle due to pandemic. Nov: Joe Biden wins U.S election Apr 9, 2021: Prince Philip dies at age 99 after 73 years of marriage Feb 6, 2022: 70th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s accession marks start of Platinum Jubilee year Sep 8, 2022: Queen Elizabeth II dies peacefully at Balmoral Castle, aged 96 Pictures: Getty Images, NASA, Roslin Institute Research: Julie Mullins Sources: The Royal Family, Council on Foreign Relations © GRAPHIC NEWS