(CNN) --
Queen Elizabeth II died at the age of 96 on Thursday, Buckingham Palace confirmed.
Great Britain says goodbye to the monarch with the longest reign in her history: she celebrated 70 years on the throne this 2022.
First in the line of succession is Charles, the Prince of Wales and the Queen's eldest son.
He is the British monarch heir to the throne who has waited the longest, as he has been the heir apparent since he was 3 years old.
He is also the first to earn a college degree.
Since 2005, he has been married to Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall.
Funeral details for Elizabeth II are expected to be announced.
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, "Lilibet" to her friends, was born on April 21, 1926. And only a decade later, Elizabeth learned that she was truly destined to lead an empire.
advertising
And it was a ruse of history, the work of scandal: his uncle Eduardo abdicated in order to marry Wallis Simpson, a divorced American woman, the love of his life, but an impediment to the throne.
The life of Queen Elizabeth II in data
Elizabeth's father became king.
And she happened to be the heiress by accident.
And she developed a deep sense of duty.
Even before she was crowned, Elizabeth devoted herself body and soul to playing her "royal" role.
1 of 49
|
Queen Elizabeth II is the longest-serving monarch in British history.
Eddie Mulholland/WPA Pool/Getty Images
2 of 49
|
Elizabeth was born on April 21, 1926 in London.
PA Images/Getty Images
3 of 49
|
Princess Elizabeth poses for a photo of herself at her London home in 1928. Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis/Getty Images
4 of 49
|
From left: Princess Elizabeth, King George VI, Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in 1939. Len Puttnam/AP
5 of 49
|
Elizabeth rides a horse in Windsor, England, in 1940. Lisa Sheridan/Studio Lisa/Getty Images
6 of 49
|
Isabel, 14, (right) sits next to her sister for a radio broadcast, Oct. 13, 1940. AP
7 of 49
|
Princess Elizabeth greets a soldier on May 29, 1942. AP
8 of 49
|
Elizabeth (right) and Princess Margaret in summer dresses in 1942. Lisa Sheridan/Studio Lisa/Getty Images
9 of 49
|
Princess Elizabeth in South Africa's Natal National Park on April 21, 1947. It was her 21st birthday.Eddie Worth/AP
10 of 49
|
On November 20, 1947, Elizabeth married Prince Philip.
PhotoQuest/Getty Images
11 of 49
|
Princess Elizabeth arrives at a state banquet in London in March 1950. AP
12 of 49
|
Isabel ascends to the throne in February 1952, after the death of her father.
AFP/Getty Images
13 of 49
|
From left: Princess Margaret, Queen Elizabeth II and the Queen Mother in 1958. Fox Photos/Hulton Royals Collection/Getty Images
14 of 49
|
Queen Elizabeth II with her eldest son, Prince Charles, in 1969. Charles is next in line to the throne.
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
15 of 49
|
Prince Charles adjusts his crown during his inauguration ceremony as Prince of Wales in 1969. Anwar Hussein/WireImage/Getty Images
16 of 49
|
The Queen and Prince Philip wave from a plane shortly before taking off from Tokyo in May 1975. Sadayuki Mikami/AP
17 of 49
|
The Queen has her portrait taken for her 50th birthday at Windsor Castle on April 21, 1976. (Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone/Getty Images)
18 of 49
|
The Queen during a tour of New Zealand in 1977. Serge Lemoine/Getty Images
19 of 49
|
The Queen, standing next to Prince Charles as he kisses his new wife, Princess DIana, on July 29, 1981. Tim Graham / Getty Images
20 of 49
|
Elizabeth takes photos of her husband during a horse show in Windsor in May 1982. Tim Graham / Getty Images
21 of 49
|
Elizabeth drives a Land Rover in Windsor in May 1992. Anwar Hussein/Getty Images
22 of 49
|
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip observe floral tributes for Princess Diana, following her tragic death in 1997. Pool / AP
23 of 49
|
The Queen delivers a message to the country the night before Princess Diana's funeral in 1997. Peter Marlow/Magnum Photos
24 of 49
|
Prince Charles looks at his mother after his wedding to Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, in April 2005. Toby Melville / AP
25 of 49
|
The Queen (second from right) waves to the crowd from the balcony of Buckingham Palace on April 29, 2011. Her grandson Prince William (third from left) had just married Catherine Middleton.
James Devaney/FilmMagic/Getty Images
26 of 49
|
The queen's signature in a guestbook in Ireland.
Irish Government/Pool/Getty Images
27 of 49
|
Madame Tussauds in London unveils the queen's wax figure in May 2012. Fred Duval/Getty Images
28 of 49
|
Prince Charles kisses his mother's hand during the Diamond Jubilee concert, marking the 60th anniversary of Elizabeth II's reign, in June 2012. Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images
29 of 49
|
The queen in an image from 2012. Alastair Grant/AP
30 of 49
|
A boy in Belfast, Northern Ireland, takes a selfie in front of the queen in June 2014. Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images
31 of 49
|
The Queen at Edinburgh Castle in July 2014.
32 of 49
|
The Queen waits to deliver her speech during the State Opening of Parliament in May 2015. Arthur Edwards/Pool/Getty Images
33 of 49
|
Elizabeth listens to her grandson, Prince George, outside the church where George's sister, Charlotte, was baptized in July 2015. Charlotte and George are the children of Prince William and Catherine.
34 of 49
|
The Queen and Prince Philip during Elizabeth II's 90th birthday in 2016. Arthur Edwards/Pool/Getty Images
35 of 49
|
Isabel speaks to Evie Mills, 14, who was injured at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester in 2017. Peter Byrne/Pool/Getty Images
36 of 49
|
The Queen at Buckingham Palace after recording her Christmas message in 2017. John Stillwell / Pool / Getty
37 of 49
|
The queen arrives at the wedding of her grandson Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in May 2018. Gareth Fuller/WPA Pool/Getty Images
38 of 49
|
The queen laughs alongside Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, during an event in June 2018. Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
39 of 49
|
The Queen and US President Donald Trump inspect a guard of honor during Trump's visit to Windsor Castle in July 2018. Matt Dunham/WPA Pool/Getty Images
40 of 49
|
Queen Elizabeth sits alone during the funeral service for Prince Philip, who died on April 9, 2021, at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle on April 17.
41 of 49
|
Queen Elizabeth opens Parliament in May 2021. It was her first major engagement since the death of her husband.
Chris Jackson/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
42 of 49
|
The Queen receives a rose from the Duke of Edinburgh at the hands of Keith Weed, President of the Royal Horticultural Society, in June 2021. The newly bred rose was officially named after Prince Philip.
Steve Parsons / AP
43 of 49
|
Queen Elizabeth meets with US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden in the Great Corridor at Windsor Castle in June 2021. Steve Parsons/WPA Pool/Getty Images
44 of 49
|
The queen drives her Range Rover as she attends the Royal Windsor Horse Show in Windsor, England, in July 2021. Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images
45 of 49
|
The Queen and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, left, greet guests during a reception for international business and investment leaders at Windsor Castle to mark the Global Investment Summit on Oct. 19.
Alastair Grant/Pool/Getty Images
46 of 49
|
The queen cuts a cake to celebrate the start of her Platinum Jubilee in February 2022. It has been 70 years since the monarch took the throne in 1952. Joe Giddens/WPA Pool/Getty Images
47 of 49
|
The Queen meets Rear Admiral James Macleod, the outgoing Secretary for the Defense Services, and Macleod's successor, Major General Eldon Millar, at Windsor Castle in February 2022. It was a few days before the Palace of Buckingham announced that the queen tested positive for covid-19.
Steve Parsons/WPA Pool/Getty Images
48 of 49
|
The queen buys a train ticket as she attends the opening ceremony for the long-awaited Elizabeth line at Paddington station in west London in May 2022. She had recently been suffering from mobility problems and canceled several appearances.
Toby Melville/Reuters
49 of 49
|
The Queen poses for her official Platinum Jubilee portrait at Windsor Castle in May 2022. She is the first British sovereign to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee – 70 years on the throne.
Ranald Mackechnie/Camera Press/Royal House
"I declare before all of you that my whole life, long or short, will be dedicated to your service and to the service of this great imperial family to which we all belong."
"I think I remember hearing that speech and I remember it very well, I certainly remember reading not many years later how he dedicated his life to the country; it was an example of exactly what I felt years later when I grew up; that's what it was all about: to dedicate your life to your country.
For more than half a century, he led his empire and then watched it decline, in controlled descent, into what became known as the British Commonwealth of Nations, an association of now independent countries.
16 countries kept her as the symbolic head of state.
For decades, he has endured everything that history and his family have thrown at him, with a comforting composure.
His reign began when Winston Churchill was Prime Minister.
He has met with every president of the United States except one;
he always gave priority to those encounters.
"She remembers learning from her parents the importance of keeping America on your side during the war. And America went into the war. She remembers that very well. She remembers American soldiers, D-Day and all that. For her, it was a big part of her upbringing," says Robert Hardman, author of
Our Queen
.
The British monarch has no political power, but Elizabeth had immense power as a figurehead, as demonstrated in 2011 in the first state visit by a monarch to neighboring Ireland since Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom.
Queen Isabel