Britain’s Oldest Reigning Monarch Turns Eighty-Two

Queen Elizabeth II has much to celebrate as she turned eighty-two today. Last December, she surpassed her great-great grandmother, Queen Victoria, as the oldest reigning monarch on the British throne. And this past November, she and the Duke of Edinburgh celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary, quite a feat even for a monarch.

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born at 2:40am in 1926 at 17 Bruton Street in Mayfair, London. Her parents, the Duke and Duchess of York, later became King George VI and Queen Elizabeth after the abdication of King Edward VIII in 1936.

Elizabeth’s reign has lasted through ten British Prime Ministers, the latest being Gordon Brown. The queen has dedicated herself completely to her role and she surmised her monumental undertaking many years ago whilst still a princess at the age of twenty-one and said, "I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong."

Photo: Press Association