On April 21 1926 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was born. Elizabeth II is the Queen of 16 of the 53 member states in the Commonwealth of Nations. She is Head of the Commonwealth and Supreme Governor of the Church of England. Today, Elizabeth is Queen of Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. She is the world's oldest reigning monarch as well as Britain's longest-lived and second longest-reigning head of state.

Elizabeth was born in London and educated privately at home. Her father acceded to the throne as George VI on the abdication of his brother Edward VIII in 1936, from which time she was the heir presumptive. She began to undertake public duties during the Second World War, in which she served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. In 1947, she married Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, with whom she has four children: Charles, Anne, Andrew, and Edward.

Elizabeth II is pictured here on the Royal Tour of New Zealand of 1953/54. Accompanying her is the Mayor of Gisborne Harry Barker and the Duke of Edinburgh in the background. This visit to Gisborne occurred on January 6 1954. The image was taken Communicate New Zealand - National Archives - CNZ Collection.

Reference: AAQT 6538 W3537 box 1 (R21434655)

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