21st April
Birth of Elizabeth II
Birth of Elizabeth II, at 17 Bruton St, London,1st child of the Duke & Duchess of York
Historical biography timeline
Elizabeth II biography timeline
Explore a static chronology of 117 World History Database records for Elizabeth II. The page is generated from the same biography records used by the searchable database, making important life events directly crawlable and readable.
117 records
1926–2012 record span
97 event labels
1 country
Life and historical importance
Elizabeth II: life, career and historical significance
Queen from 1952 to 2022 and the longest-reigning British monarch. Her reign spanned decolonization, the growth of the Commonwealth, major social change and repeated constitutional transitions, making her a continuous symbolic presence across seven decades.
Editorial overview by World History Database. The chronology below is generated from the site's structured biography records.
Chronology
Elizabeth II: dated events and historical records
Records are ordered by year, month and day where dates are available. The wording below comes from the World History Database biography collection.
1926
May
Baptism
Baptized by Dr Lang the Archbishop of York
1936
1936
Succession
Becomes in line to the succession after her father George VI
1937
27th April
National Maritime Museum
Present at George Is opening of the National Maritime Museum
27th April
National Maritime Museum Opening
Attends the opening of the National Maritime Museum.
1939
1939
Marriage
Elizabeth II first meets Prince Philip
1942
21st April
National Service
Registers for national service
1944
1944
Counsellor of State
Appointed Counsellor of State, exercises functions of the throne for 1st time
1944
Vanguard
Launches the HMS Vanguard
1945
8th May
VE Day
Attends the VE Day celebrations in her ATS uniform
27th July
Junior Commander
Appointed Junior Commander in the ATS
15th August
VJ Day
Celebrates the end of war with Japan at a dinner party in Buckingham Palace
1946
1946
Counsellor of State
Appointed Counsellor of State, Counsellors can be delegated sovereign authority
1947
1st February
Visit to Portsmouth
Embarks on the HMS Vanguard for royal state visit to South Africa & Rhodesia. Elizabeth IIs 1st trip outside the British Isles
9th July
Marriage
George VI makes public his consent for Elizabrth to marry Prince Philip
10th July
Marriage
Philips engagement to Princess Elizabeth is announced from Buckingham Palace
20th November
Marriage
Marries Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh, formerly Prince of Greece & Denmark
1947
Speech
Makes a "dedication" speech to the Empire on her 21st birthday from South Africa
1947
Tours South Africa & celebrates her 21st birthday at Cape Town
Tours South Africa & celebrates her 21st birthday at Cape Town
1948
23rd April
Award
Awarded by George VI marking the 600th anniversary of the Order of the Garter
May
Visit to Paris
Elizabeth & Philip make their 1st official tour, a royal state visit to France
14th November
Birth of Charles
Birth of Charles, Elizabeth's 1st son & heir
1950
15th August
Birth of Anne
Birth of Anne, gives birth to Princess Anne
November
Visit to Athens
Pays a royal state visit to Greece
1951
7th October
Visit to To Canada
Sets off for a 6 week state visit to Canada
November
Meeting with President Truman in Washington
Meets President Truman in Washington
1951
Birth of Elizabeth II
Received by the Pope & celebrates her 25th birthday
1951
Visit to Rome
Pays a royal state visit to Italy
1951
Visit to To Italy
Received by the Pope & celebrates her 25th birthday. Pays a royal state visit to Italy
1952
6th February
Death of Elizabeth II
Death of George VI, hears of death in a tree-tops hut in the Aberdare Forest, Kenya
6th February
Succession
Succeeds as Queen of Great Britain, Succeeds George II after his death. Both Houses of Parliament take the oath of allegiance to Elizabeth II
23rd September
Visit to Of King Faisal of Iraq
Visit of King Faisal of Iraq
23rd October
Claerwen Dam
Opens the Claerwen Dam
1952
House of Windsor
Elizabeth II officially declares her "Will and Pleasure that I and My children shall be styled and known as the House and Family of Windsor, and that my descendants who marry and their descendants, shall bear the name of Windsor"
1953
24th March
Death of Elizabeth II
Death of Mary
March
Visited by President Tito
Visited by President Tito
2nd June
Coronation
Crowned in Westminster Abbey
24th June
Coronation
Given the crown, sceptre & sword, bestowing upon her the right to rule Scotland
23rd November
Commonwealth
Embarks on a tour of the Commonwealth with Prince Philip
23rd November
Embarks on a tour of the Commonwealth with Prince Philip
Embarks on a tour of the Commonwealth with Prince Philip
1953
Rule of Scotland
After a Nationalist court case the Queen can call herself Elizabeth II in Scotland
1953
Trial
After a Nationalist court case the Queen can call herself Elizabeth II in Scotland
1954
12th January
Opens the New Zealand Parliament
Opens the New Zealand Parliament
29th April
Owen Falls
Opens Owen Falls
15th May
Commonwealth
Returns from the Commonwealth tour
15th May
Returns from the Commonwealth tour
Returns from the Commonwealth tour
July
Visit to Of the King of Sweden
Visit of the King of Sweden
October
Visit to Of Haile Selassie
Visit of Haile Selassie
1955
June
Visit to Norway
Visits Norway
October
Visited by the President of Portugal
Visited by the President of Portugal
1956
16th February
Visit to To Nigeria
Makes a state visit to Nigeria
23rd March
Coventry Cathedral
Lays the foundation stone for Coventry Cathedral
22nd April
Visit to To Elizabeth II
Khrushchev pays a visit to Elizabeth II
June
Visit to To Sweden
Makes a state visit to Sweden
July
Visit to To Iraq
Makes a state visit to Iraq
17th October
Calder Hall
Opens Calder Hall nuclear power station
17th October
Nuclear Power
Opens Calder Hall nuclear power station
1957
8th January
Resignation of Robert Anthony Eden
Eden informs Elizabeth II that he is resigning
9th January
Resignation of Robert Anthony Eden
Publicly announces Edens resignation
10th January
Government
Sends for MacMillan to succeed Eden
10th January
Prime Minister of Great Britain
Appoints MacMillan as Prime Minister
February
Visit to To Portugal
Pays a state visit to Portugal. Makes a state visit to Portugal
April
Visit to Paris
Pays a state visit to France
25th June
Cutty Sark Opens
Opens Cutty Sark as a preserved historic ship.
October
Visit to Virginia
Pays a state visit to the United States for the 350th anniversary of Virginia
1957
Commonwealth
Announces at the Commonwealth Games that Charles will become the next Prince of Wales
1957
Succession
Announces at the Commonwealth Games that Charles will become the next Prince of Wales
1959
26th June
St Lawrence Seaway
Queen Elizabeth and President Eisenhower open St Lawrence Seaway
June
Visit to Chicago
Visits Chicago on the Britannia
June
Visit to To Canada
Pays a royal state visit to Canada
1960
8th February
House of Windsor
Elizabeth II confirms that she and her descendants will be known as the House and Family of Windsor, and further provided that their personal surname, whenever one should be needed, is "Mountbatten-Windsor"
19th February
Birth of Andrew
Birth of Andrew, gives birth to Prince Andrew
1960
Foreign Policy Statement at Chicago
Declares the familly name should be Mountbatten-Windsor, for HRH titles Windsor
1961
17th May
Consecration
Consecrates Guildford Cathedral
17th May
Guildford Cathedral
Consecrates Guildford Cathedral
5th June
Elizabeth II entertains President Kennedy
Elizabeth II entertains President Kennedy
1964
10th March
Birth of Edward
Birth of Edward, gives birth to Prince Edward
1964
Charter
Southampton is granted a Royal Charter & granted city status
1965
30th January
Burial
Announces Churchills body will lie-in-state at the Palace of Westminster for 3 days
12th June
Honours
The Beatles are awarded an MBE in the Queens Birthday Honours List
1967
1967
Launch
The Queen Elizabeth II is launched & makes its maiden voyage
1967
QEII
The Queen Elizabeth II is launched & makes its maiden voyage
1970
12th March
Begins the bi-centenary Cook tour of Australia & New Zealand
Begins the bi-centenary Cook tour of Australia & New Zealand
1972
20th November
Anniversary
Elizabeth II celebrates 25yrs of marriage to Prince Phillip in Westminster Abbey
1973
17th March
London Bridge
Queen Elizabeth II opens the new London Bridge
1974
29th October
Parliament
Opens Parliament
1975
4th November
Forties Oil Field
Presses a button in the Forties control room to make Britain self-sufficient by 1980
1976
2nd February
National Exhibition Centre
Elizabeth II opens the National Exhibition Centre near Birmingham.
25th October
National Theatre
Opens the National Theatre
8th November
Visit to To Luxembourg
Begins a 5 day state visit to Luxembourg
1976
Declaration
Visits Philadelphia during the bicentennial celebrations of US independence. Becomes the 1st sovereign to visit the US since the Declaration of independence
1977
23rd June
Purchase of Gatcombe Park
Elizabeth II buys Gatcombe Park for Princess Anne & her husband Captain Mark Phillips
1977
Anniversary
Celebrates 25 years as Queen
1981
1981
Sullom Voe
Opens Sullom Voe, the largest oil terminal of its kind in Europe costing 1200M
1982
7th June
Meeting with Pope John Paul II and Queen Elizabeth
President Reagan meets Pope John Paul II and Queen Elizabeth
1983
1983
Order of the Garter
Bestows the Order of Merit on mother Teresa at New Dehli
1986
2nd March
Constitution of Great Britain
Signs the Australia Bill in severing constitutional ties with Britain
2nd March
Independence of Australia
Signs the Australia Bill in severing constitutional ties with Britain
2nd March
Independence of Great Britain
Signs the Australia Bill in severing constitutional ties with Britain
2nd March
Legislation
Signs the Australia Bill in severing constitutional ties with Britain
12th October
Visit to Beijing
Begins 7 day Royal visit to China at Peking
1986
Meeting with Deng Xiaoping in China
Meets Deng Xiaoping in China
1987
2nd March
Inauguration
Inaugurates Glasgow as the "cultural city of Europe"
1st April
Visited by the King & Queen of Spain
Visited by the King & Queen of Spain
1st April
Visited by the President of Korea at Windsor Castle
Visited by the President of Korea at Windsor Castle
12th June
Princess Royal
Elizabeth II awards her daughter Princess Anne the title of "Princess Royal"
1991
12th June
International Convention Centre
Elizabeth II officially opens Birmingham's International Convention Centre.
1994
6th May
Channel Tunnel
President Mitterand & Elizabeth II open the Channel Tunnel
1995
1995
Elizabeth II returns to South Africa for the 1st time in 48
Elizabeth II returns to South Africa for the 1st time in 48 yrs
1996
21st August
Marriage
Under Elizabeth IIs 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."
1997
1997
Protesters demand an apolgy for the Armritsar massacre 7 yrs
Protesters demand an apolgy for the Armritsar massacre 7 yrs before her birth
1999
11th May
National Maritime Museum
Opens the new look National Maritime Museum
26th May
National Assembly
Opens the Welsh National Assembly
2002
2002
Anniversary
Celebrates 50 yrs as Queen
2003
20th November
Daily Mirror
Wins a High Court Injunction banning publication of photos of royal apartments
26th November
Parliament
Sate opening of Parliament
2012
3rd February
Royal Borough Status
Grants Greenwich royal borough status in the Diamond Jubilee year.
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Editorial provenance
Sources and editorial review
Compiled and edited by World History Database
Biography timelines are compiled from the World History Database and checked against established historical and biographical reference sources.
Last reviewed: September 2026.
Reference points include Encyclopaedia Britannica biographies, The National Archives, Library of Congress, and U.S. National Archives. Individual database records may draw on additional specialist sources appropriate to the person, period or event.
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