Queen Elizabeth II: The life and times of Britain's longest reigning monarch

(FILE PHOTO) Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Elizabeth II, the 96-year-old reigning monarch of the one of world's most powerful economies, Britain, breathed her last on September 8 in midst of her family members following prolonged illness. Her eldest son and heir Prince Charles and his wife Camilla travelled to her Scottish home, Balmoral Castle, where she was staying, along with his eldest son Prince William.

The queen, Britain's longest-reigning sovereign and the world's oldest monarch, had been suffering from what Buckingham Palace has called "episodic mobility problems" since the end of last year.

A day before her death, the Queen had been pictured appointing Liz Truss as UK's new Prime Minister at Balmoral, the 15th premier of her record-breaking reign.

The head of the British Royal Family, Elizabeth has been queen of Britain and more than a dozen other countries since 1952, including Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and earlier this year marked her 70th year on the throne with four days of national celebrations in June. "I have been inspired by the kindness, joy and kinship that has been so evident in recent days, and I hope this renewed sense of togetherness will be felt for many years to come," she said at the time.

She was world's second-longest reigning monarch in history after surpassing the lengthy reign of former Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who ruled from 1946 until his death in 2016. French King Louis XIV remains in the top spot, having served as monarch for more than 72 years after taking the throne at age four and dying in 1715.

RECORD-BREAKING REIGN

Elizabeth came to the throne after the death of her father King George VI on February 6, 1952, when she was just 25.

She was crowned in June the following year. The first televised coronation was a foretaste of a new world in which the lives of the royals were to become increasingly scrutinised by the media.

She became monarch at a time when Britain retained much of its empire. It was emerging from the ravages of World War II, with food rationing still in force and class and privilege still dominant in society.

Winston Churchill was the first prime minister who served during her reign, Joseph Stalin was leader of the Soviet Union, the Korean War was raging.

Before her demise, Elizabeth remained queen of 15 kingdoms including the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Belize, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Tuvalu.

(With inputs from agencies)