In Pictures: The Queen through the decades of her 69-year reign
The monarch acceded to the throne on February 6 1952 when she was just 25 years old.
The Queen will have reigned for 69 years on February 6.
Here is a selection of pictures of the monarch over the decades, as she reaches the anniversary of her accession – one year away from her Platinum Jubilee.
– 1950s
The new Queen in black mourning dress – with the Duke of Edinburgh in a bowler hat (right) – inspects Grenadier Guardsmen at Windsor Castle in April 1952 – the first ceremonial parade of her reign
The young Queen walks with the Duke of Beaufort at the Olympic Horse Trials at Badminton in April 1952
The royal family on the balcony at Buckingham Palace after the coronation at Westminster Abbey in 1953
– 1960s
The Queen riding side-saddle after the Trooping the Colour ceremony in 1963
The Queen leaving the Palace of Westminster after the State Opening of Parliament in 1964
The monarch at a garden party in the grounds of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, in 1967
– 1970s
A delighted Queen receives a 50th birthday gift from the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association in 1976
Greeted by huge crowds on a sports field at Butterley Hall, near Chesterfield, during her Silver Jubilee tour in 1977
The Queen and her family, including her first grandchild Peter Phillips, at Balmoral on the monarch and Philip’s 32nd wedding anniversary in 1979
– 1980s
The monarch – with two streaks of grey hair – at her desk in the study of Sandringham House in Norfolk in February 1982 as she marked 30 years on the throne
The Queen is carried shoulder-high in a canoe by islanders during a tour to Tuvalu in 1982
Cheering on her horse with private secretary Sir William Heseltine from the royal box at Epsom in 1989
– 1990s
The Queen, the Prince of Wales, the Queen Mother, the Princess of Wales and Lady Gabriella Windsor on the Buckingham Palace balcony in 1992
South African President Nelson Mandela and the Queen ride in a carriage along the Mall during his state visit to the UK in 1996
The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh view the floral tributes to Diana, Princess of Wales, after her death in a car crash in Paris in 1997
– 2000s
The Queen and Philip watch fireworks over Buckingham Palace during the Golden Jubilee celebrations of 2002
The Queen is greeted by children’s character Bob the Builder in 2004
The Queen toasts French President Nicolas Sarkozy at a state banquet at Windsor Castle in 2008
– 2010s
The Queen and Philip return to Buckingham Palace following Trooping the Colour in 2010
The Queen is greeted by corgis at Sherborne Abbey during her Diamond Jubilee tour of the UK in 2012
In 2015, future king Prince George speaks with his great-grandmother, the Queen, at Princess Charlotte’s christening
– 2020s
The Queen and the royal family at the Commonwealth Day service – the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s final official engagement before Megxit
The Queen leaves Buckingham Palace in March 2020 to socially distance herself at Windsor Castle amid the coronavirus pandemic
The Queen appears on a screen by video-link from Windsor during a virtual audience in December 2020
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