1 / 24 photos Queen Elizabeth II

Born April 21, 1926, Queen Elizabeth II acceded to the British throne after the death of her father, George VI, on February 6, 1952. This year marks her Diamond Jubilee, 60 years of reigning over her subjects.  (Photo by Apic/Getty Images)

The young Princess Elizabeth, just two years old, already bears the burden of royalty and its requisite pomp with solemnity. (Photo by Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Princess Elizabeth on the platform at King's Cross station, about to depart with her grandparents for Christmas holidays at Sandringham, 1929. (Photo by Edward G. Malindine/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

With a Corgi, her pup of preference, in London's Hyde Park. (Photo by London Express/Getty Images)

A family outing to the theater. With father King George VI and mother Queen Elizabeth watching a performance from a box at the Coliseum Theatre, London, 1939. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

In a meditative mood at Windsor Castle, June 1940. (Photo by Lisa Sheridan/Studio Lisa/Getty Images)

Reviewing the Grenadier guards on her birthday. (Photo by David E. Scherman//Time Life Pictures/Getty Images)

Standing by an Auxiliary Territorial Service first aid truck wearing an officer's uniform. She joined the service in 1945 and became an expert driver as well as an auto mechanic. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

Elizabeth met Philip when she was 13 and was smitten from the start. They married on the 20th of November 1947. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The happy couple with their children, Prince Charles and Princess Anne. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

February 8, 1952 - The newly crowned Queen Elizabeth II of England deplanes and is greeted by (from left to right) Frederick James Marquis, Anthony Eden, Clement Attlee and Sir Winston Churchill as she returns from Kenya. She was proclaimed Sovereign of each of the Commonwealth Realms two days earlier, after the death of her father King George VI in the night between February 5th and 6th. Princess Elizabeth heard the news of her father's death while staying at Treetops, a game lodge, in Kenya.

The Queen reviewing the Grenadier guards on the occasion of her 26th birthday in 1952. (Photo by Fox Photos)

June 2, 1953 - Queen Elizabeth II in the coronation coach on her way to be crowned at Westminster Abbey. She is dressed as a peeress of the realm and wears the Diadem crown. (Photo by Hulton Archive)

Her coronation ceremony in Westminster Abbey, London, was truly a major television event, as it was the first televised coronation, garnering around 120 million viewers in the UK and North America alone. (Photo by Hulton Archive)

April 4, 1955. The Queen emerges from 10 Downing Street after dining with Winston Churchill (here holding the car door), who had just resigned as Prime Minister a few days ealier. (Photo by Brian Seed)

Queen Elizabeth II perched in a traditional howdah, a carriage positioned on the back of an elephant, at Benares, Utter Pradesh, during her tour of India, January 25, 1961. (Photo by Hulton Archive)

Queen Elizabeth guides President Reagan through the grounds of Windsor Castle, England, in 1982. The Queen is on her prized horse Burmese, who was presented to her by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The Queen was riding Burmese during her 1981 birthday parade when six blank shots were fired near her, which frightened both her and the horse. However, she was able to calm Burmese down with great ability and composure.

Happy times on the balcony of Buckinham Palace for Prince Charles and Princess Diana right after their wedding, July 29, 1981. (Photo by Hulton Archive)

Not such happy times: The glum couple watching the Traditional Highland Games At Braemar—with the Queen Mother at a close distance.

Yet another future ex-daughter-in-law to deal with, the Queen with son Prince Andrew, Duke Of York, and his fiery fiancee, Sarah Ferguson, on the balcony at Buckingham Palace for the Queen's 60th birthday celebrations.

Bad things come in threes? For the Queen in 1992—three was perhaps the minimum. Here, she inspects the damage at Windsor Castle after it caught fire. The Queen called 1992 an Annus Horribilis, because of the fire, the separation of Ferguson and Andrew, and the announced separation of Diana and Charles, among other things.

After the death of Princess Diana on August 31, 1997, the Royal Family was perceived to be insensitve to the tragedy and to the outpouring of public grief by their remaining sequestered members at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. They eventually emerged. Here Elizabeth speaks to the public as she takes a walkabout at Saint James's Palace on September 5th where she paid her respects to Diana. (Photo Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty Images)

Prince William and his bride Catherine Middleton sit close to members of the royal family in the congregation during their wedding ceremony at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011. The marriage of the second in line to the British throne was led by the Archbishop of Canterbury and was attended by 1900 guests, including foreign Royal family members and heads of state.  (Photo by Dominic Lipinski - WPA Pool)

Queen Elizabeth II, accompained by Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, delivers her speech in the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament on May 9, 2012, in London. Her official Diamond Jubilee will be celebrated between June 2nd and the 5th. (Photo by Oli Scarff - WPA Pool)