The Royal Family of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms
HM The Queen HRH The Duke of Edinburgh HRH The Prince of Wales HRH The Duchess of Cornwall HRH The Duke of Cambridge HRH The Duchess of Cambridge HRH Prince Harry of Wales HRH The Duke of York HRH Princess Beatrice of York HRH Princess Eugenie of York HRH The Earl of Wessex HRH The Countess of Wessex Viscount Severn Lady Louise Windsor HRH The Princess Royal HRH The Duke of Gloucester HRH The Duchess of Gloucester HRH The Duke of Kent HRH The Duchess of Kent HRH Prince Michael of Kent HRH Princess Michael of Kent HRH Princess Alexandra Sarah, Duchess of York
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The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people who are the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with official national terms for the family.^[1] Members of the Royal Family belong to, either by birth or marriage, the House of Windsor, since 1917, when George V changed the name of the royal house from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. This decision was primarily taken because Britain and her Empire were at war with Germany and given the British Royal Family's strong German ancestry, it was felt that its public image could be improved by choosing a more British house name. The new name chosen, Windsor, had absolutely no connection other than as the name of the castle which was and continues to be a royal residence.

Although in the United Kingdom there is no strict legal or formal definition of who is or is not a member of the Royal Family, and different lists will include different people, those carrying the style Her or His Majesty (HM), or Her or His Royal Highness (HRH) are always considered members, which usually results in the application of the term to the monarch, the consort of the monarch, the widowed consorts of previous monarchs, the children of the monarch and previous monarchs, the male-line grandchildren of the monarch and previous monarchs, and the spouses and the widows of a monarch's and previous monarch's sons and male-line grandsons. On 30 November 1917, King George V issued Letters Patent defining who are members of the Royal Family; the text of the notice from the London Gazette is as follows:

Whitehall, 11th December, 1917.

The KING has been pleased by Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, bearing date the 30th ultimo, to define the styles and titles to be borne henceforth by members of the Royal Family. It is declared by the Letters Patent that the children of any Sovereign of the United Kingdom and the children of the sons of any such Sovereign and the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales shall have and at all times hold and enjoy the style, title or attribute of Royal Highness with their titular dignity of Prince or Princess prefixed to their respective Christian names or with their other titles of honour; that save as aforesaid the titles of Royal Highness, Highness or Serene Highness, and the titular dignity of Prince and Princess shall cease except those titles already granted and remaining unrevoked; and that the grandchildren of the sons of any such Sovereign in the direct male line (save only the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales) shall have the style and title enjoyed by the children of Dukes.

In 1996, Her Majesty The Queen modified these Letters Patent, as was evidenced by this Notice from the London Gazette:

The QUEEN has been pleased by Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the Realm dated 21st August 1996, to declare that a former wife (other :than a widow until she shall remarry) of a son of a Sovereign of these Realms, of a son of a son of a Sovereign and of the eldest living son of the eldest son of The Prince of Wales shall not be entitled to hold and enjoy the style, title or attribute of Royal Highness.

Members and relatives of the British Royal Family historically represented the monarch in various places throughout the British Empire, sometimes for extended periods as viceroys, or for specific ceremonies or events. Today, they often perform ceremonial and social duties throughout the United Kingdom and abroad on behalf of the United Kingdom. Aside from the monarch, their only constitutional role in the affairs of government is to serve, if eligible and when appointed by letters patent, as a Counsellor of State, two or more of whom exercise the authority of the Crown (within stipulated limits) in the indisposal or absence from the British realm of the monarch. In the other realms of the Commonwealth royalty do not serve as Counsellors of State. However in each such realm the monarch's family members may act on behalf of, are funded by, and represent the sovereign of that particular state, and not the United Kingdom.^{[citation needed]}

The Queen, her consort, her children and grandchildren, as well as all former sovereigns' children and grandchildren hold places in the first sections of the official orders of precedence in England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Wives of the said enjoy their husbands' precedence, and husbands of princesses are unofficially but habitually placed with their wives as well. However, the Queen changed the private order of precedence in the Royal Family in favor of Princesses Anne and Alexandra, who henceforth take private precedence over the Duchess of Cornwall, who is officially the realm's highest ranking woman after the Queen herself. She did not alter the relative precedence of other born-princesses, such as the daughters of her younger sons.

List of members[link]

"Royal Family picture". http://www.historyguy.com/worldbiography/british_royal_family.jpg. Retrieved 2012-04-03. 

This is a list of current members of the Royal Family who bear the style of Royal Highness:

• HM The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh (her prince consort)
  • TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall^[2] (The Queen's eldest son and his second wife)
    • TRH The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (The Prince of Wales' elder son and his wife)
    • HRH Prince Harry of Wales (The Prince of Wales' younger son)
  • HRH The Duke of York (The Queen's second son)
    • HRH Princess Beatrice of York (The Duke of York's elder daughter)
    • HRH Princess Eugenie of York (The Duke of York's younger daughter)
  • TRH The Earl and Countess of Wessex (The Queen's third son and his wife)
    • Viscount Severn (The Earl of Wessex's son with no HRH style)
    • The Lady Louise Windsor (The Earl of Wessex's daughter with no HRH style)
  • HRH The Princess Royal (The Queen's daughter)
• TRH The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester (The Queen's cousin and his wife)
• TRH The Duke and Duchess of Kent (The Queen's cousin and his wife)
• TRH Prince and Princess Michael of Kent (The Queen's cousin and his wife)
• HRH Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy (The Queen's cousin)
• Sarah, Duchess of York (Former wife of HRH The Duke of York)

Collaterals[link]

There are a few immediate family members (a spouse and the children and grandchildren of its current full or deceased members) carrying no official Royal style who sometimes appear in listings^[3]:

• VAdm Sir Timothy Laurence (The Princess Royal's second and current husband)
  • Mr & Mrs Peter Phillips (The Princess Royal's son by Capt Mark Phillips, and his wife, Autumn)
    • Miss Savannah Phillips (Peter Phillips' elder daughter, The Queen's first great-grandchild)
    • Miss Isla Phillips (Peter Phillips' younger daughter, The Queen's second great-grandchild)
  • Mrs Michael Tindall MBE & Michael Tindall MBE, Esq (The Princess Royal's daughter by Capt Mark Phillips, known as Zara Phillips, and her husband)
• Viscount & Viscountess Linley (The late Princess Margaret's son and his wife)
  • The Hon Charles Armstrong-Jones (Lord Linley's son)
  • The Hon Margarita Armstrong-Jones (Lord Linley's daughter)
• The Lady Sarah Chatto & Daniel Chatto Esq (The late Princess Margaret's daughter and her husband)
  • Mr Samuel Chatto (Lady Sarah's elder son)
  • Mr Arthur Chatto (Lady Sarah's younger son)

The following persons are descendants (or widows) of the younger children of Queen Victoria, Edward VII and George V:

• Earl & Countess of Ulster (The Duke of Gloucester's son and his wife)
  • Lord Culloden (Lord Ulster's son)
  • The Lady Cosima Windsor (Lord Ulster's daughter)
• The Lady Davina Lewis & Mr Gary Lewis (The Duke of Gloucester's elder daughter and her husband)
  • Miss Senna Lewis (Lady Davina's daughter)
• The Lady Rose Gilman & George Gilman Esq (The Duke of Gloucester's younger daughter and her husband)
  • Miss Lyla Gilman (Lady Rose's daughter)
• Earl & Countess of St Andrews (The Duke of Kent's elder son and his wife)
  • Lord Downpatrick (Lord St Andrews' son)
  • The Lady Marina Charlotte Windsor (Lord St Andrews' elder daughter)
  • The Lady Amelia Windsor (Lord St Andrews' younger daughter)
• The Lord & Lady Nicholas Windsor (The Duke of Kent's younger son and his wife)
  • Albert Windsor Esq (Lord Nicholas' elder son)
  • Leopold Windsor Esq (Lord Nicholas' younger son)
• The Lady Helen Taylor & Timothy Taylor Esq (The Duke of Kent's daughter and her husband)
  • Mr Columbus Taylor (Lady Helen's elder son)
  • Mr Cassius Taylor (Lady Helen's younger son)
  • Miss Eloise Taylor (Lady Helen's elder daughter)
  • Miss Estella Taylor (Lady Helen's younger daughter)
• The Lord & Lady Frederick Windsor (Prince Michael of Kent's son and his wife, known as Sophie Winkleman)
• The Lady Gabriella Windsor (Prince Michael of Kent's daughter)
• Mr & Mrs James Ogilvy (Princess Alexandra's son, and his wife)
  • Mr Alexander Ogilvy (James Ogilvy's son)
  • Miss Flora Ogilvy (James Ogilvy's daughter)
• Mrs Marina Ogilvy (Princess Alexandra's daughter)
  • Christian Mowatt Esq (Marina Ogilvy's son by Mr Paul Mowatt)
  • Miss Zenouska Mowatt (Marina Ogilvy's daughter by Mr Paul Mowatt)
• The Rt Hon The Earl of Harewood (great-grandson of King George V through his daughter The Princess Mary, Princess Royal)
  • His mother (The Dowager Countess of Harewood), wife, children, brothers, nephews, nieces and his late uncle's son and grandson
• HG The Duke of Fife (great-grandson of King Edward VII through his daughter The Princess Louise, Princess Royal)
  • His children and grandchildren
• The Rt Hon The Lady Saltoun (widow of Capt Alexander Ramsay of Mar, great-grandson of Queen Victoria through her son The Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn)
  • Ramsay's children and grandchildren
• The Most Hon The Marquess of Milford Haven (great-great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria through her daughter The Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine)
  • His mother (Janet Mountbatten, The Dowager Marchioness of Milford Haven), wife, children, brother and nieces
• The Rt Hon The Countess Mountbatten of Burma (Lord Milford Haven's first cousin once-removed, great-great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria through her daughter The Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine)
  • Her children, grandchildren, sister and her sister's children and grandchildren

The late Earl of Harewood was a female-line first cousin of the Queen and acted as a Counsellor of State. The Duke of Fife, the Marquess of Milford Haven, the Countess Mountbatten of Burma, and the Lady Saltoun, and their respective families, as well as the late Lord Harewood's descendants, are so distant in kinship from the reigning Sovereign that they are relatives, rather than members, of the Royal Family.

None of these persons receive any money from the State or undertake official engagements on behalf of the Queen, although they remain eligible to serve as Counsellors of State. However, the Queen does invite them to private family functions and to participate in official royal occasions, such as the Trooping the Colour, the Golden Jubilee celebrations, and ceremonial or state funerals.

There are three living former spouses of members of the British Royal Family:

• Sarah, Duchess of York (former wife of HRH The Duke of York and the mother of HRH Princess Beatrice and HRH Princess Eugenie)
• Capt Mark Phillips (the first husband of The Princess Royal)
• The Rt Hon The Earl of Snowdon (the former husband of the late Princess Margaret)

Recently deceased members of the Royal Family include:

• HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother (widow of HM King George VI and mother of HM The Queen)
• HRH The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (sister of HM The Queen)
• HRH Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester (widow of HRH The Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, and mother to the present Duke of Gloucester)
• Diana, Princess of Wales (first wife of HRH The Prince of Wales and the mother of HRH The Duke of Cambridge and HRH Prince Harry).

Unlike Lord Snowdon and Captain Phillips, Sarah, Duchess of York has never remarried and still attends some functions with her daughters, such as the investiture of The Duke of York into the Royal Victorian Order, on which occasions she is afforded the courtesy of treatment as a member of the Royal Family, although the Lord Chamberlain's Diamond Jubilee Guidelines mention the Duchess specifically as being a member of the Royal Family^[4][5].

The Rt Hon Sir Angus Ogilvy, who died in 2004, was the husband of Princess Alexandra, The Hon Lady Ogilvy and a first-cousin-in law of The Queen. He supported his wife in her royal duties and sometimes accompanied the Princess during her royal tours abroad. As a husband of a princess of the blood royal, he was listed as an immediate member of the Royal Family in the same way as it is today with The Princess Royal's current husband, Sir Timothy Laurence.

The Prince of Wales' first wife, Diana, Princess of Wales, died in a car crash in 1997. They had divorced in 1996. She lost the style of Royal Highness but was allowed the style "Diana, Princess of Wales" and continued to be treated as a member of the Royal Family and was accorded the same precedence she enjoyed whilst being married to The Prince of Wales when accompanying her children, The Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry, second and third in line, respectively, to the throne.

Family tree of members[link]

Notes

1. ^ After his abdication in 1936, King Edward VIII became HRH The Duke of Windsor.

Members of the British Royal Family since 1714[link]

• HM King George I (1660-1727)
  • HM King George II (1683-1760)
    • HRH The Prince Frederick, Prince of Wales (1707-1751)
      • HM King George III (1738-1820)
        • HM King George IV (1762-1830)
          • HRH Princess Charlotte of Wales, Princess Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Duchess in Saxony (1796-1817)
        • HRH The Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany (1763-1827)
        • HM King William IV (1765-1837)
          • HRH Princess Charlotte of Clarence (1819)
          • HRH Princess Elizabeth of Clarence (1820-1821)
        • HRH The Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn (1767-1820)
          • HM Queen Victoria (1819-1901)
            • HM King Edward VII (1841-1910)
              • HRH Prince Albert Victor of Wales, Duke of Clarence and Avondale (1864-1892)
              • HM King George V (1865-1936)
                • HM King Edward VIII (1894-1972)
                • HM King George VI (1895-1952)
                  • HM The Queen (1926-)
                    • HRH The Prince of Wales (1948-)
                      • HRH The Duke of Cambridge (1982-)
                      • HRH Prince Henry of Wales (1984-)
                    • HRH The Duke of York (1960-)
                      • HRH Princess Beatrice of York (1988-)
                      • HRH Princess Eugenie of York (1990-)
                    • HRH The Earl of Wessex (1964-)
                      • Viscount Severn (2007-)
                      • The Lady Louise Windsor (2003-)
                    • HRH The Princess Royal (1950-)
                  • HRH The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (1930-2002)
                • HRH The Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester (1900-1974)
                  • HRH Prince William of Gloucester (1941-1972)
                  • HRH The Duke of Gloucester (1944-)
                • HRH The Prince George, Duke of Kent (1902-1942)
                  • HRH The Duke of Kent (1935-)
                  • HRH Prince Michael of Kent (1942-)
                  • HRH Princess Alexandra of Kent, The Hon Lady Ogilvy (1936-)
                • HRH The Prince John (1905-1919)
                • HRH The Princess Mary, Princess Royal, Countess of Harewood (1897-1965)
              • HRH Prince Alexander John of Wales (1871)
              • HRH The Princess Louise, Princess Royal, Duchess of Fife (1867-1931)
                • HRH Princess Alexandra of Fife, Princess Arthur of Connaught, Duchess of Fife (1891-1959)^{[N 1]}
                • HH Princess Maud of Fife, Countess of Southesk (1893-1945)^{[N 2]}
              • HRH The Princess Victoria (1868-1935)
              • HM The Princess Maud, Queen of Norway (1869-1938)
            • HRH The Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1844-1900)
              • HRH Prince Alfred of Edinburgh, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1874-1899)
              • HM Princess Marie of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Queen of Romania (1875-1938)
              • HIH Princess Victoria of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine, Grand Duchess Viktoria Feodorovna of Russia (1876-1936)
              • HRH Princess Alexandra of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1878-1942)
              • HRH Princess Beatrice of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duchess of Galliera (1884-1966)
            • HRH The Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (1850-1942)
              • HRH Prince Arthur of Connaught (1883-1938)
                • HH Prince Alastair of Connaught (1914-1943)^{[N 3]}
              • HRH Princess Margaret of Connaught, Crown Princess of Sweden (1882-1920)
              • HRH Princess Patricia of Connaught, Lady Patricia Ramsay (1886-1974)
            • HRH The Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany (1853-1884)
              • HRH Prince Charles Edward, Duke of Albany, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1884-1953)
                • HH Prince John Leopold of Albany, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1906-1972)
                • HH Prince Hubert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Albany (1909-1943)
                • HH Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Albany (1908-1972)
                • HH Princess Caroline Matilda of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Albany (1912-1983)
              • HRH Princess Alice of Albany, Countess of Athlone (1883-1981)
            • HI&RM The Princess Victoria, Princess Royal, German Empress, Queen of Prussia (1840-1901)
            • HRH The Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine (1843-1878)
            • HRH The Princess Helena, Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein (1846-1923)
            • HRH The Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll (1848-1939)
            • HRH The Princess Beatrice, Princess Henry of Battenberg (1857-1944)
        • HM The Prince Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale, King Ernst August I of Hanover (1771-1851)
          • HM Prince George, Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale, King Georg V of Hanover (1819-1878)
            • HRH Prince Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale, Crown Prince of Hanover (1845-1923)
              • HRH Prince George William of Hanover and Cumberland (1880-1912)
              • HRH Prince Christian of Hanover and Cumberland (1885-1901)
              • HRH Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover and Cumberland, Duke of Brunswick (1887-1953)
                • HRH Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover and Cumberland, Hereditary Prince of Brunswick (1914-1987)
                • HRH Prince George William of Hanover and Cumberland (1915-2006)
                • HRH Princess Frederica of Hanover and Cumberland (1917-1981)
              • HRH Princess Marie Louise of Hanover and Cumberland, Princess Maximilian of Baden (1879-1948)
              • HRH Princess Alexandra of Hanover and Cumberland, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1882-1963)
              • HRH Princess Olga of Hanover and Cumberland (1884-1958)
            • HRH Princess Frederica of Hanover and Cumberland, Baroness von Pawel-Rammingen (1848-1926)
            • HRH Princess Marie of Hanover and Cumberland (1849-1904)
        • HRH The Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex (1773-1843)
        • HRH The Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge (1774-1850)
          • HRH Prince George, Duke of Cambridge (1819-1904)
          • HRH Princess Augusta of Cambridge, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1822-1916)
          • HRH Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, Duchess of Teck (1833-1897)
        • HRH The Prince Octavius (1779-1783)
        • HRH The Prince Alfred (1780-1782)
        • HM The Princess Charlotte, Princess Royal, Queen of Württemberg (1766-1828)
        • HRH The Princess Augusta Sophia (1768-1840)
        • HRH The Princess Elizabeth, Landgravine of Hesse-Homburg (1770-1840)
        • HRH The Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh (1776-1857)
        • HRH The Princess Sophia (1777-1848)
        • HRH The Princess Amelia (1783-1810)
      • HRH Prince Edward, Duke of York and Albany (1739-1767)
      • HRH Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh (1743-1805)
        • HRH Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh (1776-1834)
        • HRH Princess Sophia of Gloucester (1773-1844)
        • HH Princess Caroline of Gloucester (1774-1775)
      • HRH Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn (1745-1790)
      • HRH Prince Frederick (1750-1765)
      • HRH Princess Augusta, Duchess of Brunswick (1737-1813)
      • HRH Princess Elizabeth (1741-1759)
      • HRH Princess Louisa (1749-1768)
      • HM Princess Caroline Matilda, Queen of Denmark and Norway (1751-1775)
    • HRH Prince George William (1717-1718)
    • HRH The Prince William, Duke of Cumberland (1721-1765)
    • HRH The Princess Anne, Princess Royal, Princess of Orange (1709-1759)
    • HRH The Princess Amelia (1711-1786)
    • HRH The Princess Caroline (1713-1757)
    • HRH The Princess Mary, Landgravine of Hesse-Kassel (1723-1772)
    • HM The Princess Louise, Queen of Denmark and Norway (1724-1751)
  • HM The Princess Sophia Dorothea, Queen in Prussia (1687-1757)

Notes

1. ^ Princess Alexandra was a female-line granddaughter of Edward VII but she was created by her grandfather the King a Princess of Great Britain and Ireland with the style Highness and precedence immediately after all members of the Royal Family with the style Royal Highness. In 1912, Princess Alexandra became the 2nd Duchess of Fife, after the death of her father, Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife. In 1913, Princess Alexandra married her cousin, Prince Arthur of Connaught (for him and their son, Alastair of Connaught, see the list below) and was accorded to her husband's higher style Royal Highness.
2. ^ Princess Maud was a female-line granddaughter of Edward VII but she was created by her grandfather the King a Princess of Great Britain and Ireland with the style Highness and precedence immediately after all members of the Royal Family with the style Royal Highness. Following her marriage with Lord Carnegie in 1923, Maud ceased to use the title of Princess and the style Highness and was known as Lady Carnegie, and later The Countess of Southesk. In 1959, the Earl and Countess of Southesk's son and only child, James Carnegie, became the 3rd Duke of Fife, after the death of his maternal aunt, Princess Arthur of Connaught, 2nd Duchess (see the list and note above).
3. ^ Alastair Windsor was the son and only child of two persons listed above, Prince Arthur of Connaught and his wife, Princess Arthur of Connaught, 2nd Duchess of Fife. He was born a Prince of the United Kingdom with the style Highness, as he was a male-line great-grandson of Queen Victoria, but he lost his official Royal status in 1917, when George V issued Letters Patent which excluded Alastair from the list of British Princes and Princesses of Blood Royal. He was the only British prince who lost his status after the 1917 changes. He was the heir to both his paternal and maternal grandfathers' peerages, the Dukedom of Connaught and Strathearn and Dukedom of Fife, which was held by his mother and the 1st Duke's elder daughter, Princess Arthur of Connaught. In 1942, Alastair Windsor inherited the Dukedom of Connaught and Strathearn, after the death of his paternal grandfather, The Prince Arthur. The 2nd Duke of Connaught died unmarried and childless in 1943 and his Dukedom became extinct. The Dukedom of Fife passed in 1959, after the 2nd Duchess' death, to her younger sister's son, James, Lord Carnegie.

In the United Kingdom[link]

Public role and image[link]

Members of the Royal Family participate in hundreds of public engagements yearly throughout the whole of the United Kingdom, as formally recorded in the Court Circular, to honour, encourage and learn about the achievements or endeavours of individuals, institutions and enterprises in a variety of areas of life. As representatives of HM The Queen, they often also join the nation in commemorating historical events, holidays, celebratory and tragic occurrences, and may also sponsor or participate in numerous charitable, cultural and social activities. Their travels abroad on behalf of the United Kingdom (called State Visits when the sovereign officially meets with other heads of state) draw celebrity-like attention to amicable relations within and between the Commonwealth and other nations, to British goods and trade, and to Britain as a historical, vacation, and tourist destination. Their presence, activities and traditional roles constitute the apex of a modern "royal court," and provide a distinctly British and historical pageantry to ceremonies (e.g. Trooping the Colour) and flavour to public events (e.g. Garden Parties, Ascot). Throughout their lives they draw enormous media coverage in the form of photographic, written and televised commentary on their activities, family relationships, rites of passage, personalities, attire, behaviour, and public roles. Although even senior members of the Royal Family often now drive themselves instead of having a driver.^[6]

In a lengthy interview conducted by PBS prior to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in August 1997,^[7] Max Hastings, editor of the Daily Telegraph between 1986 and 1995, discussed the impact of Andrew Morton's and Jonathan Dimbleby's biographies of, respectively, Diana, Princess of Wales and HRH The Prince of Wales on subsequent news coverage of the Royal Family in the UK.

Funding[link]

Members of the Royal Family carry out public duties; these individuals receive an annual payment known as a Parliamentary Annuity, the funds being supplied to cover office costs.

These amounts are repaid by HM The Queen from her private funds.

Though always voluntarily subject to the Value Added Tax and other indirect taxes, HM The Queen agreed to pay taxes on income and capital gains from 1992, although the details of this arrangement are both voluntary and secret. At the same time it was announced that only HM The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh would receive civil list payments. Since 1993, HM The Queen's personal estate (e.g. shareholdings, personal jewellery, Sandringham House and Balmoral Castle) will be subject to Inheritance Tax, though bequests from Sovereign to Sovereign are exempt.^[8]

Royal styles and titles[link]

The style His Majesty or Her Majesty (HM) is enjoyed by a king, a queen regnant, a queen consort, and a queen dowager. Use of the style His Royal Highness or Her Royal Highness (HRH) and the titular dignity of Prince or Princess are governed by letters patent issued by George V on 30 November 1917 and published in the London Gazette on 11 December 1917. These letters patent state that henceforth only the children of the Sovereign, the children of the sons of the Sovereign, and the eldest son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales would "have and at all times hold and enjoy the style, title or attribute of Royal Highness with their titular dignity of Prince or Princess prefixed to their respective Christian names or with their other titles of honour." They further state, "the grandchildren of the sons of any such Sovereign in the direct male line (save only the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales) shall have the style and title enjoyed by the children of Dukes."

Under these conventions, HM The Queen's children, the children of HRH The Prince of Wales, HRH The Duke of York and HRH The Earl of Wessex would all be titled Princes or Princesses and styled Royal Highness, as would be the eldest son of HRH The Duke of Cambridge. However, upon HRH The Earl of Wessex's marriage in 1999, it was announced that his children would be styled as an earl's children. The Duke of Gloucester, The Duke of Kent, Princess Alexandra, The Hon Lady Ogilvy and Prince Michael of Kent enjoy the titular dignity of Prince or Princess and the style Royal Highness as male-line grandchildren of HM King George V. However, none of their children (being only great-grandchildren of a monarch) have royal titles. For example, the children of Prince Michael of Kent are known as Lord Frederick Windsor and Lady Gabriella Windsor, bearing courtesy titles as if they were the children of a duke. They are not entitled to any royal title. The children of HRH The Princess Royal, HRH Princess Alexandra, and the late Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, are not entitled to any royal title since princesses do not transmit their titles to their children. An exception to this rule was when HM King George VI issued letters patent such that his heiress presumptive, HRH The Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, could transmit her title to her children. HRH Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon's son enjoys the courtesy title Viscount Linley as the son and heir of The Earl of Snowdon, while her daughter enjoys the courtesy title Lady. The children of HRH The Princess Royal and of HRH Princess Alexandra have no titles, because Mark Phillips and Sir Angus Ogilvy did not accept hereditary peerages upon marriage.

Women marrying sons and male-line grandsons of a Sovereign are normally styled Her Royal Highness followed by the feminised version of her husband's highest title. The wives of royal peers are known as "HRH The Duchess of ..." or " HRH The Countess of ..." Thus, the wives of HRH The Duke of Cambridge, HRH The Earl of Wessex, HRH The Duke of Gloucester and HRH The Duke of Kent are "HRH The Duchess of Cambridge," "HRH The Countess of Wessex," "HRH The Duchess of Gloucester," and "HRH The Duchess of Kent," respectively. Before their divorces, Diana, Princess of Wales and Sarah, Duchess of York enjoyed the respective titles and styles of "HRH The Princess of Wales," and "HRH The Duchess of York". However, when a woman marries a prince who does not hold a peerage, she is known as HRH Princess [Her husband's Christian name], followed by whatever territorial or titular designation. For example, the former Baroness Marie-Christine von Reibnitz enjoys the title and style of "HRH Princess Michael of Kent," and not "HRH Princess Marie-Christine of Kent." Similarly, the former Birgitte Eva van Deurs was titled "HRH Princess Richard of Gloucester" from her wedding until her husband succeeded to his father's dukedom in 1974. The widows of princes remain HRH. However, under HM The Queen's 21 August 1996 letters patent, a divorced wife of a Prince of The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland "shall not be entitled to hold and enjoy the style, title or attribute of Royal Highness."

There has been one exception to the convention that wives of princes take their husband's rank. In letters patent dated 28 May 1937, King George VI specifically denied the style HRH to the wife of HRH The Duke of Windsor, the former King Edward VIII. Therefore, the former Wallis Warfield Simpson was known as "Her Grace The Duchess of Windsor," not "Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Windsor."

Another exception was made in the case of the last royal princess to marry into the British Royal Family: Princess Marina who, being a Princess of Greece and Denmark by birth, reverted to her own princely style ("HRH Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent") after being widowed, rather than take up the traditional style "HRH The Dowager Duchess of Kent". Her sister-in-law (born The Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott) was given special dispensation by HM The Queen to use a similar style when she was widowed ("HRH Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester") despite not being a princess by birth, rather than the more usual widow's style, "HRH The Dowager Duchess of Gloucester".

Following on a reluctance by the public to universally support the second wife of HRH The Prince of Wales, it was announced by Clarence House that, should the Prince become King, his wife HRH The Duchess of Cornwall will not be known as HM The Queen but will take the lesser title of HRH The Princess Consort. Out of respect for the late Diana, Princess of Wales, it was also announced that HRH would not be known as The Princess of Wales.

The daughters and male-line granddaughters of the Sovereign do not lose their royal titles upon marriage. Men who marry the daughters and the male-line granddaughters of the Sovereign, however, do not acquire their wives' royal rank or the style HRH.

Peerages[link]

The British Royal Family in 1880.

Female consorts of the British sovereign have not been created peers or peeresses. Male consorts, however, have sometimes been granted dukedoms. Prince George of Denmark, the husband of the future Queen Anne, was created Duke of Cumberland in 1683. Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, was given the style Royal Highness before his marriage. In 1857, Queen Victoria granted him the title of Prince Consort, however he was not made a British peer. Prince Philip, husband of the present Queen, was created Duke of Edinburgh and granted the style Royal Highness the day before his wedding (which occurred prior to her accession).

Generally, the sons of the Sovereign are awarded peerage dignities to mark either adulthood or marriage. Originally, younger sons of the Sovereign were not styled Princes (except the Prince of Wales); thus, to indicate their exalted rank, peerage dignities were conferred upon them. From the time of Edward III, nearly every son of a Sovereign surviving into adulthood became a Duke. Certain dukedoms were granted more often than others, including the dukedoms of York, Albany and Clarence. Normally, a peerage once awarded to a member of the Royal Family is not thereafter granted to any person outside the Royal Family (though some exceptions do exist).

The Dukedom of York is generally created for the second son of the Sovereign. The first creation was in 1384; the dukedom merged in the Crown in 1461. Every Duke thereafter has either died without heirs or succeeded to the Crown, and so has not been able to leave the Royal Family. The pattern of awarding the dukedom to the second-eldest son of the Sovereign was upset by George I, who gave the Dukedom of York and Albany to his younger brother. The Dukedom of York and Albany was next granted by George II to the second son of his son, who had predeceased him. York and Albany featured one last time as a dukedom in 1784, when George III granted it to his second son. Thereafter, the dukedom has always borne the designation York, rather than York and Albany. The current duke is The Prince Andrew, second son of Queen Elizabeth II.

The Dukedom of Albany served a function similar to the Dukedom of York in Scotland. The dukedom was created in 1398 for Robert Stewart, brother of King Robert III. It was at the time the only dukedom other than the Dukedom of Rothesay. It was created thrice more in Scotland: twice for the second son of a Sovereign, and once for a brother of a Sovereign. It was last created in 1881, for the fourth son of Queen Victoria; the dukedom was then suspended under the Titles Deprivation Act after its holder fought on the side of Germany during World War I. It is therefore considered neither available nor desirable for regrant.

There are several other dukedoms that have been used for members of the Royal Family. Clarence was first used as a dukedom in 1362, most of the time being granted to the third son of the Sovereign. Among the dukedoms granted to still younger sons of the Sovereign are Cambridge, Connaught, Cumberland, Edinburgh, Gloucester, Kent and Sussex — others in the Scottish peerage have included Ross and Kintyre. Some of those dukedoms were used for younger brothers, nephews and other kinsmen of Sovereigns. The dukedom of Windsor was also a Royal dukedom, being granted to Edward VIII after he abdicated so that he could marry against the tenets of the Church of England.

Often, sons of the Sovereign were granted titles associated with England and Scotland, later with Ireland, and most recently with Wales. Thus, the Dukedom of Strathearn (named after a place in Scotland) has been held with the Dukedoms of Connaught (named after an Irish province), Kent and Cumberland (both named after English places). This pattern continues in the present Royal Family. The current Duke of York, for example, is also Earl of Inverness and Baron Killyleagh; the subsidiary titles are associated with Scotland and Northern Ireland, respectively.

The convention of granting dukedoms to senior members of the Royal Family was broken most recently in 1999, when The Prince Edward was created Earl of Wessex. The Earldom of Wessex had not been created earlier by an English or British Sovereign since 1066. It has been suggested that the Dukedom of Edinburgh will eventually be granted to The Earl of Wessex. The current dukedom will descend to The Prince of Wales, however, and not to the Earl of Wessex. Should The Prince of Wales become Sovereign, or should he already be Sovereign when the dukedom passes to him, the dukedom would merge in the Crown and then only become available for a regrant.

The highest peerage dignity belonging to a Prince may be used as a part of the title of that Prince's children. Thus, the unmarried son of The Prince of Wales is Prince Harry of Wales; the daughters of the Duke of York are Princess Beatrice of York and Princess Eugenie of York; the children of the Earl of Wessex are Lady Louise Windsor and Viscount Severn. (In the last case, Lady Louise and Lord Severn are always (and without exception) referred to as such, at the wishes of their parents and by order of The Queen, but are nonetheless thought by some experts to legally retain their princely titles (i.e. Princess Louise of Wessex and Prince James of Wessex))

Sovereigns, especially Charles II, have sometimes granted peerage dignities to illegitimate children. James Scott became Duke of Monmouth in 1663. Many more creations, mostly earldoms, followed in the 1670s: Charles FitzCharles became Earl of Plymouth, Charles FitzRoy Duke of Southampton, Henry FitzRoy Earl of Euston, George FitzRoy Earl of Northumberland, Charles Beauclerk Earl of Burford and Charles Lennox Duke of Richmond and Lennox. Many of the earls who were sons of Charles later became Dukes. Of the current Dukes, four are male-line descendants of Charles in the illegitimate line: the Duke of Richmond, Lennox and Gordon, the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry, the Duke of Grafton and the Duke of St Alban's.

In other Commonwealth realms[link]

As the Royal Family is shared by other Commonwealth realms, its members will often also conduct official and non-official duties outside the United Kingdom, on behalf of the relevant state.

Further information: Royal Family's role in the realms

Other realms[link]

• Canadian Royal Family

Other related articles[link]

• Commonwealth realm monarchies
• List of monarchs in the British Isles
• Lists of members of the British Royal Family through history
• British prince
• British princess
• House of Windsor
• British monarchs' family tree
• Line of succession to the British Throne
• List of godchildren of members of the British Royal Family
• Genealogy of the British Royal Family
• Royal Descent
• Ancestry Charts of the Current British Royal Family

Notes[link]

Further reading[link]

• Burke's Guide to the Royal Family. Burke's Peerage, 1973.
• Cannon, John Ashton. The Oxford Illustrated History of the British Monarchy. Oxford University Press, 1988.
• Churchill, Randolph S. They Serve the Queen: A New and Authoritative Account of the Royal Household. ("Prepared for Coronation Year") Hutchinson, 1953.
• Fraser, Antonia (ed). The Lives of the Kings & Queens of England. Revised & updated edition. University of California Press, 1998.
• Hayden, Ilse. Symbol and Privilege: The Ritual Context of British Royalty. University of Arizona Press, 1987.
• Longford, Elizabeth Harman (Countess of Longford). The Royal House of Windsor. Revised edition. Crown, 1984.
• Weir, Alison. Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy. Pimlico/Random House, 2002.

• Royal Family (1969) is a celebrated and reverential BBC documentary made by Richard Cawston to accompany the investiture of the current Prince of Wales. The documentary is frequently held responsible for the greater press intrusion into the Royal Family's private life since its first broadcast.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: British Royal Family

• Official website of the British monarchy
• House of Windsor Family TreePDF (74.2 KB)
• Royal Families of Europe Family Tree and Genealogy.
• "William following Royal precedent". BBC News. 2005-10-21. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4248712.stm. 
• A Basic Guide to the Royal Family Members
• The Family of Elizabeth I
• The Crown Estates
• -Original press photos of Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret

A royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term imperial family appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate to describe the relatives of a reigning duke, grand duke, or prince. However, in common parlance members of any family which reigns by hereditary right are often referred to as royalty or "royals". It is also customary in some circles to refer to the extended relations of a deposed monarch and his or her descendants as a royal family.

Members of a royal family[link]

A royal family typically includes the spouse of the reigning monarch, surviving spouses of a deceased monarch, the children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, and cousins of the reigning monarch, as well as their spouses. In some cases, royal family membership may extend to great grandchildren and more distant descendants of a monarch. In certain monarchies where voluntary abdication is the norm, such as the Netherlands, a royal family may also include one or more former monarchs. There is often a distinction between persons of the blood royal and those that marry into the royal family. In certain instances, such as in Canada, the royal family is defined by who holds the styles Majesty and Royal Highness.^[1] Under most systems, only persons in the first category are dynasts, that is, potential successors to the throne (unless the member of the latter category is also in line to the throne in their own right, a frequent occurrence in royal families which frequently intermarry). This is not always observed; some monarchies have operated by the principle of jure uxoris.

The Royal Family of France in classical costume during the reign of Louis XIV.

In addition certain relatives of the monarch (by blood or marriage) possess special privileges and are subject to certain statutes, conventions, or special common law. The precise functions of a royal family vary depending on whether the polity in question is an absolute monarchy, a constitutional monarchy, or somewhere in between. In certain monarchies, such as that found in Saudi Arabia or Kuwait, or in political systems where the monarch actually exercises executive power, such as in Jordan, it is not uncommon for the members of a royal family to hold important government posts or military commands. In most constitutional monarchies, however, members of a royal family perform certain public, social, or ceremonial functions, but refrain from any involvement in electoral politics or the actual governance of the country.

The specific composition of royal families varies from country to country, as do the titles and royal and noble styles held by members of the family. The composition of the royal family may be regulated by statute enacted by the legislature (e.g. Spain, the Netherlands, and Japan since 1947), the Sovereign's prerogative and common law tradition (e.g. the United Kingdom), or a private house law (e.g., Liechtenstein, the former ruling houses of Bavaria, Prussia, Hanover, etc.). Public statutes, constitutional provisions, or conventions may also regulate the marriages, names, and personal titles of royal family members. The members of a royal family may or may not have a surname or dynastic name (see Royal House).

In a constitutional monarchy, when the monarch dies, there is always a law or tradition of succession to the throne that either specifies a formula for identifying the precise order of succession among family members in line to the throne or specifies a process by which a family member is chosen to inherit the crown. Usually in the former case the exact line of hereditary succession among royal individuals may be identified at any given moment during prior reigns (e.g. United Kingdom, Sark, Nizari Ismailis, Japan, Balobedus, Sweden, Benin Empire) whereas in the latter case the next sovereign may be selected (or changed) only during the reign or shortly after the demise of the immediately preceding monarch (e.g. Cambodia, KwaZulu Natal, Buganda, Saudi Arabia, Swaziland, Yorubaland, The Kingitanga). Some monarchies employ a mix of these selection processes (Malaysia, Monaco, Tonga, Jordan, Morocco), providing for both an identifiable line of succession as well as authority for the monarch, dynasty or other institution to alter the line in specific instances without changing the general law of succession.

Some countries have abolished royalty altogether, as in post-revolutionary France and Russia.

Royal houses and dynasties[link]

Current Royal Families[link]

Deposed royal families[link]

Mediatised royal families[link]

• House of Arenberg (Belgium)
• Fürstenberg princely family (Germany)
• House of Ligne (Belgium)
• Princely family of Merode (Belgium)
• Schwarzenberg princely family (Bohemia)

See also[link]

• Abbasid
• Abolished monarchy
• Chief of the Name
• Crown prince
• Family trees of royal families
• Palaces
• Prince
• Prince consort
• Princeps
• Princess
• Princess Royal
• Queen consort
• Regicide
• Royal and noble styles
• Royal descent
• Royal house
• Royal prerogative

References[link]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2008)

Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II in 2007
Queen of the Commonwealth realms List United Kingdom (1952–) Canada (1952–) Australia (1952–) New Zealand (1952–) Pakistan (1952–56) South Africa (1952–61) Ceylon (1952–72) Ghana (1957–60) Nigeria (1960–63) Sierra Leone (1961–71) Tanganyika (1961–62) Jamaica (1962–) Trinidad and Tobago (1962–76) Uganda (1962–63) Kenya (1963–64) Malawi (1964–66) Malta (1964–74) The Gambia (1965–70) Guyana (1966–70) Barbados (1966–) Mauritius (1968–92) Fiji (1970–87) The Bahamas (1973–) Grenada (1974–) Papua New Guinea (1975–) Solomon Islands (1978–) Tuvalu (1978–) Saint Lucia (1979–) Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (1979–) Belize (1981–) Antigua and Barbuda (1981–) Saint Kitts and Nevis (1983–)
Reign	6 February 1952 – present
Coronation	2 June 1953
Predecessor	George VI
Heir apparent	Charles, Prince of Wales
Prime Ministers	See list
Spouse	Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (m. 1947)
Detail Issue
Charles, Prince of Wales Anne, Princess Royal Prince Andrew, Duke of York Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
Full name
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary
House	House of Windsor
Father	George VI
Mother	Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Born	(1926-04-21) 21 April 1926 (age 86) Mayfair, United Kingdom
Religion	Church of England Church of Scotland

Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; born 21 April 1926^{[note 1]}) is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms, and head of the 54-member Commonwealth of Nations. She is also head of state of the Crown Dependencies.^[1][2]

Elizabeth was born in London, and educated privately at home. Her father acceded to the throne as George VI in 1936 on the abdication of his brother Edward VIII. She began to undertake public duties during the Second World War, in which she served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. On the death of her father in 1952, she became Head of the Commonwealth and queen regnant of seven independent Commonwealth countries: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon. Her coronation service in 1953 was the first to be televised. Between 1956 and 1992, the number of her realms varied as territories gained independence and some realms became republics. Today, in addition to the first four aforementioned countries, Elizabeth is Queen of Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.

In 1947, she married Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, with whom she has four children: Charles, Anne, Andrew, and Edward. In 1992, which Elizabeth termed her annus horribilis (horrible year), Charles and Andrew separated from their wives, Anne divorced, and a severe fire damaged part of Windsor Castle. Revelations continued on the state of Charles's marriage to Diana, Princess of Wales, and they divorced in 1996. The following year, Diana died in a Paris car crash, and the media criticised the royal family for remaining in seclusion in the days before her funeral. Elizabeth's personal popularity rebounded after she appeared in public and has subsequently remained high.

Her reign of 60 years is the second-longest for a British monarch; only Queen Victoria has reigned longer. Elizabeth's Silver and Golden Jubilees were celebrated in 1977 and 2002; her Diamond Jubilee is being celebrated during 2012.

Early life[link]

Princess Elizabeth aged 3, 1929

Elizabeth was the first child of Prince Albert, Duke of York (later King George VI), and his wife, Elizabeth. Her father was the second son of King George V and Queen Mary, and her mother was the youngest daughter of Scottish aristocrat Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne. She was born by Caesarean section at 2.40 am (GMT) on 21 April 1926 at her maternal grandfather's London house: 17 Bruton Street, Mayfair.^[3] The Anglican Archbishop of York, Cosmo Lang, baptised her in the private chapel of Buckingham Palace on 29 May.^{[4][note 2]} She was named Elizabeth after her mother, Alexandra after George V's mother, who had died six months earlier, and Mary after her paternal grandmother.^[5] Her close family called her "Lilibet".^[6] George V cherished his granddaughter, and during his serious illness in 1929 her regular visits were credited in the popular press and by later biographers with raising his spirits and aiding his recovery.^[7]

Elizabeth's only sibling was Princess Margaret, born in 1930. The two princesses were educated at home under the supervision of their mother and their governess, Marion Crawford, who was casually known as "Crawfie".^[8] Lessons concentrated on history, language, literature and music.^[9] To the dismay of the royal family,^[10] in 1950 Crawford published a biography of Elizabeth and Margaret's childhood years entitled The Little Princesses. The book describes Elizabeth's love of horses and dogs, her orderliness, and her attitude of responsibility.^[11] Others echoed such observations: Winston Churchill described Elizabeth when she was two as "a character. She has an air of authority and reflectiveness astonishing in an infant."^[12] Her cousin Margaret Rhodes described her as "a jolly little girl, but fundamentally sensible and well-behaved".^[13]

Heiress presumptive[link]

Princess Elizabeth aged 7, 1933
Painting by Philip de László

As a granddaughter of the monarch in the male line, Elizabeth's full style at birth was Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth of York. She was third in the line of succession to the throne, behind her uncle, Edward, Prince of Wales, and her father. Although her birth generated public interest, she was not expected to become queen as the Prince of Wales was still young and many assumed he would marry and have children of his own.^[14] In 1936, when her grandfather, George V, died and her uncle Edward succeeded, she became second in line to the throne after her father. Later that year, Edward abdicated after his proposed marriage to divorced socialite Wallis Simpson provoked a constitutional crisis.^[15] Elizabeth's father became king, and she became heiress presumptive, with the style Her Royal Highness The Princess Elizabeth.^[16] If her parents had had a son, he would have been heir apparent and above her in the line of succession.^[17]

Elizabeth received private tuition in constitutional history from Henry Marten, Vice-Provost of Eton College,^[18] and learned French from a succession of native-speaking governesses.^[19] A Girl Guides company, the 1st Buckingham Palace Company, was formed specifically so she could socialise with girls her own age.^[20] Later she was enrolled as a Sea Ranger.^[19]

In 1939, Elizabeth's parents toured Canada and visited the United States. As in 1927, when her parents had toured Australia and New Zealand, Elizabeth remained in Britain as her father thought her too young to undertake public tours.^[21] Elizabeth "looked tearful" as her parents departed.^[22] They corresponded regularly,^[22] and on 18 May, she and her parents made the first royal transatlantic telephone call.^[21]

Second World War[link]

From September 1939, with the outbreak of the Second World War, Elizabeth and Margaret stayed at Balmoral Castle, Scotland, until Christmas 1939, when they moved to Sandringham House, Norfolk.^[23] From February to May 1940, they lived at Royal Lodge, Windsor, until moving to Windsor Castle, where they stayed for most of the next five years.^[24] The suggestion by senior politician Lord Hailsham that the two princesses should be evacuated to Canada was rejected by Elizabeth's mother; she declared, "The children won't go without me. I won't leave without the King. And the King will never leave."^[25] At Windsor, the princesses staged pantomimes at Christmas in aid of the Queen's Wool Fund, which bought yarn to knit into military garments.^[26] In 1940, the 14-year-old Elizabeth made her first radio broadcast during the BBC's Children's Hour, addressing other children who had been evacuated from the cities.^[27] She stated:

We are trying to do all we can to help our gallant sailors, soldiers and airmen, and we are trying, too, to bear our share of the danger and sadness of war. We know, every one of us, that in the end all will be well.^[27]

In 1943, at the age of 16, Elizabeth undertook her first solo public appearance on a visit to the Grenadier Guards, of which she had been appointed Colonel-in-Chief the previous year.^[28] As she approached her 18th birthday, the law was changed so that she could act as one of five Counsellors of State in the event of her father's incapacity or absence abroad, such as his visit to Italy in July 1944.^[29] In February 1945, she joined the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service, as an honorary Second Subaltern with the service number of 230873.^[30] She trained as a driver and mechanic,^[31] and was promoted to honorary Junior Commander five months later.^[32]

The Royal Family of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms
HM The Queen HRH The Duke of Edinburgh HRH The Prince of Wales HRH The Duchess of Cornwall HRH The Duke of Cambridge HRH The Duchess of Cambridge HRH Prince Harry of Wales HRH The Duke of York HRH Princess Beatrice of York HRH Princess Eugenie of York HRH The Earl of Wessex HRH The Countess of Wessex Viscount Severn Lady Louise Windsor HRH The Princess Royal HRH The Duke of Gloucester HRH The Duchess of Gloucester HRH The Duke of Kent HRH The Duchess of Kent HRH Prince Michael of Kent HRH Princess Michael of Kent HRH Princess Alexandra Sarah, Duchess of York
v t e

During the war, plans were drawn up to quell Welsh nationalism by affiliating Elizabeth more closely with Wales.^[33] Welsh politicians proposed that Elizabeth be made Princess of Wales on her 18th birthday. The idea was supported by Home Secretary Herbert Morrison, but rejected by the King because he felt such a title belonged solely to the wife of a Prince of Wales, and the Prince of Wales had always been the heir apparent.^[34] In 1946, she was inducted into the Welsh Gorsedd of Bards at the National Eisteddfod of Wales.^[35]

At the end of the war in Europe, on Victory in Europe Day, Elizabeth and her sister mingled anonymously with the celebratory crowds in the streets of London. She later said in a rare interview, "we asked my parents if we could go out and see for ourselves. I remember we were terrified of being recognised ... I remember lines of unknown people linking arms and walking down Whitehall, all of us just swept along on a tide of happiness and relief."^[36] Two years later, the princess made her first overseas tour, when she accompanied her parents through southern Africa. During the tour, in a broadcast to the British Commonwealth on her 21st birthday, she pledged: "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."^[37]

Marriage[link]

Elizabeth met her future husband, Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, in 1934 and 1937.^[38] After another meeting at the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth in July 1939, Elizabeth – though only 13 years old – fell in love with Philip, and they began to exchange letters.^[39] They married on 20 November 1947 at Westminster Abbey. They are second cousins once removed through King Christian IX of Denmark and third cousins through Queen Victoria. Before the marriage, Philip renounced his Greek and Danish titles, converted from Greek Orthodoxy to Anglicanism, and adopted the style Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, taking the surname of his mother's British family.^[40] Just before the wedding, he was created Duke of Edinburgh and granted the style of His Royal Highness.^[41]

The marriage was not without controversy: Philip had no financial standing, was foreign-born (though a British subject), and had sisters who had married German noblemen with Nazi links.^[42] Marion Crawford wrote, "Some of the King's advisors did not think him good enough for her. He was a prince without a home or kingdom. Some of the papers played long and loud tunes on the string of Philip's foreign origin."^[43] Elizabeth's mother was reported, in later biographies, to have opposed the union initially, even dubbing Philip "The Hun".^[44] In later life, however, she told biographer Tim Heald that Philip was "an English gentleman".^[45]

Elizabeth and Philip received 2500 wedding gifts from around the world,^[46] but Britain had not yet completely rebounded from the devastation of the war. Elizabeth still required ration coupons to buy the material for her gown, designed by Norman Hartnell.^[47] In post-war Britain, it was not acceptable for the Duke of Edinburgh's German relations to be invited to the wedding, including Philip's three surviving sisters.^[48] Edward, the former king, was not invited either.^[49]

Elizabeth gave birth to her first child, Prince Charles, on 14 November 1948, less than one month after letters patent were issued by her father allowing her children to use the style and title of a royal prince or princess. They otherwise would not have been entitled to such a status as their father was no longer a royal prince.^[50] A second child, Princess Anne, was born in 1950.^[51]

Following their wedding, the couple leased Windlesham Moor near Windsor Castle, until 4 July 1949,^[46] when they took up residence at Clarence House in London. At various times between 1949 and 1951, the Duke of Edinburgh was stationed in the British Protectorate of Malta as a serving Royal Navy officer. He and Elizabeth lived intermittently, for several months at a time, in the Maltese hamlet of Gwardamanġia, at the Villa Gwardamanġia, the rented home of Philip's uncle, Lord Mountbatten. The children remained in Britain.^[52]

Reign[link]

Accession and coronation[link]

George VI's health declined during 1951, and Elizabeth was soon frequently standing in for him at public events. In October of that year, she toured Canada, and visited President Truman in Washington, D.C.; on the trip, her private secretary, Martin Charteris, carried a draft accession declaration for use if the King died while she was on tour.^[53] In early 1952, Elizabeth and Philip set out for a tour of Australia and New Zealand by way of Kenya. On 6 February 1952, they had just returned to their Kenyan home, Sagana Lodge, after a night spent at Treetops Hotel, when word arrived of the death of Elizabeth's father. Philip broke the news to the new queen.^[54] Martin Charteris asked her to choose a regnal name; she chose to remain Elizabeth, "of course".^[55] She was proclaimed queen throughout her realms, and the royal party hastily returned to the United Kingdom.^[56] She and the Duke of Edinburgh moved into Buckingham Palace.^[57]

Coronation portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, June 1953

With Elizabeth's accession it seemed likely that the royal house would bear her husband's name. Lord Mountbatten thought it would be the House of Mountbatten, as Elizabeth would typically have taken Philip's last name on marriage; however Elizabeth's grandmother Queen Mary and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill favoured the retention of the House of Windsor, and so Windsor it remained. The Duke complained, "I am the only man in the country not allowed to give his name to his own children."^[58] After the death of Queen Mary on 24 March 1953 and the resignation of Churchill in 1955, the surname Mountbatten-Windsor was adopted in 1960 for Philip and Elizabeth's male-line descendants who do not carry royal titles.^[59]

Amid preparations for the coronation, Princess Margaret informed her sister that she wished to marry Peter Townsend, a divorcee 16 years her senior, with two sons from his previous marriage. The Queen asked them to wait for a year; in the words of Martin Charteris, "the Queen was naturally sympathetic towards the Princess, but I think she thought – she hoped – given time, the affair would peter out."^[60] Senior politicians were against the match, and the Church of England did not permit re-marriage after divorce. If Margaret contracted a civil marriage, she would be expected to renounce her right of succession.^[61] Eventually, she decided to abandon her plans with Townsend.^[62] In 1960, she married Antony Armstrong-Jones, who was created Earl of Snowdon the following year. They were divorced in 1978; she did not remarry.^[63]

Despite the death of Queen Mary ten weeks before, the coronation went ahead on 2 June 1953. Before she died, Mary had asked that the coronation not be delayed.^[64] The ceremony in Westminster Abbey, except the anointing and communion, was televised for the first time,^[65] and the coverage was instrumental in boosting the medium's popularity; the number of television licences in the United Kingdom doubled to 3 million,^[66] and many of the more than 20 million British viewers watched television for the first time in the homes of their friends or neighbours.^[67] In North America, just under 100 million viewers watched recorded broadcasts.^[68] Elizabeth's coronation gown was commissioned from Norman Hartnell and embroidered on her instructions with the floral emblems of Commonwealth countries:^[69] English Tudor rose, Scots thistle, Welsh leek, Irish shamrock, Australian wattle, Canadian maple leaf, New Zealand silver fern, South African protea, lotus flowers for India and Ceylon, and Pakistan's wheat, cotton, and jute.^[70]

Continuing evolution of the Commonwealth[link]

Queen Elizabeth with Prime Minister of Australia Robert Menzies during her first visit to Australia in 1954

Elizabeth witnessed, over her life, the ongoing transformation of the British Empire into the Commonwealth of Nations.^[71] By the time of her accession in 1952, her role as nominal head of multiple independent states was already established.^[72] Spanning 1953–54, the Queen and her husband embarked on a six-month around-the-world tour. She became the first reigning monarch of Australia and New Zealand to visit those nations.^[73] During the tour, crowds were immense; three-quarters of the population of Australia were estimated to have seen the Queen.^[74] Throughout her reign, Elizabeth has undertaken state visits to foreign countries, and tours of Commonwealth ones. She is the most widely travelled head of state in history.^[75]

In 1956, French Prime Minister Guy Mollet and British Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden discussed the possibility of France joining the Commonwealth. The proposal was never accepted, and the following year France signed the Treaty of Rome, which established the European Economic Community, the precursor of the European Union.^[76] In November 1956, Britain and France invaded Egypt in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to capture the Suez Canal. Lord Mountbatten claimed the Queen was opposed to the invasion, though Eden denied it. Eden resigned two months later.^[77]

The absence of a formal mechanism within the Conservative Party for choosing a leader meant that, following Eden's resignation, it fell to the Queen to decide whom to commission to form a government. Eden recommended that she consult Lord Salisbury (the Lord President of the Council). Lord Salisbury and Lord Kilmuir (the Lord Chancellor) consulted the Cabinet, Winston Churchill, and the Chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee, as a result of which the Queen appointed their recommended candidate: Harold Macmillan.^[78]

The Suez crisis and the choice of Eden's successor led in 1957 to the first major personal criticism of the Queen. In a magazine, which he owned and edited,^[79] Lord Altrincham accused her of being "out of touch".^[80] Altrincham was denounced by public figures and physically attacked by a member of the public appalled at his comments.^[81] Six years later in 1963, Macmillan resigned and advised the Queen to appoint the Earl of Home as prime minister, advice that she followed.^[82] The Queen again came under criticism for appointing the Prime Minister on the advice of a small number of ministers, or a single minister.^[82] In 1965, the Conservatives adopted a formal mechanism for electing a leader, thus relieving her of involvement.^[83]

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Queen Elizabeth II's Address to the United Nations General Assembly

In 1957, she made a state visit to the United States, where she addressed the United Nations General Assembly. On the same tour, she opened the 23rd Canadian Parliament, becoming the first monarch of Canada to open a parliamentary session.^[84] Two years later, she revisited the United States as Queen of Canada and toured Canada,^[84][85] despite learning upon landing at St. John's, Newfoundland, that she was pregnant with her third child.^[86] In 1961, she toured Cyprus, India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Iran.^[87] On a visit to Ghana the same year, she dismissed fears for her safety, even though her host President Kwame Nkrumah, who had replaced her as head of state, was a target for assassins.^[88] Harold Macmillan wrote: "The Queen has been absolutely determined all through ... She is impatient of the attitude towards her to treat her as ... a film star ... She has indeed 'the heart and stomach of a man' ... She loves her duty and means to be a Queen."^[88] Before her tour through parts of Quebec in 1964, the press reported that extremists within the Quebec separatist movement were plotting the Queen's assassination.^[89][90][91] No attempt was made, but a riot did break out while she was in Montreal; the Queen's "calmness and courage in the face of the violence" was noted.^[92]

Elizabeth (left) with US First Lady Pat Nixon, 1970; President Nixon is hidden from view, next to British Prime Minister Edward Heath, behind Elizabeth

Elizabeth's pregnancies with Princes Andrew and Edward in 1959 and 1963, respectively, mark the only times she has not performed the State Opening of the British parliament during her reign.^[93] In addition to performing traditional ceremonies, she also instituted new practices. Her first royal walkabout, meeting ordinary members of the public, took place during a tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1970.^[94]

The 1960s and 1970s saw an acceleration in the decolonisation of Africa and the Caribbean. Over 20 countries gained independence from Britain as part of a planned transition to self-government. In 1965, however, Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith declared unilateral independence in opposition to moves toward majority rule. Although the Queen dismissed Smith in a formal declaration and the international community applied sanctions against Rhodesia, Smith's regime survived for over a decade.^[95]

In February 1974, British Prime Minister Edward Heath called a general election in the middle of the Queen's tour of the Austronesian Pacific Rim and she had to fly back to Britain, interrupting the tour.^[96] The election resulted in a hung parliament; Heath's Conservatives were not the largest party, but could stay in office if they formed a coalition with the Liberals. Heath only resigned when discussions on forming a coalition government foundered, after which the Queen asked the Leader of the Opposition, Labour's Harold Wilson, to form a government.^[97]

A year later, at the height of the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis, Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam was dismissed from his post by Governor-General Sir John Kerr, after the Opposition-controlled Senate rejected Whitlam's budget proposals.^[98] As Whitlam had a majority in the House of Representatives, Speaker Gordon Scholes appealed to the Queen to reverse Kerr's decision. Elizabeth declined, stating that she would not interfere in decisions reserved by the Constitution of Australia for the governor-general.^[99] The crisis fuelled Australian republicanism.^[98]

Silver Jubilee[link]

In 1977, Elizabeth marked the Silver Jubilee of her accession. Parties and events took place throughout the Commonwealth, many coinciding with the Queen's associated national and Commonwealth tours. The celebrations re-affirmed the Queen's popularity, despite virtually coincident negative press coverage of Princess Margaret's separation from her husband.^[100] In 1978, Elizabeth endured a state visit to the United Kingdom by Romania's communist dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu, and his wife Elena,^[101] though privately she thought they had "blood on their hands".^[102] The following year brought two blows: one was the unmasking of Anthony Blunt, former Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures, as a communist spy; the other was the assassination of her relative and in-law Lord Mountbatten by the Provisional Irish Republican Army.^[103]

According to Paul Martin, Sr., by the end of the 1970s the Queen was worried the Crown "had little meaning for" Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.^[104] Tony Benn said that the Queen found Trudeau "rather disappointing".^[104] Trudeau's supposed republicanism seemed to be confirmed by his antics, such as sliding down banisters at Buckingham Palace and pirouetting behind the Queen's back in 1977, and the removal of various Canadian royal symbols during his term of office.^[104] In 1980, Canadian politicians sent to London to discuss the patriation of the Canadian constitution found the Queen "better informed on ... Canada's constitutional case than any of the British politicians or bureaucrats".^[104] She was interested in the constitutional debate after the failure of Bill C-60, which would have affected her role as head of state.^[104] Patriation removed the role of the British parliament in the Canadian constitution, but the monarchy was retained. Trudeau said in his memoirs: "The Queen favoured my attempt to reform the Constitution. I was always impressed not only by the grace she displayed in public at all times, but by the wisdom she showed in private conversation."^[105]

1980s[link]

Elizabeth riding Burmese at a Trooping the Colour ceremony

During the 1981 Trooping the Colour ceremony, and only six weeks before the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer, six shots were fired at the Queen from close range as she rode down The Mall on her horse, Burmese. Police later discovered that the shots were blanks. The 17-year-old assailant, Marcus Sarjeant, was sentenced to five years in prison and released after three.^[106] The Queen's composure and skill in controlling her mount were widely praised.^[107] From April to September 1982, the Queen remained anxious^[108] but proud^[109] of her son, Prince Andrew, who was serving with British forces during the Falklands War. On 9 July, the Queen awoke in her bedroom at Buckingham Palace to find an intruder, Michael Fagan, in the room with her. Remaining calm, and through two calls to the palace police switchboard, she spoke to Fagan while he sat at the foot of her bed until assistance arrived seven minutes later.^[110] Though she hosted President Ronald Reagan at Windsor Castle in 1982, and visited his Californian ranch in 1983, she was angered when his administration ordered the invasion of Grenada, one of her Caribbean realms, without her foreknowledge.^[111]

Intense media interest in the opinions and private lives of the royal family during the 1980s led to a series of sensational stories in the press, not all of which were entirely true.^[112] As Kelvin MacKenzie, editor of The Sun, told his staff: "Give me a Sunday for Monday splash on the Royals. Don't worry if it's not true – so long as there's not too much of a fuss about it afterwards."^[113] Newspaper editor Donald Trelford wrote in The Observer of 21 September 1986: "The royal soap opera has now reached such a pitch of public interest that the boundary between fact and fiction has been lost sight of ... it is not just that some papers don't check their facts or accept denials: they don't care if the stories are true or not." It was reported, most notably in The Sunday Times of 20 July 1986, that Elizabeth was worried that British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's economic policies fostered social divisions, and was alarmed by high unemployment, a series of riots, the violence of a miners' strike, and Thatcher's refusal to apply sanctions against the apartheid regime in South Africa. The sources of the rumours included royal aide Michael Shea and Commonwealth Secretary-General Shridath Ramphal, but Shea claimed his remarks were taken out of context and embellished by speculation.^[114] Thatcher reputedly said the Queen would vote for the Social Democratic Party – Thatcher's political opponents.^[115] Thatcher's biographer John Campbell claimed "... the report was a piece of journalistic mischief-making".^[116] Belying reports of acrimony between them, Thatcher later conveyed her personal admiration for the Queen,^[117] and after Thatcher's replacement by John Major, Elizabeth gave two honours in her personal gift to Thatcher: appointment to the Order of Merit and the Order of the Garter.^[118]

In 1987, the elected Fijian government was deposed in a military coup. Elizabeth, as head of state, supported the attempts of the Governor-General, Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau, to assert executive power and negotiate a settlement. Coup leader Sitiveni Rabuka deposed Ganilau, abolished the monarchy, and declared Fiji a republic.^[119] By the start of 1991, republican feeling in Britain had risen because of press estimates of the Queen's private wealth, which were contradicted by the palace, and reports of affairs and strained marriages among her extended family.^[120] The involvement of the younger royals in the charity game show It's a Royal Knockout was ridiculed,^[121] and the Queen was the target of satire.^[122]

1990s[link]

In 1991, in the wake of victory in the Gulf War, Elizabeth became the first British monarch to address a joint session of the United States Congress.^[123] The following year, she attempted to save the failing marriage of her eldest son, Charles, by counselling him and his wife, Diana, Princess of Wales, to reconcile.^[124]

Prince Philip and Elizabeth II, October 1992

In a speech on 24 November 1992, to mark the 40th anniversary of her accession, the Queen called 1992 her annus horribilis, meaning horrible year.^[125] In March, her second son Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and his wife Sarah, Duchess of York, separated. In April, her daughter Anne, Princess Royal, divorced her husband Captain Mark Phillips.^[126] During a state visit to Germany in October, angry demonstrators in Dresden threw eggs at her,^[127] and in November Windsor Castle suffered severe fire damage. The monarchy received increased criticism and public scrutiny.^[128] In an unusually personal speech, Elizabeth said that any institution must expect criticism, but suggested it be done with "a touch of humour, gentleness and understanding".^[129] Two days later, Prime Minister John Major announced reforms of the royal finances that had been planned since the previous year, including the Queen paying income tax for the first time, starting in 1993, and a reduction in the civil list.^[130] In December, Charles and Diana formally separated.^[131] The year ended with a lawsuit as the Queen sued The Sun newspaper for breach of copyright when it published the text of her annual Christmas message two days before its broadcast. The newspaper was forced to pay her legal fees, and donated £200,000 to charity.^[132]

In the ensuing years, public revelations on the state of Charles and Diana's marriage continued.^[133] Even though support for republicanism in Britain seemed higher than at any time in living memory, republicanism remained a minority viewpoint and Elizabeth herself had high approval ratings.^[134] Criticism was focused on the institution of monarchy itself and the Queen's wider family rather than the Queen's own behaviour and actions.^[135] In consultation with Prime Minister Major, Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, her private secretary Robert Fellowes, and her husband, she wrote to Charles and Diana at the end of December 1995, saying that a divorce was desirable.^[136] A year after the divorce, which took place in 1996, Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997. The Queen was on holiday with her son and grandchildren at Balmoral. Diana's two sons wanted to attend church, and so the Queen and Prince Philip took them that morning.^[137] After that single public appearance, for five days the Queen and the Duke shielded their grandsons from the intense press interest by keeping them at Balmoral where they could grieve in private.^[138] The royal family's seclusion caused public dismay.^[139] Pressured by the hostile reaction, the Queen agreed to a live broadcast to the world and returned to London to deliver it on 5 September, the day before Diana's funeral.^[140] In the broadcast, she expressed admiration for Diana, and her feelings "as a grandmother" for Princes William and Harry.^[141] As a result, much of the public hostility evaporated.^[141]

Golden Jubilee[link]

Elizabeth II and George W. Bush share a toast during a state dinner at the White House, 7 May 2007

Elizabeth II (centre, in pink) during a walkabout in Queen's Park, Toronto, 6 July 2010

In 2002, Elizabeth marked her Golden Jubilee as queen. Her sister and mother died in February and March, respectively, and the media speculated as to whether the Jubilee would be a success or a failure.^[142] She again undertook an extensive tour of her realms, which began in Jamaica in February, where she called the farewell banquet "memorable" after a power cut plunged the King's House, the official residence of the Governor-General, into darkness.^[143] As in 1977, there were street parties and commemorative events, and monuments were named to honour the occasion. A million people attended each day of the three-day main Jubilee celebration in London,^[144] and the enthusiasm shown by the public for Elizabeth was greater than many journalists had predicted.^[145]

Though generally healthy throughout her life, in 2003 she had keyhole surgery on both knees, and in June 2005 she cancelled several engagements after contracting a bad cold. In October 2006, she missed the opening of the new Emirates Stadium because of a strained back muscle that had been troubling her since the summer.^[146] Two months later, she was seen in public with a bandage on her right hand, which led to press speculation of ill health.^[147] She had been bitten by one of her corgis while she was separating two that were fighting.^[148]

In May 2007, The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported claims from unnamed sources that the Queen was "exasperated and frustrated" by the policies of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, that she had shown concern that the British Armed Forces were overstretched in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that she had raised concerns over rural and countryside issues with Blair repeatedly.^[149] She was, however, said to admire Blair's efforts to achieve peace in Northern Ireland.^[150] On 20 March 2008, at the Church of Ireland St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh, the Queen attended the first Maundy service held outside of England and Wales.^[151] At the invitation of Irish President Mary McAleese, in May 2011 the Queen made the first state visit to the Republic of Ireland by a British monarch.^[152]

Elizabeth addressed the United Nations for a second time in 2010, again in her capacity as queen of all her realms and Head of the Commonwealth.^[153] UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon introduced her as "an anchor for our age".^[154] During her visit to New York, which followed a tour of Canada, she officially opened a memorial garden for the British victims of the 11 September attacks.^[154] The Queen's visit to Australia in October 2011, her 16th visit since 1954, was called her "farewell tour" in the press because of her age.^[155]