Elizabeth II of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (1926-)

Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor of York was born on the 21st April 1926 to Prince Albert, Duke of York (1895-1952) and Lady Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (1900-2002) at 17 Bruton Street in London (the London home of her maternal grandparents). After her grandfather, George V, died in 1936, his eldest son, Prince Edward, Prince of Wales, became king but abdicated later that year, leaving Elizabeth's father the king and emperor of the British Empire. Elizabeth married her third cousin, Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh (1921-), formerly Prince Philipos of Greece and Denmark, on the 20th November 1947 at Westminster Abbey in London. Together, they had four children: Charles (1948-), Anne (1950-), Andrew (1960-) and Edward (1964-). On the death of her father in 1952, Elizabeth became queen and has held the title for 59 years, right up to this day.