▲Queen Elizabeth presents the trophy to American tennis player Althea Gibson—the first black athlete to cross the color line of international tennis—at the Women's Singles final at Wimbledon.

▲Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret enjoy horse racing at the Epsom Derby.

▲Queen Elizabeth inspects the Royal West African Frontier Force in Nigeria.

▲On the balcony of Government House in Melbourne, Australia. In 1953, the Queen and Prince Philip embarked on a seven-month, round-the-world tour, visiting 13 countries.

▲Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret at the unveiling of the memorial to American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1948. Later that year, Princess Elizabeth would give birth to her first child, Charles.

▲The royal couple is given a tour of the Ottawa Public Archives in 1951.

▲Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip smile as US President Harry S. Truman pauses during a speech in 1951.

▲Members of the Girl Scouts meet Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip outside the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

▲Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret at Waterloo Station in London. At the outbreak of war in 1939, the two young royals went to stay at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, and later at Sandringham House in Norfolk.

▲Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip clearly engrossed in an ice hockey game in Montreal.

▲Arriving at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada.

▲The young Queen meets an injured serviceman in Australia.

▲Queen Elizabeth disembarks the Royal Barge at Westminster Pier in London in 1954.

▲During the Australian leg of their tour, Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh are greeted by the Hon. Thomas Playford upon their arrival for a State Banquet at Parliament House.

▲Queen Elizabeth inspects a Guard of Honour at Prince's Wharf, Tasmania in Australia. She was the first reigning monarch of Australia and New Zealand to actually set foot in these countries.

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Enjoying the first day of the Royal Windsor Horse Show in 1947 with the Duchess of Beaufort and Princess Margaret.

▲Princess Elizabeth alongside Winston Churchill at the opening of the International Youth Centre in Chigwell, Essex in England.

▲Queen Elizabeth meets actress Claire Bloom and producer Sir Alexander Korda.

▲In 1950, the future queen became a mother for the second time with the arrival of Princess Anne.

▲Princess Elizabeth holds her baby daughter Princess Anne after her christening. Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary look on proudly.

▲Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret with Queen Elizabeth and pet dogs in June 1936, in the garden of the Royal Lodge in Windsor. Many years later, Queen Elizabeth II would keep corgis, her favorite dog breed.

▲Prince Charles as a newborn in his crib in 1949.

▲While on tour in Kenya in April 1952, word arrived of the King's death. The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II took place on June 2, 1953.

▲Princess Elizabeth wipes baby Anne's face in an unguarded moment caught by the camera.

▲At Niagara Falls during the royal couple's tour of Canada. Note the respectable distance kept by the press corps.

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Pictured with her husband and two children in a car. Queen Elizabeth II would give birth to Andrew in 1960 and Edward in 1964.

▲The royal couple smile across the aisle at the Royal Horse Show in 1949.

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The year also saw her engagement to Prince Philip, born into Greek and Danish royal families. The royal couple married in London's Westminster Abbey.

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Princess Elizabeth was born on April 21, 1926, and ascended the British throne on February 6, 1952, at just 25 years of age, to become Queen Elizabeth II. Alongside her royal duties, she was a wife of over 70 years and a mother to four. Her Royal Highness managed to successfully fulfill her inherited responsibilities for 70 years, making her the longest-reigning British monarch. Sadly, she passed away on September 8, 2022, when she was 96 years old.

In honor of the late monarch, browse this gallery and take a look back at the early days of her life, captured in these fascinating historical photos.