Queen Elizabeth II had a long and eventful life. Her Majesty ascended to the throne when she was just 26 years old, after her father, King George VI, passed away of complications following lung cancer surgery. In her 70-year reign she has witnessed the world change around her, especially her own country.
Her full title was “Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of her other realms and territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith”, showing she had more than just the United Kingdom in her care.
The position of Head of the Commonwealth however does not give the person any political or executive power over any Commonwealth member states, the position being purely symbolic.
Over her lifetime, she was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states and 15 at the time of her death. At her accession in 1952, Elizabeth II was the monarch and head of state of seven independent states: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Since then, new realms have been created through the independence of former colonies and dependencies, and some realms have become republics.
Dark blue – Commonwealth of Nations members; Orange – Former Commonwealth of Nations members (Ireland and Zimbabwe); Light blue – British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies
The current 15 Commonwealth realms are: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and the United Kingdom. But these are just a part of the Commonwealth, which is an intergovernmental organisation of 56 independent member states, 52 of which were formerly part of the British Empire.
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Australia
- Bahamas
- Bangladesh
- Barbados
- Belize
- Botswana
- Brunei
- Cameroon
- Canada
- Cyprus
- Dominica
- Eswatini
- Fiji
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Ghana
- Grenada
- Guyana
- India
- Jamaica
- Kenya
- Kiribati
- Lesotho
- Malawi
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Malta
- Mauritius
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Nauru
- New Zealand
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
- Papua New Guinea
- Rwanda
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Samoa
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Singapore
- Solomon Islands
- South Africa
- Sri Lanka
- Tanzania
- Togo
- Tonga
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Tuvalu
- Uganda
- United Kingdom
- Vanuatu
- Zambia
