Chris Levine/ Jersey Heritage Trust The long reign of Queen Elizabeth II was marked by her determination to devote her life to her throne and to her people.
As British influence waned and society changed beyond recognition, she became the one constant point in a rapidly changing world.
At the time of her birth, no one could have predicted that she would one day become the queen.
The first child of Albert, Duke of York, and his wife, the former Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, was born in a house just off Berkeley Square in London.
Getty ImagesMargaret Rose, Elizabeth's sister, was born in 1930 and was educated at home. Both her father and grandfather were very close to Elizabeth.
At the age of six, Elizabeth told her riding instructor that she wanted to be a country lady.
She was said to have shown a great deal of responsibility from a young age. The future prime minister said that she had an air of authority that was astonishing in an infant.
Elizabeth made a detailed study of constitutional history even though she didn't attend school.
The 1st Buckingham Palace was formed to allow her to socialize with girls of her own age.
Edward VIII was the son of George V who died in 1936.
On political and religious grounds, his choice of wife was not acceptable. He stepped down at the end of the year.
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The Duke of York became the King. Elizabeth was given a glimpse of what was to come and later wrote that she found the service very, very wonderful.
The new King and Queen Elizabeth set out to restore public faith in the monarchy against a backdrop of increasing tension in Europe. The example they set was not lost on their daughter.
The King and Queen were accompanied by a princess.
She was escorted by a cadet, her third cousin, Prince Philip of Greece.
She took an interest in him for the first time, even though they hadn't met before.
When Philip was on leave from the navy, Elizabeth was in love with him. They exchanged letters after she put his picture in her room.
At the end of the war, the young princess joined the auxiliary Territorial Service to learn to drive and serve. She joined the Royal Family at Buckingham Palace on the day after the end of the war in Europe.
She asked her parents if they could go out and look for themselves. We were afraid of being recognized. I remember lines of unknown people linking arms and walking down the street, all of us were swept along on a wave of happiness and relief.
She wanted to marry Prince Philip but faced many obstacles.
Philip had to overcome the prejudice of an establishment that could not accept his foreign ancestry in order to keep his daughter.
PAThe wishes of the couple prevailed and they were married in the abbey.
Philip was still a serving naval officer. A posting to Malta gave the young couple a chance to live a normal life.
Their first child, Charles, was born in 1948.
The King had suffered a lot of stress during the war years and was dying of lung cancer.
Elizabeth and Philip left for an overseas tour in January of 1952. The king went to the airport to see the couple leave. Elizabeth would never see her father again.
The new Queen went back to London after Elizabeth heard of the King's death.
She said that she didn't have an apprenticeship. It was a sudden kind of taking on and making the best job you can after my father's death.
Millions of people gathered around TV sets for the first time to watch as Queen Elizabeth II made her oath of office, despite the fact that the prime minister was against it.
The beginning of a new Elizabethan age was seen by commentators as the result of post-war austerity.
By the time the new Queen set off on a tour of the Commonwealth in November of 1953, many former British possessions, including India, had gained independence.
PAThe first reigning monarch to visit was Elizabeth. Three-quarters of Australians saw her in person.
The former colonies and dominions came together as a voluntary family of nations in the 1950's.
The new Commonwealth could be seen as a counter to the European Economic Community by many politicians.
Getty ImagesThe decline of British influence was caused by the fact that the Commonwealth didn't have the will to act in times of crisis. The decision to send British troops to Egypt ended in failure and led to the resignation of the prime minister.
TheQueen was involved in a political crisis. Harold Macmillan was invited by the Queen to form a new government after the Conservative Party had no way of choosing a new leader.
Lord Altrincham wrote a personal attack on the Queen. He accused her of being unable to make a simple speech without a written text and claimed her court was too British.
A member of the League of Empire Loyalists physically attacked Lord Altrincham after he made comments that caused a furore.
The incident showed that British society and attitudes to the monarchy were changing quickly.
The Queen started to adapt to the new order after being encouraged by her husband.
The term "the Monarchy" was gradually replaced by "the Royal Family".
When Harold Macmillan stood down as prime minister in 1963, the Queen was once again at the center of politics. She followed his advice and appointed the Earl of Home to replace him.
It was hard for the Queen. She had a separation of the monarchy from the government of the day. She took her rights seriously, but didn't want to go beyond them.
It was going to be the last time she was in that position. There was a proper system put in place after the Conservatives did away with the tradition of new party leaders just coming on board.
Buckingham Palace decided that it needed to take a positive step in order to show the Royal Family in a less formal and more personable way.
Royal Family was the first documentary of its kind. The Windsors were filmed at home by the Beeb. There were pictures of the family at a barbecue, decorating the Christmas tree, and taking their children for a drive, but never before.
The royals were shown to be ordinary people in the film by Richard Cawston.
The film restored public support for the monarchy and made people feel more relaxed.
The Silver Jubilee was celebrated with great enthusiasm in 1977. Much of the public's love for the monarchy was down to the Queen.
Margaret Thatcher was Britain's first female prime minister. The relationship between the female head of state and female head of government was said to be awkward.
The Queen's devotion to the Commonwealth was a challenge. The Queen sympathized with the leaders of Africa.
She was said to have found Thatcher's style "puzzling" and that he was against sanctions against South Africa.
The Queen continued to perform her public duties over time. She was the first British monarch to address a joint session of Congress. She had been "freedom's friend for as long as we can remember".
PAA series of scandals and disasters affected the Royal Family.
Princess Anne's marriage to MarkPhillips ended in divorce, as did the Duke of York's marriage to Sarah. The Prince and Princess of Wales were found to be unhappy and broke up.
There was a fire at Windsor Castle. It looked like a grim symbol of a royal house in trouble. The public row over whether the taxpayer or the Queen should pay for repairs was not helpful.
In a speech in the City of London, the Queen appeared to acknowledge the need for a more open monarchy in exchange for a less hostile media.
"No institution, city, monarchy, whatever, should be free from the scrutiny of those who give it their loyalty and support." We are all part of the same fabric of our national society and that scrutiny can be just as effective if it is made with a measure of good humor and understanding.
The institution of monarchy was in a state of defensiveness. The Queen and the Prince of Wales will pay tax on their investment income in order to pay for the repairs at Windsor.
AFPThe hopes for the Commonwealth were unfulfilled abroad. New arrangements in Europe made Britain turn its back on its partners.
South Africa, where the Queen had come of age, had finally thrown apartheid aside and the Queen was overjoyed. She visited in March 1995 to celebrate her birthday.
The Queen wanted to maintain the dignity of the monarchy while the public debated the institution's future.
PAWith a sudden smile, she tried to remain reassuring as Britain struggled to find a new future. She valued the symbol of the nation more than anything else.
The death of Diana, Princess of Wales, in a car accident in Paris in 1997 caused the monarchy to beshaken.
The Queen was reluctant to provide the focus that she had always tried to do during great national moments.
She was from a generation that didn't like the public mourning that followed the death of a princess.
She wanted to comfort Diana's sons in the privacy of the family circle.
She made a commitment that the monarchy would adapt and paid tribute to her daughter-in-law.
The deaths of the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret cast a shadow over the celebrations of her reign.
There was a million people in front of Buckingham Palace on the evening of the jubilee.
Getty ImagesThousands of people lined the streets of Windsor to wish the Queen a happy 80th birthday.
She and Prince Philip celebrated 60 years of marriage with a service attended by 2,000 people.
In April of last year, the Queen attended the wedding of her grandson, William, Duke of Cambridge.
She was the first British monarch to make an official visit to the Irish Republic.
She referred to things that she wished had been done differently or not at all in her speech.
On a visit to Northern Ireland as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations, she shook the hand of the former IRA commander.
Lord Louis Mountbatten had been killed by an IRA bomb in 1979.
PAHundreds of thousands of people descended on the streets of London for the weekend of celebrations.
The Queen was tested by the independence referendum in Scotland. She made clear her commitment to the United Kingdom in a speech to parliament in 1977.
I have a number of kings and queens of England and of Scotland in my family tree. I can't forget that I was crowned Queen of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
On the eve of the Scottish referendum, she said she hoped people would be careful about the future.
Her public statement underscored the relief she felt that the Union was still intact even though the political landscape had changed.
Despite the range of views that have been expressed, we have in common an enduring love of Scotland, which helps to unite us all.
Getty ImagesShe became the longest reigning monarch in British history in September of 2015. She said the title wasn't one to which she had ever wanted.
She celebrated her 90th birthday less than a year ago.
After the retirement of the Duke of Edinburgh, she remained alone.
Her husband's car accident, the Duke of York's ill-judged friendship with a convicted American businessman, and Prince Harry's growing disillusionment with life in the royal family were some of the strains on the family.
The monarch showed that she was still in control. The death of Prince Philip in the midst of the coronaviruses epidemic was one of the events.
Although the monarchy might not have been as strong at the end of the Queen's reign as it was at the beginning, she was determined that it should continue to command a place of affection and respect.
She remembered a vow she made on her visit to South Africa 30 years ago.
I asked for God's help to fulfill my vow when I was 21. When I was green in judgement, I did not regret or withdraw one word of that vow.
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