Queen Elizabeth II and The British Royal Family

The current British Royal Family is composed of the Queen, Elizabeth II, her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, their children, and the Queen’s relatives bearing the title style Royal Highness. The current royal family is descended from Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Before World War I, the British Royal Family is named the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. In 1917, out from strong anti-German sentiments and a surge of anti-monarchist propaganda, King George V (the current queen’s grandfather) changed the name of the British Royal Family from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to Windsor, named after the oldest inhabited castle in the world.

Queen Elizabeth II

A Queen is Born

Queen Elizabeth II was born Elizabeth Alexandra Mary in 1926. Her father was then the Duke of York, while her mother was the former Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. The young Elizabeth’s father was never expected to become king because he had an elder brother, Edward, Prince of Wales, who ascended as King Edward VIII in 1936. However, the new king fell in love with a twice-divorced American, Wallis Warfield-Simpson. Those days, marrying a divorcee meant social disgrace and the king was faced with the dilemma of choosing between his duty as head of the Great Britain and the Commonwealth and marrying the “woman that he loves.” He abdicated in December 1936, was made Duke of Windsor, and married Mrs. Simpson the following year.

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth

The new king assumed the name George VI and went on to rule Great Britain and the far-flung British Empire from 1936 until his death in 1952. He and Queen Elizabeth were popular anti-German figures during World War II that boosted the morale of their countrymen. After his death, their elder daughter, Elizabeth, succeeded as Queen Elizabeth II. Her reign ushered in the New Elizabethan II and marked the disintegration of the British Empire and the development of the British Commonwealth of Nations. Furthermore, her reign witnessed the gradual decline of the monarch’s political power, albeit her fairness and wisdom proved better than any of her prime ministers. In 2002, she celebrated her 50^th year on the throne, followed by her diamond jubilee in 2012.

The British Royal Family Today

In 1947, she married Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. He was born a Prince of Greece and Denmark, although he relinquished that title, as well as his rights to the throne of Greece and Denmark before he married Elizabeth. Prince Philip is the queen’s strong supporter in various public and ceremonial functions. He also takes official and charitable duties of his own in support for the British Royal Family. The couple has four children: Charles, Prince of Wales; Anne Princess Royal; Albert, Duke of York; and Edward, Earl of Wessex.