The Queen celebrates her Diamond Jubilee this year – a historic reign which will reach the six-decade milestone in a few weeks.
A woman who became Queen as a young woman and remained true to her ideals
She has been an enduring figure in the life of the nation and her importance has been recognised worldwide by successive leaders.
Her 60 years as Queen will be marked by a series of national and international events during 2012, culminating in a four-day-long Bank Holiday weekend in June.
A spectacular River Thames pageant featuring a 1,000-strong flotilla and a St Paul’s Cathedral service of thanksgiving are some of the highlights of the weekend.
Royal fans will be hoping for a Diamond Jubilee baby for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to make 2012 a double celebration. Rumours have abounded that William and Kate are planning a family.
The Queen already has a great-grandchild due in her Diamond Jubilee year, with Peter Phillips and his wife Autumn expecting their second child in March.
News of the Phillips’s baby had echoes of the milestone year 1977 when the Queen was marking 25 years on the throne. The excited Royal Family welcomed the arrival of Peter Phillips – the Princess Royal’s son and the Queen’s first grandchild – in November that year. Anne’s pregnancy was described at the time by the Palace as the best Silver Jubilee present of all.
Historians are likely to see the Queen as having a foot in both the past – with its traditions and customs – and the present – where she is a symbol of stability.
The Queen also has a personal side – as her family’s matriarch she is wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother to those closest to her.
Britain’s head of state already has the status of being the longest serving monarch after Queen Victoria. And like her great-great-grandmother, who reigned for more than 63 years, her many years on the throne have helped define an era.
When she acceded to the throne as a young woman following the death of her father, George VI, on February 6, 1952, the country was almost unrecognisable from today. Britain was still gripped by rationing, and the country bore the scars of six years of war against the Nazis.
Five years earlier, during a visit to South Africa, on her 21st birthday – April 21 – she had vowed to serve the Commonwealth.
She said: “I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.”
The Queen, now in her 85th year, has remained true to her pledge and dedicated herself to the nation and beyond. Part of her importance is remaining a constant in a changing world and being a point of reference for politicians and public alike.
Over the decades Britain has undergone major transformations from technological advances like computers and supersonic flight to developments in society and the political landscape. During her reign she has seen 11 prime ministers come and go with David Cameron her 12th, while Barack Obama is the 12th US President to hold office over the same period.
The Queen endured her annus horribilis in 1992, the year the Prince of Wales separated from Diana, the Duke of York split from Sarah, and the Princess Royal divorced Captain Mark Phillips.
And she faced the criticisms that followed the death of Diana in 1997 when she was accused of remaining too long in Balmoral rather than returning to London – the focus of public grief.
But her Golden Jubilee in 2002 was a momentous occasion and showed there was still a strong feeling of support for the Queen.
The Diamond Jubilee is likely to be a high-water mark in the life of a woman who became Queen as a young woman and remained true to her ideals.