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Picture of the day

Elizabeth II (21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death. The first child of the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth), she became heir presumptive when her father became king upon the abdication in 1936 of King Edward VIII. During the Second World War, she served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. In 1947, Elizabeth married the Royal Navy officer Sir Philip Mountbatten (later Duke of Edinburgh); they were wed for 73 years until his death in 2021. Elizabeth became queen on her father's death in 1952, was crowned in 1953, and reigned for seven decades through dramatic changes in her realms, attaining the oldest age of any British monarch (96), and having the longest reign. She faced media criticism of her family over the breakups of her children's marriages, and after the death in 1997 of Diana, Princess of Wales. However, support for the monarchy in Britain remained high, as did her personal popularity. Elizabeth died in 2022 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, and was succeeded as king by her eldest son, Charles III. This oil painting on canvas of Elizabeth (then titled Princess Elizabeth of York) aged around seven was created by the Anglo-Hungarian artist Philip de László in 1933, and is now in the Royal Collection.Painting credit: Philip de László