LONDON (AP) – She has lived longer than any of her predecessors, seen a dozen prime ministers come and go, and presided over six decades of British history – from war with Germany to the death of Princess Diana and terror attacks on London.
Now Queen Elizabeth II is set to become the longest reigning monarch in British history. On Wednesday, she beats the record set by her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria – 63 years and 7 months – more than a century ago. Only four other British kings and queens have reigned 50 years or more.
“You have to be a certain age to remember a time when she wasn’t the queen,” said royal historian and commentator Hugo Vickers.
The only monarch most living Britons have ever known, Elizabeth has been the constant heart of British life since she came to the throne as a young woman aged 25.
Much has changed since then. When she married Prince Philip in 1947, Britain was still in the grips of post-World War II austerity – the couple’s wedding cake had to be made from ingredients sent as wedding presents from abroad. In 1953, when she was crowned in Westminster Abbey, television was a novelty and British colonies were still dotted around the world. By the 1990s, the empire had all but vanished.