On this day in 1952, after a long illness, King George VI of Great Britain and Northern Ireland dies in his sleep at the royal estate at Sandringham. Princess Elizabeth, the oldest of the king's two daughters and next in line to succeed him, was in Kenya at the time of her father's death; she was crowned Queen Elizabeth II on June 2, 1953, at age 27. She reigns still at age 91, The Netflix series THE CROWN is in season 2 now and is my TV obsession! You can see it HERE
Today marks The Queen's Sapphire Jubilee. It has been 65 years since Her Majesty acceded to the throne.
On 6 February 1952, King George VI sadly died following a prolonged illness. Princess Elizabeth immediately acceded to the throne, becoming Queen Elizabeth II and taking on all of the responsibilities which came with her new title.
In the photograph, The Queen is wearing a suite of sapphire jewellery given to her by King George VI as a wedding gift in 1947.
Celebrate Queen Elizabeth ll's Sapphire Jubilee On Accession Day 2017 - 65 Years On The Throne!
1. The Queen was born at 2:40am on April 21 1926 - the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York.
2. The infant princess was third in line to the throne - and was not expected to be Queen.
3. She was christened Elizabeth Alexandra Mary in the chapel at Buckingham Palace.
4. She is a great-great-grandchild of Queen Victoria.
5. She was only 10 when she became heir presumptive. Her father George VI acceded to the throne after the abdication of his brother Edward VIII in 1936.
6. She is the 40th monarch since William the Conqueror, who seized the Crown in 1066.
7. Princess Elizabeth never went to school - she was educated at home with Princess Margaret, her younger sister.
8. As a child, she was called Lilibet, and her nickname for her sister Margaret Rose was "Bud" because she was "not a real Rose yet".
9. Shortly after her 18th birthday in 1944, she was appointed a Counsellor of State when her father was away on tour, and, for the first time, carried out some of the duties of Head of State.
10. She undertook National Service, joining the Auxiliary Transport Service on February 24 1945, and was registered as No 230873 Second Subaltern Elizabeth Windsor.
11. She qualified as a driver on April 14 1945 and was promoted to Junior Commander.
12. She could have married the Duke of Edinburgh when she was 17 - the age of his first formal request to be considered as a suitor - but her parents thought she was too young. They wed when Princess Elizabeth was 21 and have been married for nearly 70 years.
13. At the very moment her father died in Sandringham on February 6 1952, Elizabeth, unaware of the momentous change to her life, was watching the sun rise over the jungle, having climbed to a lookout post at the top of a tree in Kenya.
The moment she became Queen
14. Elizabeth II was formally proclaimed Queen at the Accession Council on February 8 and was crowned at Westminster Abbey on June 2 1953.
15. Her favorite tipple is gin and Dubonnet - one part gin and two parts Dubonnet. Her favorite cakes are honey and cream sponge, ginger, fruit and the chocolate biscuit cake that the Duke of Cambridge served at his wedding reception.
16. For breakfast, the Queen has cereal with a spoonful of apricots, prunes or Macadamia nuts, or toast with light marmalade. She eats alone because the Duke of Edinburgh rises earlier and has already had his.
17. She drinks Earl Grey tea and listens to BBC Radio 4's Today program. The Racing Post is a favorite read.
18. The Queen has an iPod and a cell phone.
19. She sent her first tweet - signed "Elizabeth R" - from the British monarchy's official Twitter account in 2014 at the opening of a new Science Museum gallery.
20. Her favorite TV shows include the quiz show Pointless. She has also been a fan of Downton Abbey, Silent Witness, EastEnders, The Bill, New Tricks and Midsomer Murders.
Queen Elizabeth became the longest-reigning monarch of the United Kingdom today. As Queen, she has seen 12 Presidents, 12 British prime ministers, and seven popes.
She breaks the record held by her great-great grandmother Queen Victoria, who reigned for 63 years, seven months, and two days.
The Queen has thanked well-wishers at home and overseas for their "touching messages of kindness" as she becomes Britain's longest-reigning monarch.
Speaking in the Scottish Borders, the 89-year-old monarch said the title was "not one to which I have ever aspired".
At 17:30 BST she had reigned for 23,226 days, 16 hours and approximately 30 minutes - surpassing the reign of her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria.
David Cameron said the service the Queen had given was "truly humbling".
Dressed in turquoise with her trusty black handbag at her side, the Queen spoke briefly to the gathered crowds earlier.
"Inevitably a long life can pass by many milestones - my own is no exception - but I thank you all and the many others at home and overseas for your touching messages of great kindness," she said.
DETROIT! Get ready to hear your favorite Queen hits in one incredible musical experience as We Will Rock You opens Tuesday night for a two week engagement, April 1-13, at the Fisher Theatre.
WE WILL ROCK YOU features the greatest hits of the legendary British rock group, Queen. Now in its 11th year in London and seen by a staggering 15 million people worldwide, this hilarious, multi-award-winning and record-breaking phenomenon is written by celebrated British comedian Ben Elton and boasts a fantastic score of killer Queen tunes that you just can't resist singing along to, such as Another One Bites The Dust, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, We Are The Champions, Bohemian Rhapsody and, of course, We Will Rock You. It's the world champion of musicals and the show that rocks harder than any other.
