Queen Elizabeth II: Timeline of Her Royal Reign and Most Notable Accomplishments as Britain's Monarch

Queen Elizabeth II was the apex of "soft power" before her death on September 8, 2022. The post she inherited in 1952 was already severely limited in terms of actual power and authority, and the monarchy experienced a transition into a figurehead status throughout her reign.

Princess Elizabeth, as she was called before succeeding to the throne at the age of 25, was born in Mayfair, London, to Prince Albert, Duke of York, and his Scottish aristocracy wife Elizabeth, Duchess of York.

First and foremost, by merely existing, she fulfilled a crucial legal function: the monarch must ratify every law passed by Parliament in the United Kingdom. Even though such sanction has become ceremonial and routine, the Queen may, in principle, decline to approve something.

Since she was still Head of State even though she was not Head of Government, and the crown is the source of legal power in the United Kingdom. However, Queen Elizabeth's lack of hard power did not mean she was without accomplishments.

Queen Elizabeth II's Achievements

Although most of their accomplishments occurred behind the scenes and were more subtle than the treaties, executive decrees, and directives that presidents and prime ministers may issue, they were nonetheless noteworthy. Because Queen Elizabeth II accomplished all of this without direct power, they may be even more astounding. Here are some of Queen Elizabeth II's most famous achievements, as per Grunge.

Princess Elizabeth Marries Prince Philip in 1947

Following a four-month engagement, Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip, members of the Greek and Danish royal dynasties, married in November 1947. They first met during the wedding of their cousins, Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark and Prince George, Duke of Kent, in 1934.

They reconnected in 1939 when she was 13 and he was 18, and she was instantly captivated. Elizabeth and Philip were distant relatives, both being Queen Victoria's great-great-grandchildren. The coronation concludes with the usual Buckingham Palace balcony appearance when the Queen waves to the masses of cheering Brits on the Mall.

Princess Elizabeth Becomes Queen in 1952

Elizabeth was just 25 years old and on holiday with Philip in Kenya when her father, King George VI, died on February 6, 1952, at Sandringham, the royal country house in Norfolk. She became queen immediately after his death, although she didn't realize it at first because international communication was less established at the time.

Prince Philip imparted the awful news to her, both of them understanding that their lives were about to alter drastically. She promptly traveled to London to be formally crowned queen. Her coronation occurred more than a year later, on June 2, 1953, in Westminster Abbey, and was the first televised coronation.

Queen Elizabeth II Meets President Eisenhower in 1957

Despite seeing President Harry S. Truman in 1951, President Dwight D. Eisenhower was the first American leader Princess Elizabeth met as queen. She hosted Eisenhower and his wife Mamie Eisenhower at the British Embassy in Washington D.C. for a banquet in their honor.

Following that, the queen met with 12 more US presidents, including John F. Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and, most recently, Joe Biden.

The "Annus Horribilis" (1992)

The queen paraphrased one of her letters as stating 1992 was her "annus horribilis," the most terrible year of her life, in a tearful address (despite suffering from a cold). First, three of her children's marriages failed, resulting in a slew of embarrassing media stories.

The queen's beloved Windsor Castle burned for 15 hours on November 20, 1992, damaging or destroying a hundred rooms. It resulted in two significant changes: the queen and Prince Charles stated that they would begin paying taxes. The next year, Queen Elizabeth II opened sections of Buckingham Palace to the public to help offset some of the taxpayers' expenditures on repairing Windsor Castle.

Queen Elizabeth II Becomes Longest-Reigning British Monarch in 2015

Queen Elizabeth II became the longest-reigning British queen on September 9, 2015. As the country's 41st queen since 1066, she beat her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria's record of 63 years and six months. Elizabeth observed the day by going about her everyday royal responsibilities as normal.

Monarch addresses COVID-19 in 2020

Amid shutdowns and fears about the spread of the coronavirus in the United Kingdom and throughout the world, Queen Elizabeth addressed the country in a "unique and historic" speech, urging the U.K. to rise to the pandemic's challenge The queen acknowledged the grave challenges posed by the COVID-19 situation, hoping to elevate morale and bring hope to the country in its hour of need.

On Tuesday, October 26, 2021, Queen Elizabeth II appears on a screen via video link from Windsor Castle during a virtual audience at Buckingham Palace in London, according to USA Today.

Queen Elizabeth II Pushed to Commit to Her Duties Until The End

The death of Queen Elizabeth II elevated her son Charles to the throne, with Prince William next in line. The queen has been placed under medical surveillance, according to Buckingham Palace, and her medics are "concerned" about her health. She'd been in Balmoral for the majority of the summer.

After her doctors advised her to rest, she canceled a virtual meeting with members of her Privy Council on Wednesday evening. On Tuesday, Elizabeth met with Liz Truss, the new Conservative prime minister - the queen's 15th prime minister throughout her reign - albeit, due to sickness, she broke with established protocol by seeing her at Balmoral rather than Buckingham Palace.

Queen Elizabeth II's lengthy tenure as monarch was marked by great change, during which she strove to represent and defend the royal family as a unique pillar of stability in a world of shifting ideals.

Queen Elizabeth, on the other hand, remained steadfastly dedicated to the monarchy's distinctive aloofness, formality, and pomp, through which it has always strived to retain the mystery that has underpinned its existence and longevity. Her somber and courtly demeanor remained unchanged.

The queen departed Buckingham Palace in central London for Windsor Castle, west of the city, as the coronavirus pandemic of 2020 spread, recalling the decades she had spent generating true devotion among many Britons.

After the onset of World War II in 1939, she and her younger sister, Margaret, were transferred to Windsor to avoid the fear of German bombardment. According to her historian Ben Pimlott, she also made her first radio broadcast as a princess from Windsor in 1940, at the age of 14, presumably addressed to British youngsters who had been evacuated to North America, New York Times.