70 Photos of The Queen of England In Honor of Her Platinum Jubilee
Celebrations are officially underway as the Queen of England marks her Platinum Jubilee. At 96 years old, Queen Elizabeth II has sat on the British throne for 70 years and is the longest-reigning monarch in the history of the United Kingdom.
The momentous occasion means a variety of large-scale events will draw eyes from all over the world throughout the weekend, but such a rare anniversary is also the perfect opportunity to look back at the past. Throughout her reign, Queen Elizabeth II has traveled the globe, mingled with world leaders and celebrities, and navigated family life in the public eye.
“I continue to be inspired by the goodwill shown to me, and hope that the coming days will provide an opportunity to reflect on all that has been achieved during the last 70 years, as we look to the future with confidence and enthusiasm,” the monarch said, in part, in a recently-released statement. Below, we look back at moments from each year of her reign that show every side of her life on the throne, from her royal tours and official engagements to private time spent at her castles and palaces.
Photo: Central Press/Getty Images1/70On June 2, 1953, 27-year-old Princess Elizabeth officially became Queen Elizabeth II, having technically assumed the role the year prior, upon her father’s death. Her coronation ceremony took place at Westminster Abbey, as every coronation since the year 1066 had before that. The Gothic-style cathedral we know today was not completed until the 1200s, but before that, a small Benedictine monastery, and later, a large stone church constructed by King Edward stood in its place.
Here, the queen poses for a picture in the Buckingham Palace throne room with her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh; her mother, Queen Elizabeth “The Queen Mother”; her sister, Princess Margaret; and more members of the royal family after the ceremony. Her coronation was the first to be televised and drew a viewership of 27 million–with more listening on the radio.
Photo: ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images2/70The queen’s eldest son, Prince Charles (born in 1948, at Buckingham Palace, and pictured here as a young child), is the next in line to the British throne.
Photo: Reg Speller/Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images3/70During her reign, the queen has embarked on many official royal tours both at home and abroad. Here, while touring the Midlands region of central England, she visits the showroom of the Johnson Brothers china factory in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, which is considered one of the premiere destinations for pottery in the world. (You already know this if you watched The Great Pottery Throw Down.) Today, the Johnson Brothers brand is defunct.
Photo: Mirrorpix/Getty Images4/70After meeting the queen at the Royal Command Performance, in Leicester Square, in 1956, Marilyn Monroe told reporters, “The queen is very warmhearted. She radiates sweetness. She asked how I liked living in Windsor, and I said, ‘What?!’ and she said that as I lived in Englefield Green, near to Windsor, we were neighbors. So, I told her that Arthur [Miller, Marilyn’s then-husband] and I went on bicycle rides in the park.”
Photo: PA Images via Getty Images5/70Over the years, the queen and her family have spent the majority of their Christmases at her country estate, Sandringham, in Norfolk, England. In this image, from 1957, she has just delivered the very first Christmas Day television broadcast from her desk in the Long Library of the Victorian-era home, which has been privately owned by the royal family since 1862 (as opposed to being owned by the Crown Estate, like Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle.)
Photo: Donald McKague/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images6/70Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh pose for an official portrait at home in Buckingham Palace. The pair, who wed in 1947, would remain married for 73 years, until his death in 2021.
Photo: PA Images/Getty Images7/70Each day, the queen is delivered a monogrammed red box full of documents prepared by staff members for her to read or sign off on. The boxes in question are made by British leather goods company Barrow Hepburn & Gale. In this photo, from 1959, she opens the dispatch at her desk at Buckingham Palace.
Photo: Bettmann8/70(From left) Princess Anne, Philip, Prince Andrew, Queen Elizabeth II, and Prince Charles pose for a family photo outside Balmoral Castle in Scotland, in 1960. Built in a Scottish baronial style, the construction of the current castle was overseen by Prince Albert and completed in 1856. Like Sandringham, it is privately owned by the royal family.
Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images9/70Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip at the Taj Mahal during a six-week royal tour of India, in 1961.
Photo: PNA Rota/Getty Images10/70For special occasions like the State Opening of Parliament, royal weddings, coronations, or jubilee celebrations, the queen rides in one of her many state coaches or carriages, pulled by horses that are cared for at the Royal Mews, in Buckingham Palace.
Photo: Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images11/70The Trooping the Colour ceremony is an annual tradition held at Buckingham Palace in celebration of the queen’s birthday. It takes place in June, although Queen Elizabeth’s actual birthday is April 21.
Photo: Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images12/70Another annual event attended by Her Royal Majesty is the State Opening of Parliament, which takes place in the House of Lords, a room inside the gorgeous Palace of Westminster, a Gothic-style masterpiece designed by architects Charles Barry and Augustus Pugin.
Photo: Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images13/70The royal family (minus Andrew) poses for a photo in front of Windsor Castle, in 1965. Typically, the queen spends weekends there as well as the Easter holiday.
Photo: Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images14/70She’s a horse girl! The queen’s love of animals—corgis and horses, especially—has been well documented. She has owned many racehorses over the years, including this one, called Augustine. Hayley Turner, a jockey who has ridden for her, told Town & Country in 2017, “[The queen is] easy to talk to, because her eyes light up and she’s interested immediately. She’s really keen to learn about the horse’s character.
Photo: Central Press/Getty Images15/70Hunting for grouse on the grounds of Balmoral is a tradition the queen enjoys, and she has had numerous hunting dogs (like the labrador pictured here), over the years.
Photo: CENTRAL PRESS/AFP via Getty Images16/70Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, and all four of their children: Prince Edward (second from left), Anne (fourth from left), Andrew, and Charles (far left) walk in the gardens at Frogmore House, in 1968. The royal residence was purchased by Queen Charlotte, in 1792, and neighbors Windsor Castle.
Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images17/70Filmmaker Richard Cawston followed the royal family for a year’s time and released a documentary about them on the BBC in June of 1969. After the broadcast, the queen reportedly regretted giving the public such intimate access, and asked the BBC never to show it again. It was unavailable for a long time until it briefly popped up on YouTube in 2021 after it was a plot point on the hit Netflix show The Crown. It has since been taken down. In this image, the family films a scene at Windsor Castle.
Photo: Bettmann18/70The queen has owned Pembroke Welsh corgis since she was a child, reportedly having as many as nine at one time.
Photo: PA Images/Getty Images19/70The monarch (seen here in 1971) is practically a fixture at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show, which takes place each year at Royal Hospital Chelsea and is considered one of the premiere displays of garden design in the world.
Photo: Fox Photos/Getty Images20/70This photo from 1972 offers a glimpse inside the queen’s study at Balmoral Castle, in Scotland.
Photo: Anwar Hussein/Getty Images21/70Since Queen Victoria made Buckingham Palace the main royal residence during her reign in the late 19th century, it has been a tradition for the royal family to appear on the building’s main balcony during special occasions. Above, they gather and wave after the wedding of Princess Anne to Mark Phillips, in 1973.
Photo: Anwar Hussein/Getty Images22/70This photo of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip with one of their corgis (in 1974) offers another glimpse inside Balmoral Castle.
Photo: Nik Wheeler/Getty Images23/70During a royal tour of Japan, in 1975, the queen and her consort attend a tea ceremony at Shinto Temple, in Kyoto.
Photo: Benjamin E. "Gene" Forte/CNP/Getty Images24/70The queen has met 13 of the past 14 U.S. presidents, including President Gerald Ford and his wife, Betty, whom she stands with here on a White House balcony, in 1976. (Former President Lyndon B. Johnson is the one who missed out on an audience with Her Royal Highness.)
Photo: Anwar Hussein/Getty Images25/70The queen became a grandmother for the first time when her daughter Anne gave birth to her first son, Peter Phillips. Here, the three of them are pictured at Balmoral, in 1977.
Photo: Anwar Hussein/Getty Images26/70Every four years, countries from the Commonwealth nations compete in an Olympics-style sporting event known as the Commonwealth Games. In 1978, Edmonton, Canada, played host.
Photo: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Image27/70According to The New York Times, the queen became the first British monarch to visit the Arabian Peninsula when she embarked on a tour of Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates, in 1979. In the above image, she chats with the Emir of Bahrain during a horse and camel race.
Photo: Graham Turner/Getty Images28/70Two legends in one picture. The queen shakes hands with Meryl Streep after a showing of Kramer vs. Kramer at the Odeon theater in London’s Leicester Square.
Photo: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images29/70Now entering the Diana years. The world went crazy when the queen’s eldest son married Lady Diana Spencer in 1981, with 750 million people tuning in to watch the spectacle on television.
Photo: Dennis Oulds/Getty Images30/70The exterior of Sandringham is visible in the background as the queen and her husband stroll on the grounds of the Jacobean estate, in 1982.
Photo: John Shelley Collection/Avalon/Getty Images31/70In India, in 1983, the queen presents the Order of Merit to Mother Teresa.
Photo: Tim Graham/Getty Images32/70During a visit to Jordan, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visit the striking archaeological site of Petra, an ancient city that was hidden until the early 1800s.
Photo: Princess Diana Archive/Getty Images33/70During yet another Buckingham Palace balcony appearance—this one for Trooping the Colour, in 1985—the queen is flanked (from left) by her mother; her husband; her daughter, Anne; her son Charles; a three-year-old Prince William; a 10-month-old Prince Harry; their mother, Diana, Princess of Wales; and other members of the royal family.
Photo: Tim Graham/Getty Images34/70Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip at the Great Wall of China, in 1986.
Photo: Tim Graham/Getty Images35/70Princes Harry and William (pictured here, in 1987) have both sung their grandmother’s praises over the years. “Behind closed doors, she’s our grandmother, it’s as simple as that,” Harry said, in 2012.
Photo: Tim Graham/Getty Images36/70During an official tour of Spain, in 1988, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip join the Spanish royals to watch a flamenco performance at the Real Alcázar de Sevilla.
Photo: Tim Graham/Getty Images37/70From the start of her reign until 1997, the queen often traveled aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia for both official state visits and pleasure cruises, such as her 1986 summer holiday with Sarah, Duchess of York; Andrew; and their daughter, Princess Beatrice. Built in 1953, at John Brown & Co shipyard in Scotland, the ship is 412 feet long and required a crew of 220 royal yachtsmen and 21 officers. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip had the final say in the design of the interiors, which were done by Sir Hugh Casson and were understated compared to the other royal homes. The queen reportedly shed a tear when the yacht was decommissioned and once called it “the one place I can truly relax.” Today, the ship is docked in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is open to the public.
Photo: Tim Graham/Getty Images38/70Members of the royal family outside Clarence House, in London, which today is home to Charles.
Photo: Tim Graham/Getty Images39/70This photo of the queen with Mikhail Gorbachev and others offers a glimpse of one of the more private entrances at Buckingham Palace, Her Royal Majesty’s main residence and administrative headquarters.
Photo: Tim Graham/Getty Images40/70In November 1992, a fire broke out at Windsor Castle. After starting in the private chapel, it spread and blazed for 15 hours, causing extensive damage and requiring 225 firemen and an estimated 1.5 million gallons of water to put out. At the time of the incident, The New York Times reported that castle employees—joined by Prince Andrew—set to work removing valuable art (including paintings by Rembrandt and drawings by Leonardo da Vinci) and furniture from harm’s way as the fire burned. In the end, a rosewood sideboard and a painting by Sir William Beechey were destroyed, according to the Royal Collection Trust. The queen was not present when the fire started, but rushed to Windsor to assess the damage.
Photo: Tim Graham/Getty Images41/70If you can believe it, the queen’s attendance at the Royal Windsor Horse Show goes back even further than her time on the throne. Per Reuters, she has attended the event every year since it began, in 1943. Here, she walks next to her youngest child, Edward, on horseback, in 1993.
Photo: Pool/Tim Graham Picture Library/Getty Images42/70The queen with then Russian President Boris Yeltsin, in front of St. Basil’s Cathedral, in Moscow, in 1994.
Photo: Tim Graham/Getty Images43/70After sailing to Cape Town, South Africa, aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia, in 1995, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip are greeted by the country’s then president, Nelson Mandela.
Photo: Tim Graham/Getty Images44/70Queen Elizabeth II (right) and her mother, known as The Queen Mother, ride in a carriage on the latter’s 96th birthday, in 1996. The beloved matriarch would go on to live until 101, and was a steadfast companion to her daughter. “I count myself fortunate that my mother was blessed with a long and happy life. She had an infectious zest for living, and this remained with her until the very end,” said the queen during a televised speech on the night before her mother’s funeral.
Photo: John Shelley Collection/Avalon/Getty Images45/70Tragedy struck the royal family, in September 1997, when Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris. Here, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip take in the tributes left at the gates of Buckingham Palace for the beloved Princess of Wales. In a televised speech ahead of Diana’s funeral, the queen acknowledged the overwhelming outcry of sadness from the public: “No one who knew Diana will ever forget her. Millions of others who never met her, but felt they knew her, will remember her,” she said.
Photo: PA Images/Getty Images46/70Monochromatic, brightly colored outfits (with matching hats!) are a favorite for the queen. And while she doesn’t always match her ensemble to her activity, she was perfectly coordinated during an extremely rare stop at a McDonald’s restaurant, in 1998.
Photo: Tim Graham/Getty Images47/70When traveling domestically, the sovereign and her crew often ride the royal train. First used by Queen Victoria, in 1842, the interior of the vehicle was once decked out in silk and gold, but today is a lot more austere, though the queen’s carriage does have a full bathtub.
Photo: Pool/Tim Graham Picture Library/Getty Images48/70During a trip to Vatican City at the start of the 21st century, Queen Elizabeth II and Pope John Paul II exchange gifts in his office.
Photo: Tim Graham/Getty Images49/70Like the royal train carriages, the queen’s royal helicopter is painted a deep burgundy color.
Photo: Tim Graham/Getty Images50/70Over the years, many members of the royal family have designed gardens for the Chelsea Flower Show. In 2002, Charles showed his mother a “healing garden” he created for the event, full of medicinal or edible plants.
Photo: PA Images via Getty Images51/70During her time at Buckingham Palace, the queen replaced a bomb-damaged chapel with an art gallery, which features rotating exhibitions from the the Royal Collection and is open to the public. Here, Her Royal Majesty shows the Queen’s Gallery to former President George W. Bush during his 2003 visit.
Photo: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images52/70Remember when Princes William (far left) and Harry (third from left) looked like this? Here, the boys attend a wedding with their grandparents, in 2004.
Photo: Tim Graham/Getty Images53/70When Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles, in 2005, in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall, his mother did not attend. However, she did turn up for a blessing of their union at the castle’s St. George’s Chapel, along with other members of the royal family.
Photo: Anwar Hussein Collection/ROTA/WireImage54/70On her 80th birthday, the queen sits in the Regency Room, at Buckingham Palace, opening cards from well-wishers.
Photo: Tim Graham/Getty Images55/70In honor of their diamond wedding anniversary, in 2007, Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh pose in front of Broadlands, a Georgian-style estate where they spent part of their honeymoon, in 1947. It was home to their mutual relative and friend, Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (if you watch The Crown, you know him as Uncle Dickie.) His descendants still live there today, and the property is also used as an event and filming location.
Photo: Pool/Tim Graham Royal Photos/Getty Images56/70Visitors to Buckingham Palace, in 2008, experienced a real treat in the form of an exhibit in the ballroom showing the space set up as it would be for an official state banquet, with gilt tableware used by George IV and fine English and continental porcelain. The queen has hosted over 100 of these lavish events during her reign, each one requiring weeks of preparation. Glasses are polished, the dinnerware is arranged using rulers, an abundance of flowers is brought in, and two four-foot-tall gilded candelabra (the Mercury and Bacchus and the Apples of the Hesperides) adorn the table.
Photo: WPA Pool/Getty Images57/70Of the 775 rooms at Buckingham Palace, two are commonly used for receiving guests. Above, former U.S. president Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama stand with the queen and Philip in the Audience Room during their 2009 visit. Like all of the royal palaces, the room is full of pricey decorative items including the 18th century English porcelain pheasants on the mantel and the Canaletto painting to the left.
Photo: Steve Parsons - WPA Wire/Getty Images58/70The queen shows the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, an exhibit from The Royal Collection at Windsor Castle, during his 2010 visit. In total, the collection encompasses over one million objects, including fine art (drawings by Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo; paintings by Rembrandt), artifacts, furniture, and other decorative items. It is almost impossible to assign a value to the collection, though it has been estimated to be worth tens of billions of British pounds.
Photo: George Pimentel/WireImage59/70Back to the balcony! Prince William, Duke of Cambridge; his new wife, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge; and other members of the royal family wave after the couple’s 2011 wedding.
Photo: John Stillwell - WPA Pool /Getty Images60/70During the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, the queen delivers a speech.
Photo: Chris Radburn - WPA Pool/Getty Images61/70London is home to the world’s oldest underground train system. The queen visits Baker Street station on the occasion of the “tube’s” 150th birthday.
Photo: Anthony Devlin - WPA Pool/Getty Images62/70When not receiving guests in the Audience Room, the queen welcomes them in the 1844 Room at Buckingham Palace. Decked out in Morel & Seddon silk furniture, a 19th century David Roentgen desk, portraits of royals past, and damask wallpaper, the space is always ready for A-listers like Angelina Jolie, above.
Photo: Dominic Lipinski - WPA Pool /Getty Images63/70The ballroom at Buckingham Palace set for a state banquet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, in 2015.
Photo: John Stillwell - WPA Pool/Getty Images64/70On the occasion of her 90th birthday, the queen meets well-wishers outside Windsor Castle.
Photo: Andrew Milligan - WPA Pool/Getty Images65/70One of Her Royal Majesty’s lesser-discussed homes is the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, Scotland, where she met with Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, in 2017.
Photo: Owen Humphreys - WPA Pool/Getty Images66/70The queen (in a bright green hat, to the right) looks on as her grandson Harry marries Meghan Markle at St. George’s Chapel, at Windsor Castle, in 2018.
Photo: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images67/70The royals hit the balcony for the 2019 Trooping the Colour ceremony. In addition to William and Kate’s children, (pictured, from left) Prince Louis, Prince George, and Princess Charlotte, the queen is a great-grandmother nine more times over.
Photo: Glyn Kirk - WPA Pool/Getty Images68/70William, Kate, and the queen practice social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a speech about the crisis in April 2020, she likened it to when she was sent out of London to the country for safety during WW II. “It reminds me of the very first broadcast I made, in 1940, helped by my sister. We, as children, spoke from here, at Windsor, to children who had been evacuated from their homes and sent away for their own safety. Today, once again, many will feel a painful sense of separation from their loved ones. But now, as then, we know, deep down, that it is the right thing to do,” she said.
Photo: Victoria Jones - Pool/Getty Images69/70Eight months after his death in April 2021, a photo of Philip is displayed on the queen’s desk during her annual Christmas address.
Photo: Samir Hussein/WireImage70/70After battling COVID-19 and cancelling appearances due to mobility problems, the queen is able to attend the festivities for her Platinum Jubilee celebration, alongside her scene-stealing great-grandson, Louis.