Elizabeth II

The Queen in March 2015

Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, 1926-2022) was the Queen of the United Kingdom and of several other countries around the world, head of the Commonwealth of Nations and Supreme Governor of the Church of England until her death on 8 September 2022.

She was born in Bruton Street, Mayfair, and educated privately at home. In 1947 she married Philip Mountbatten, previously Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, who was then made Duke of Edinburgh. She succeeded to the throne on the death of her father, King George VI in 1952. Her coronation in Westminster Abbey took place in 1963. In 2015 she became the longest-reigning monarch in British history, surpassing her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria.

LGBT connections

The Queen's reign saw many important advances for LGBT people. However as a constitutional monarch, she did not normally express an opinion on political issues. She seldom spoke about LGBT issues, and was not a patron of any LGBT charities. However in 2014 she sent a message of congratulations to the London Lesbian & Gay Switchboard on its 40th anniversary.