Queen Elizabeth II: How long has the Queen been on the throne and how old was the Queen when she became Queen?

Here’s all you need to know about how the Queen took the throne and how long she has been ruling.

As the Platinum Jubilee comes closer and celebrations begin to get underway to celebrate the anniversary of the Queen taking the throne, it’s time to look back through the decades to the events that led to Princess Elizabeth becoming Her Majesty The Queen.

Princess ‘Lilibet’, as she was affectionately known among family, was not the heir when she was born, but actions from her uncle set her on the path to the Crown. Here’s what you need to know about how long the Queen has been on the throne and the events leading to her coronation.

How old was the Queen when she became Queen?

The Queen was born on April 21st, 1926 and ascended to the throne 1952. Her coronation took place on June 2nd, 1953, although King George died over a year previously on February 6th, 1952. That made her 27 years old when she was crowned queen after her father’s death, although she was 25 years old when he died.

She is the longest-reigning monarch, having overtaken her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria’s record of 63 years and 216 days in 2015, and only the sixth woman to ever ascend to the British throne.

The Queen has been largely popular throughout her reign and spent the early years of her reign modernising the Crown’s image, including moving the Queen's Speech to television for the first time in 1957.

The Queen is the longest reigning monarch in British history. Photo: Scott Heppell - WPA Pool/Getty Images.

How long has the Queen been on the throne?

As she’s celebrating her Platinum Jubilee this year, that means the Queen has been on the throne for seventy years.

It was never suspected that Princess Elizabeth would take the throne, as the child of Prince Albert, Duke of York, who was the younger son of King George V. The throne was assumed to go to the Queen’s uncle, King Edward VIII.

The Royal Coach carrying the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh as it approached Admiralty Arch on the way to the Abbey on Coronation day. Photo: Harry Shepherd/Fox Photos/Getty Images.

However, King Edward abdicated in order to marry an American divorcée, Wallis Simpson, who was not deemed an appropriate wife for a king. As he didn’t have any children, the throne went to his younger brother, the Queen’s father.

Prince Albert became King George VI, making the then-Princess Elizabeth the heir to the throne.