The life of Queen Elizabeth II <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\nQueen Elizabeth II was the longest-reigning monarch in British history.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The life of Queen Elizabeth II <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\nElizabeth was born April 21, 1926, in London. She is held here by her mother, also named Elizabeth. Her father would later become King George VI.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The life of Queen Elizabeth II <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\nPrincess Elizabeth poses for a photo at her London home in 1928.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The life of Queen Elizabeth II <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\nPrincess Elizabeth is seen with her uncle Edward, Prince of Wales, during a visit to Balmoral, Scotland, in September 1933. He would go on to become King Edward VIII in 1936. But when he abdicated later that year, Elizabeth’s father became King and she became heir presumptive.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The life of Queen Elizabeth II <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\nFrom left, Princess Elizabeth, King George VI, Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret wave to the crowd from the balcony of Buckingham Palace on June 22, 1939.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The life of Queen Elizabeth II <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\nElizabeth rides a horse in Windsor, England, in 1940. Her love of horses was well documented.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The life of Queen Elizabeth II <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\nA 14-year-old Elizabeth, right, sits next to her sister for a radio broadcast on October 13, 1940. On the broadcast, her first, she said that England’s children were full of cheerfulness and courage.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The life of Queen Elizabeth II <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\nPrincess Elizabeth shakes hands with an officer of the Grenadier Guards on May 29, 1942. King George VI made Elizabeth an honorary colonel in the Royal Army regiment.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The life of Queen Elizabeth II <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\nElizabeth, right, and Princess Margaret wear summer dresses circa 1942. Margaret was Elizabeth’s only sibling.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The life of Queen Elizabeth II <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\nWith the Drakensberg Mountains behind her, Princess Elizabeth sits in South Africa’s Natal National Park on April 21, 1947. It was her 21st birthday.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n