She was 25 years, nine months and 13 days old. Previously known as Princess Elizabeth, she became Queen the very second that her father passed away because the throne is never vacant – hence the expression “the King is dead, long live the King”. read more
Although King George VI died in his sleep sometime during the night of Feb. 5, 1952, the remoteness of her tree house lodgings meant that Elizabeth didn’t learn until relatively late the next day that she had become Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan and what was then called Ceylon (today’s Sri Lanka). read more