1952 Elizabeth II becomes queen
George VI of the House of Windsor, the last Emperor of India, and By the Grace of God, of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas King, Defender of the Faith, had long been in ill health but his sudden death of a heart attack took the world by surprise. His daughter, Elizabeth (b. 1926), heir to the throne, was on an African tour at the time, up a tree in Kenya. She returned home with her husband, Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, to assume the duties of Queen and prepare for her coronation.
On her 21st birthday in a radio message to the Commonwealth she had said, “I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.” She has kept that promise for 67 years. God save the Queen.