Victoria Murphy - Town & Country The Queen: A Life in Pictures

Its no easy job being the queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, but somehow, Queen Elizabeth II has been doing it for nearly 70 years. Since taking the throne in 1952 after the death of her father, King George VI, Elizabeth has become the longest-reigning monarch not only in British history but also in the world today.

Her reign hasnt always been easy. As the queen, shes dealt with matters of stateas well as a personal life lived under a microscopefor seven decades, leading the United Kingdom through political and financial turmoil as well as unpleasant tabloid scandals. A series of unfortunate events in 1992, including a fire at Windsor Castle, led her to dub the year her annus horribilis.

While others might have buckled under the stress, the Queen has endured. Despite her challenges, Elizabeth has demonstrated whats become a trademark fortitude and the quintessential British stiff upper liprarely offering clues to her private thoughts or acting out of character. In spite, or perhaps because, of her mystique, Elizabeth has come to occupy a singular place on the world stage: She personifies pomp and pageantry without ever being unrelatable. She is rarely out of touch with the feelings of her subjects and has demonstrated, in acts from her work as a mechanic during World War II to her heartfelt 2020 speech declaring that we will meet again, that she shares as her own the concerns and obstacles of her people.

The reign of Elizabeth II is an incredible one to behold. From her earliest days as a monarch to the most recent, shes been a model of endurance, character, and styleindeed, one weve covered extensively in the pages of Town & Countryand were thrilled to share with you this celebration of her reign in all its majesty.

Stellene Volandes

Editor in Chief, Town & Country

JUNE 2, 1953

Wearing the Imperial State Crown, the Queen leaves Westminster Abbey following her coronation.

APRIL 1945

Princess Elizabeth demonstrates her role in the Auxiliary Territorial Service during World War II. When she was 18 years old, Elizabeth trained as a driver and mechanic with the ATS, making her the first female royal to become a full-time member of the British Armed Forces. By the end of the war, she had reached the rank of junior commander.