United Kingdom celebrates Queen Elizabeth II for her 70 years on the throne 6:51
(CNN) --
The United Kingdom's Queen Elizabeth II made an appearance on the famous balcony of Buckingham Palace on Thursday with several members of the royal family, kicking off her Platinum Jubilee celebrations in London.
This was the moment that many of his fans were waiting for.
However, there were some notable absences following the monarch's decision last month that only members carrying out official royal duties were invited to accompany her.
That decision ruled out Prince Harry, sixth in line to the throne, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, who walked away from royal functions in 2020. Prince Andrew, who lost his royal title in January, was also absent.
Tim Laurence, from left to right, Princess Anne, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Louis, Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte, Prince George and Prince William at the Buckingham Palace balcony, London, on Thursday 2 June 2022, on the first of four days of Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Events over a long bank holiday weekend in the UK are meant to celebrate the monarch's 70 years of service.
Credit: Humphrey Nemar/Pool Photo via AP
Along with the queen were three of her children, Carlos, Eduardo and Ana. Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and their children, as well as other relatives.
So if you're still having a hard time deciphering the Earl of Wessex from a princess, here's a handy guide to who's who in the House of Windsor, in order of his likely accession to the throne.
Queen Elizabeth II
Queen Elizabeth II attends an audience with Swiss President Ignazio Cassis at Windsor Castle on April 28, 2022.
Date of birth:
April 21, 1926
What you need to know:
Born third in line to the throne, she was christened Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary after her mother, Queen Elizabeth;
her paternal great-grandmother, Queen Alexandra;
and her paternal grandmother, Queen Mary.
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The queen is the sixth woman to occupy the British throne and the longest-reigning monarch.
In September 2015, she surpassed the record held by her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, who reigned for 63 years and seven months.
She married her third cousin, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in November 1947. Like Queen Elizabeth II, he was a great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria.
Prince Philip died at the age of 99 in April 2021.
More key relatives:
Her younger sister and only sister, Princess Margaret, died in 2002.
Charles, Prince of Wales
Date of birth:
November 14, 1948
What you need to know:
First in the line of succession, Prince Charles is the longest-waiting British monarch heir to the throne;
he is the heir apparent since he was three years old.
Chairman of The Prince's Trust and the Royal Shakespeare Company, and Chairman or Trustee of more than 400 charities, the Prince of Wales is the first royal heir to earn a university degree.
More key relatives:
Diana, Princess of Wales, whom he was married to from 1981 to 1996. They had two sons together: Princes William and Harry.
Diana died in 1997 after a car accident in Paris, along with her boyfriend Dodi Fayed and their driver Henri Paul.
In 2005, the Prince of Wales married Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall.
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge
Date of birth:
June 21, 1982
What you need to know:
Prince William, second in line to the throne after his father, Prince Charles, is the member of the royal family who has obtained the highest degree of studies, a master of arts.
He served in the Army from 2006 to 2013, participating in more than 150 helicopter search and rescue operations.
More key relatives:
Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, whom he married in 2011. The couple have three children together: Prince George, 8;
Princess Charlotte, 7;
and Prince Louis, 4.
This is a family photograph of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge from Christmas 2020.
The official family residence is Kensington Palace.
Prince George of Cambridge
Prince George attends the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral at Westminster Abbey on March 29, 2022.
DOB:
July 22, 2013
What you need to know:
With his arrival, Prince George becomes third in line to the throne.
If all goes as planned and he becomes king after the reigns of his grandfather Prince Charles and his father Prince William, George will be the 43rd monarch since William I, better known as William the Conqueror.
But for now, he remains focused on his education: George currently attends Thomas's Battersea School in south London, along with his younger sister, Princess Charlotte.
Princess Charlotte of Cambridge
Princess Charlotte, in a photo taken by her mother, appears before her seventh birthday on May 2, 2022.
Date of birth:
May 2, 2015
What you need to know:
Fourth in line to the throne, Princess Charlotte was born in a more equal age: in 2011, the British monarchy abolished a rule that gave preference to heirs males over their sisters in the line of succession.
Prince Louis of Cambridge
Prince Louis before his fourth birthday on April 23, 2022. The photograph was taken in early April in Norfolk by his mother.
DOB:
April 23, 2018
What to know:
Prince Louis, fifth in line to the throne, arrived during a very busy season for the royal family;
he was born just weeks before Prince Harry and Meghan's 2018 wedding.
Prince Louis steals attention from Queen Elizabeth II's Jubilee with his gestures
As is tradition, a gilt easel with a framed notice announcing the birth was placed in front of Buckingham Palace that afternoon.
The practice of posting a bulletin on the occasion of a royal birth dates back to at least 1837, when Buckingham Palace became the official residence of the British monarch.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex
Prince Harry watches the sunrise in Nepal on March 22, 2016. Credit: Chris Jackson/Getty Images
Date of birth:
September 15, 1984
What you need to know:
Sixth in line to the throne, Prince Harry also trained in the military.
In 2008, the UK Ministry of Defense announced that Harry had been secretly serving in Afghanistan with his Army unit on a four-month mission since December 2007.
He was quickly retired for security reasons, but later returned as an Apache helicopter pilot in 2012. In 2015, after nearly a decade of service, he announced he was leaving the military.
The Duke of Sussex is also the founder of the Invictus Games, an international sporting competition for wounded servicemen.
The first games were held in London in 2014.
More key relatives:
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, whom he married in 2018. The couple welcomed their first child, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, in May 2019. Their daughter, Lilibet "Lili" Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, was born in June 2021.
Prince Harry and Meghan during an interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021.
In early 2020, the couple announced that they were retiring from their roles as senior members of the British royal family.
They now live in the United States.
Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend Archie Mountbatten-Windsoron September 25, 2019 in Cape Town, South Africa.
(Credit: Toby Melville-Pool/Getty Images)
Due Date:
May 6, 2019
What you need to know:
In a significant milestone across the Commonwealth and within British society, baby Archie made history by becoming the first biracial British child in the royal family.
Being seventh in line to the throne, he does not immediately qualify for the title of prince and Buckingham Palace told CNN at the time of Archie's birth that his parents, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, opted not to. use no title at all for your child.
When Prince Charles becomes king, Prince Harry's son will be able to become His Royal Highness Prince Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.
Lilibet 'Lili' Diana Mountbatten-Windsor
DOB:
June 4, 2021
What you need to know:
Lilibet "Lili" Diana Mountbatten-Windsor was born in Santa Barbara, California, in June 2021 following the decision of her parents, Harry and Meghan, to withdraw from life real in the United Kingdom and move to the United States.
The meaning of Lilibet "Lili" Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, the name of the daughter of Prince Harry and Meghan
Her unusual name is a tribute to her great-grandmother, the queen, as Lilibet is her family nickname.
Little Lili's middle name, Diana, "was chosen in honor of her beloved late grandmother, the Princess of Wales," the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced in a statement.
Eighth in line to the throne, the queen's 11th great-granddaughter is the oldest in line to be born abroad.
Prince Andrew, Duke of York
Prince Andrew in August 2017.
Date of birth:
February 19, 1960
What you need to know:
Prince Andrew is the third of the queen's four children and ninth in line to the British throne.
He served in the British Royal Navy for 22 years and was a helicopter pilot during the Falklands War.
In 2019, the prince announced that he was retiring from public duties after a controversial interview in which he denied allegations that he had had sex with an underage woman who said he was trafficked by sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Andres, who has come under intense scrutiny for his decades-long friendship with Epstein, said in a statement announcing his decision that the partnership became "a major disruption to my family's work and the valuable work that performs at the many organizations and charities that I am proud to support.
Although he is still a prince, he no longer has an official role.
More key relatives:
Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, whom he married in 1986.
Sarah and Andrew had two children, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, before a high-profile divorce in 1996.
princess beatrice
Princess Beatrice arrives at Princess Eugenie's wedding on Oct. 12, 2018. (Steve Parsons/Pool via Reuters)
Date of birth:
August 8, 1988
What to know:
Princess Beatrice, 10th in line to the British throne, married estate specialist Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in a private ceremony in July 2020. The wedding was a significantly reduced event attended by the queen , the Duke of Edinburgh and close family members to ensure adherence to covid-19 guidelines at the time.
In September 2021, she gave birth to her daughter Sienna Elizabeth Mapelli Mozzi, who became 11th in line to the throne.
Beatriz, 33, has a royal title but works full time as vice president of partnerships and strategy at tech company Afiniti.
Princess Eugenie
Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank after their marriage ceremony on October 12, 2018.
DOB:
March 23, 1990
What to know
: The Yorks' youngest sister is 12th in the line of succession and, after her cousin Prince Harry, was the second royal to hold a mass wedding in 2018 .
She married Jack Brooksbank, an ambassador for the Casamigos tequila brand, founded by George Clooney and Rande Gerber, husband of supermodel Cindy Crawford.
Like her sister, Princess Eugenie has a fairly daily job: she works as the director of the Hauser & Wirth art gallery in London.
In February, she gave birth to her son August Philip Hawke Brooksbank, who is 13th in line to the throne.
Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex meets young laureates during the Duke of Edinburgh's Gold Award presentations at Buckingham Palace on May 22, 2019 in London, England.
(Credit: Yui Mok - WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Date of birth:
March 10, 1964
What you need to know:
The youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Prince Edward is 14th in line to the British throne.
He is currently a member of the royal family who works full time.
Prince Edward trained as a cadet in the Royal Marines and worked as a stage and television producer.
More key relatives:
Sophia, Countess of Wessex, whom he married in 1999. The couple have two children: Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn.
James, Viscount Severn
James, Viscount Severn and Lady Louise Windsor during Trooping The Colour, the Queen's annual birthday parade, on June 8, 2019 in London, England.
(Credit: Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
DOB:
December 17, 2007
What you need to know:
Despite being younger than his sister Lady Louise Windsor, Viscount Severn is ahead of her in the line of succession due to the previous rule that made the British monarchy favored male heirs over their sisters.
He is fifteenth in line to the throne.
Lady Louise Windsor
Lady Louise Windsor during “Trooping The Colour” at The Mall on June 9, 2018 in London, England.
(Credit: Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
DOB:
November 8, 2003
What you need to know:
The eldest daughter of the Earl and Countess of Wessex, Lady Louise Windsor is now 16th in line to the throne.
Her parents chose more discreet royal titles and, with the queen's permission, gave their children earl-style titles rather than prince and princess, according to The Independent.
Anne, the royal princess
Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal attends the HMS Queen Elizabeth Commissioning Ceremony at HM Naval Base on December 7, 2017 in Portsmouth, England.
(Credit: Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
Date of birth:
August 15, 1950
What you need to know:
Second and only child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Anne was third in the line of succession at birth... but today she is number 17, behind his brothers and their children and grandchildren.
Photograph taken on February 26, 1970, showing Prince Charles and Princess Anne of the royal family.
Credit: CENTRAL PRESS PHOTO LTD /AFP via Getty Images
Known as an expert equestrian, the princess royal competed in the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, just two years after surviving an attempted kidnapping.
She currently sits on the International Olympic Committee, as well as serving various charities.
More key relatives:
Captain Mark Phillips, the princess royal's first husband, with whom she has two children: Peter and Zara.
Phillips, an army officer, was a commoner who declined to receive a royal title;
Ana also rejected her mother's offer to give titles to Peter and Zara.
Zara Phillips, daughter of Princess Anne.
Anne and Captain Mark divorced in 1992, and in the same year the princess married Royal Navy officer and Royal Household officer Timothy Laurence.
British royal family