Queen Elizabeth II: 7 Frequently Asked Questions About the Late British Monarch, Answered
Two years after Queen Elizabeth II died, here are answers to some frequently asked questions about England’s longest-reigning monarch. They range from her age when she became the British royal family’s leader to details surrounding her death.
1. Questions about Queen Elizabeth: How old was she when she took the throne?
The queen took the throne at just 25 following the death of her father, King George VI, on Feb. 6, 1952. Prior to taking the throne, she spent 1949 to 1951 living in Malta while her husband, Prince Philip, was stationed there as a naval officer. Queen Elizabeth’s coronation took place on June 2, 1953, at Westminster Abbey.
2. Did she have a child when she became queen?
The queen was a mother of not one but two children when she took the throne. She and the late Duke of Edinburgh welcomed their oldest son and heir, the now-King Charles III, in 1948, followed by Princess Anne in 1950. (They later become parents to Prince Andrew and Prince Edward in 1960 and 1964 respectively.)
King Charles went to his mother’s coronation on June 2, 1953, without his sister. The Princess Royal, according to the royal family’s official website, was “considered too young” at the time.
3. How many years did the queen reign?
Queen Elizabeth sat on the throne for 70 years before her death in 2022, making her England’s longest-reigning monarch. She celebrated the milestone during Platinum Jubilee Weekend in June 2022. During the festivities, she made two Buckingham Palace balcony appearances alongside other royals.
4. How old was the queen when she and Prince Philip married?
On Nov. 20, 1947, then-Princess Elizabeth married Philip at Westminster Abbey. She was 21 at the time while he was 26. According to ABC News, the queen’s father gave Philip permission to marry his oldest daughter in 1946, but only if they waited until she turned 21.
5. Where did Queen Elizabeth die?
The queen died at Balmoral Castle, the royal family’s summer retreat in the Scottish Highlands. Leading up to her death, doctors put the queen on “medical supervision” when they became “concerned for Her Majesty’s health.”
Prince William, who became next in line to the throne upon his grandmother’s death, later shared he’d been told Balmoral “was the least planned-for plan of them all,” (via Newsweek).
Plans surrounding where Queen Elizabeth might be when she died were updated regularly starting in the 1960s known as “Operation London Bridge” to staff. Editor’s Note: The Crown series finale touched on it with Queen Elizabeth, played by Imelda Staunton, joked about dying in a convenient place for her funeral organizers.
6. Questions about Queen Elizabeth: When did the queen die?
Queen Elizabeth died on Sept. 8, 2022, at 3:10 p.m. local time, or 10:10 a.m. EST. The exact time was revealed weeks later with the release of the monarch’s death certificate.
Two days prior to her death, on Sept. 6, 2022, the queen made her last royal appearance when she appointed former British prime minister Liz Truss at Balmoral Castle.
Truss later opened up about the meeting, telling The Reaction, a weekly talk show from The Daily Mail, that she “had no idea” it would be the queen’s last meeting.
“She was physically very frail but mentally so alert. I had no idea on that day that things were so imminent,” Truss said. “I had no idea because she was talking as if this was the start of something. That I was the new prime minister, that she’d be there, giving me advice, sort of talking through the issues of the day.”
“She was across everything,” Truss continued. “We had a very detailed chat for 20 minutes. She met my husband. All of those things gave me no sense at all that her death was imminent. And she ended the meeting by saying, you know, ‘I look forward to seeing you again.’”
7. What was Queen Elizabeth II’s cause of death?
The queen’s death certificate also shed some light on the circumstances surrounding her death, namely the cause. It attributed her cause of death to old age.
Subsequent reports and books have claimed Queen Elizabeth had cancer toward the end of her life. Furthermore, that she “could hardly see and just didn’t have the strength,” (via Mail Online).
Queen Elizabeth was buried at Windsor Castle’s King George VI Memorial Chapel in the Royal Vault alongside her husband, sister Princess Margaret, and parents.
