Queen Elizabeth celebrates her 96th birthday
Queen Elizabeth ll. celebrates her 96th birthday today.
She should never been Queen but today she is Elizabeth ll. the longest-serving member of the royal family that rules Great Britain. This year she will celebrate 70 long years on the throne, and today she is celebrating her 96th birthday. In honor of her birthday, a photo of the Queen posing with her two ponies at Windsor Castle was posted on social networks of the royal family. Interesting information was revealed by this photo - Queen Elizabeth has not missed a single horse show in Windsor since 1943.
A photo of the queen when she was only two years old was also published, and little Elizabeth with blue curls posed smiling.
Behind her is a turbulent 70 years of reign, and the story of how she came to the throne as the eldest daughter of the Duke and Duchess of York belongs to film scripts. Namely, her life turned upside down when her uncle, King Edward Vlll abdicated, and then her father King George Vll. and she become the next heirs. The sudden death of King George in 1952 made then-25-year-old Elizabeth queen.
All these years, the late Prince Philip, stood firmly by her side. They got married in November 1947, and the young Elizabeth met her prince when she was only eight years old at the wedding of her cousin, Greek Princess Marina. Philip was the son of the Greek prince Andrew and the nephew of the then Greek king. The second meeting followed when Elizabeth was 13 and they immediately fell in love. She never looked at any other man.
At that meeting in 1939, Philip was 18 years old, and Elizabeth was then quite reserved towards him, although she immediately went crazy for him. They quickly began exchanging letters, and Philip accompanied Elizabeth to the family’s 1943 Christmas celebration at Windsor Castle. Three years later Philip asked her father for her hand.
The king was not thrilled with the idea and he was allegedly bothered by Philip's background and relaxed demeanor, but in the end he still gave his blessing, but on one condition. Philip and Elizabeth were not allowed to announce their official engagement until the princess's 21st birthday, in April 1947.
