Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born on 21 April 1926, at 17 Bruton Street, London the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York, who later became King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. She was christened on 29 May 1926 in the Private Chapel at Buckingham Palace and her early years were spent between at 145 Piccadilly; White Lodge in Richmond Park and the country homes of her grandparents. On 21 August 1930 her sister, Margaret Rose, was born at Glamis Castle, Scotland. Initially, Elizabeth was not in line for the throne - this only happened when she was ten years old, following the abdication of Edward VIII in 1936 and the accession of his brother (and her father) George VI. Princess Elizabeth made her first radio broadcast in October 1940, during a BBC children's programme, when she was 14. This took the form of a message to all children in Britain and the Commonwealth, particularly those who were being evacuated for safety reasons. In 1942 she was appointed Colonel in Chief of the Grenadier Guards and, on her 16th birthday, carried out her first public engagement when she inspected the regiment. A year later, in April 1943, she carried out her first solo engagement when she spent a day with one of the Grenadier Guard tank battalions. In September 1944 she carried out her first official tour of Scotland with her parents. This included her first opening ceremony of many when she opened the Aberdeen Sailor's Home. In early 1945 she joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) reaching the rank of Junior Commander by the end of the war, passing out as a fully qualified driver. After the war ended, Princess Elizabeth travelled extensively throughout the British Isles carrying out public engagements and, in 1947, accompanied her parents and sister on her first official overseas tour to South Africa. During this tour she celebrated her 21st birthday, giving a broadcast address dedicating herself to the service of the Commonwealth. On their return from South Africa, the announcement was made of her engagement to Philip Mountbatten, son of Prince Andrew of Greece and great-great grandson of Queen Victoria. Their wedding took place in Westminster Abbey on 20 November 1947. Princess Elizabeth's dress was designed by Norman Hartnell and was woven at Winterthur Silks Ltd, Dunfermline using silk that had come from Chinese silkworms at Lullingstone Castle. Her wedding ring was made from a nugget of Welsh gold from the Clogau St David's mine near Dolgellau. The official wedding cake was made by McVitie and Price Ltd, using ingredients received from Australian Girl Guides as a wedding gift. On 14 November 1948 Princess Elizabeth gave birth to Prince Charles, the first of their four children. Princess Anne followed two years later on 15 August 1950. In 1952, when King George VI's illness forced him to abandon his proposed visit to Australia and New Zealand, Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip agreed to take his place. It was on 6 February 1952, when they were in Kenya during the first stage of their visit, that they received the news of his death and immediately flew home. The Coronation took place on 2 June 1953 in Westminster Abbey and was attended by representatives from throughout the Commonwealth and the world. For the first time ever, the ceremony was broadcast on television, allowing hundreds of thousands of people to see the splendour and significance of the Coronation for the first time. There have been a number of significant milestones during the Queen's reign........ In 1957, the Queen had to exercise her Royal Prerogative in order to appoint Harold Macmillan as Prime Minister, on advice of Government Ministers. This occurred again in 1963, when Lord Home was similarly appointed as Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party. Also in 1957 the Queen gave her first televised Christmas broadcast which was made live. It wasn't until 1960 that it was pre-recorded, which allowed it to be transmitted around the world. On 19 February 1960, Prince Andrew became the first child to be born to a reigning monarch since Queen Victoria gave birth to Princess Beatrice in 1857. This was followed by the birth of Prince Edward on 10 March 1964. In 1962 the Queen's Gallery opened to display items from the Royal Collection - the first time that any part of Buckingham Palace had been opened to the public. This was the brainchild of the Duke of Edinburgh and occupied the space of the Palace's Private Chapel, which had been damaged by bombs during the war. In 1969, increased media access resulted in the film 'Royal Family' which showed the Queen and her family at work and off duty. This was televised on the eve of the investiture of Prince Charles as Prince of Wales at Caernafon and was watched by an estimated 23 million. The Queen and Prince Philip celebrated their Silver Wedding Anniversary in 1972 with a thanksgiving service at Westminster Abbey. Five years later, they returned to Westminster Abbey for the wedding of their daughter Princess Anne to Captain Mark Phillips and in 1977, The Queen's Silver Jubilee year, they became grandparents for the first time when Peter Phillips was born. In 1979 the Queen received Margaret Thatcher as the first female Prime Minister when the Conservatives won the General Election. In 1980 the Queen visited Pope John Paul II at the Vatican, followed by a reciprocal visit by the Pope two years later in 1982 when he became the first Pope to visit Britain in 450 years. During the mid 1990's the Queen visited a number of countries which had previously been closed to her, including Hungary, Russia, Poland and the Czech Republic. The Queen's Golden Jubilee Main Index