Elizabeth II’s fate changed when her uncle abdicated the throne in 1936 and she, the daughter of the newly crowned King George VI, became crown princess.
Two years earlier, in 1934, she had met Prince Philip at the wedding of his cousin, Princess Marina of Greece, and her uncle, the Duke of Kent. Isabel and Felipe got engaged a few years later, on July 9, 1947.
The couple married on November 20, 1947. The ceremony, according to Isabel’s official biography, was low-key as the country was still recovering from World War II. Princess Elizabeth had to collect clothing coupons for her dress, like any other young British bride of the time.
The couple had their first child, Prince Charles, in 1948, two years later Princess Anne was born. The family moved between 1949 and 1951 to Malta, where Philip was an officer in the Mediterranean Fleet.
After a prolonged illness, King George VI passed away on February 6, 1952.
The British monarch had canceled a tour of Commonwealth countries earlier that year. In her place came the then Princess of Wales, Elizabeth, and her husband, Duke Philip of Edinburgh. The future she learned of the death of her father in Kenya, thousands of miles from London.
Elizabeth, then 25 years old, immediately acceded to the throne that day and since then has held the title of Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and of her other Kingdoms and Territories, head of the Commonwealth of Nations, defender of the Faith.