May 31st in History

1433 - Sigismund is crowned Emperor of Rome

1859 - In London, Big Ben went into operation.

1879 - New York's Madison Square Garden opened.

1884 - Dr. John Harvey Kellogg patented "flaked cereal." 

1889 - In Johnstown, Pennsylvania more than 2,200 people died after the South Fork Dam collapsed.

1900 - U.S. troops arrived in Peking to help put down the Boxer Rebellion

1902 - The Boer War ended between the Boers of South Africa and Great Britain with the Treaty of Vereeniging.

1907 - The first taxis arrived in New York City. They were the first in the United States.

1909 - The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) held its first conference.

1910 - The Union of South Africa was founded. 

1915 - A German zeppelin made an air raid on London. 

1947 - Communists seized control of Hungary. 

1955 - The U.S. Supreme Court ordered that all states must end racial segregation "with all deliberate speed." 

1961 - South Africa became an independent republic.

1979 - Zimbabwe proclaimed its independence. 

Famous Birthdays:

1701 - Alexander Cruden, Author of the early Bible.

1819 - Walt Whitman, Poet, essayist, journalist, humanist

1923 - Prince Rainier III, Prince of Monaco

1930 - Clint Eastwood, Actor

1938 - Peter Yarrow, Musician

1943 -  Joe Namath, American footballer 

1948 - John Bonham, Musician (Led Zeppelin)

1950 - Gregory Harrison, Actor

1960 - Chris Elliot, Comedian

1965 - Brooke Shields, Actress

1976 - Colin Farrell, Actor

1981 - Jake Peavy, Baseball player

Important dates in History

These are some of the most important dates in World history:

323 BC - Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) built an empire from Greece to India before dying of natural causes at age 33

221 BC - Shih Huang Ti (259-210 BC), known as the “First Emperor” unified China for the first time. During his Chin Dynasty (221-210 BC), he initiated a centralized government, conducted a census and standardized the country's currency, written language, laws, and weights & measures. He also began constructing the Great Wall of China.

March 15, 44 BC - Julius Caesar (102-44 BC) was assassinated by disgruntled colleagues after establishing the Roman Empire.

325 AD - Emperor Constantine (280-337 AD) embraced Christianity and initiated the Council of Nicaea where the differences between Eastern & Western factions of the Christian Church were resolved. The Council drafted the Nicene Creed, the basic Christian beliefs that became the dominant religion in Europe.

476 AD - Last Roman Emperor, Romulus Augustulus (?-476 AD) taken prisoner at Ravenna in 476 AD by German King Odovacar, ending 505 years of the Roman Empire. 

July 16, 622 - Mohammed (570-632) while meditating near Mecca in 610 AD, had visions from Allah to write the Koran

December 25, 800 - Charlemagne (742-814) unified most of Europe under his rule. While attending Mass in Rome, he was unexpectedly crowned “Emperor of the Romans” by Pope Leo III.

October 14, 1066 - William of Normandy (1027-1087) crossed the English Channel from France and defeated British King Harold II (1027-1066) at the Battle of Hastings.  

June 15, 1215 - At Runnymede, King John of England (1167-1216) signed the Magna Carta, a 63-part document of human rights that became the foundation of the English legal system. 

October 12, 1492 - Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) set sail on September 6, 1492 from Castille, Spain with three ships— the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria.

October 31, 1517 - Martin Luther (1483-1546) nailed to the door of Wittenberg Cathedral “95 Theses Against the Sale of Indulgences” detailing the abuses of the Roman Church. This act marked the beginning of the Protestant Reformation in Germany. 

1687 - Isaac Newton (1643-1727) published the Principia where he developed the three laws of motion, demonstrated the structure of the universe, the movement of the planets, and calculated the mass of the heavenly bodies. 

July 4, 1776 - The 13 colonies in America met in Philadelphia to sign their Declaration of Independence, declaring themselves free of British rule and taxation. 

July 14, 1789 - The French middle class stormed the Bastille, capturing the royal fortress in Paris, and starting the French Revolution. 

May 18, 1804 - Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) lifted the crown from the Pope's hands and crowned himself Emperor at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.  

June 19, 1815 - Napoleon defeated at Waterloo by Duke Wellington and was exiled to St. Helena where he died on May 8, 1821. 

April 12, 1861 - The Confederacy attacked an US Army post at Fort Sumter, starting the American Civil War. The four-year war resulted in the death of 364,511 Union troops & 133,821 Confederates. 

April 15, 1865 - President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) assassinated at Ford's Theater, Washington DC, by John Wilkes Booth only six days after the end of the Civil War. 

December 17, 1903 - Wilbur Wright (1867-1912) & Orville Wright (1871-1948) made the first heavier-than-air flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, as their biplane Wright Flyer remained in the air for 12 seconds covering 120 feet 

June 23, 1914 - Archduke Franz Ferdinand (1863-1914) assassinated in Sarajevo by Bosnian Serbs initiating World War I 

November 7, 1917 - Kerenky's Constitutional Democrats that was set up after the abdication of Czar Nicholas on March 2, 1917, was toppled in a bloody coup on November 7, 1917 by the Bolsheviks under Nikolai Lenin (1870-1924). 

October 29, 1929 - New York Stock Market crashed on Black Tuesday where stocks tumbled across the board. It was the most disastrous trading day in the stock market's history. Billions of dollars in open market values were wiped out. 

September 1, 1939 - Germany invaded Poland overrunning it in four weeks. Britain & France declared war on Germany two days later. 

December 7, 1941 - Japan attacks Pearl Harbor by surprise. United States enters World War II. 

June 6, 1944 - Allied Invasion of Normandy on D-Day. 2.9 million Allied troops, 15,000 planes, and 5000 ships were mobilized in crossing the English Channel to land on the beaches of Normandy. Paris was liberated from German rule on August 25 and Brussels on September 2 

September 3, 1945 - After the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima (August 6) and Nagasaki (August 9), Japan officially surrendered on August 15, and formally on September 3 when the signing took place aboard the U.S. battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay 

October 1, 1949 - Chinese Communist Chairman Mao Tse-Tung (1893-1976) declared his country the People's Republic of China after defeating Chiang Kai-Shek's Kuomingtang forces who fled to Taiwan.

April 12, 1961 - Soviet Union's Yuri A. Gagarin (1934-1968) became the first man to complete an orbit of Earth.  

July 20, 1969 - Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the Moon. 

November 1989 - German people attacked the Berlin Wall, chipping it with hammers and bashing it with rocks until the wall came tumbling down. On October 3, 1990, the German Democratic Republic ceased to exist, and the first unified German elections in 58 years were held in December 1990.

October 1990 - Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web while working at CERN, the European Particle Physics Laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland. 

May 30th in History

1416 - Jerome of Prague was burned as heretic by the Church. 


1431 - Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc) is burned at the stake in Rouen, France aged 19.


1539 - Hernando de Soto, Spanish explorer, landed in Florida with 600 soldiers in search of gold.


1814 - The first Treaty of Paris was declared which returned France to its 1792 borders. 


1854 - The US territories of Nebraska and Kansas were established. 


1896 - The first automobile accident occurred in New York.


1913 - The first Balkan War ended.


1943 - American forces secured the Aleutian island of Attu from the Japanese during World War II.


Famous Birthdays: 


1672 - Peter I (Peter the Great), Emperor of Russia.


1916 - Joseph W. Kennedy, Scientist, Co-discoverer of Plutonium. 


1943 - Gale Sayers, American footballer 


1964 - Tom Morello, Musician (Rage Against the Machine)


1974 - Thomas DeCarlo Callaway "Cee-Lo Green", Musician

The Pyramid of Power

Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for structuring society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.

In simple terms in medieval Europe there was several ranks on society: This can be best explained using a pyramid

.

Peasants

On the bottom of the pyramid/society were the peasants. These were generally poor farmers who worked on the lands of nobles or the King. Their lives were controlled by the farming year. Certain jobs had to be done at certain times of the year. Their lives were harsh but there were few rebellions due to a harsh system of law and order. had to obey their local lord to whom they had sworn an oath of obedience on the Bible. Because they had sworn an oath to their lord, it was taken for granted that they had sworn a similar oath to the duke, earl or baron who owned that lord’s property.

The one thing the peasant had to do in Medieval times was to pay out money in taxes or rent. He had to pay rent for his land to his lord; he had to pay a tax to the church called a tithe. This was a tax on all of the farm produce he had produced in that year. A tithe was 10% of the value of what he had farmed. 

Peasants also had to work for free on church land. This was highly inconvenient as this time could have been used by the peasant to work on their own land. However, the power of the church was such that no-one dared break this rule as they had been taught from a very early age that God would see their sins and punish them.

The Domesday Book(William I ordered the book and was completed in 1086) meant that the King knew how much tax you owed and you could not argue with this – hence why it brought ‘doom and gloom’ to people.
After you had paid your taxes, you could keep what was left – which would not be a great deal. If you had to give away seeds for the next growing season, this could be especially hard as you might end up with not having enough to grow let alone to feed yourself.

Peasants lived in cruck houses. These had a wooden frame onto which was plastered wattle and daub. This was a mixture of mud, straw and manure. The straw added insulation to the wall while the manure was considered good for binding the whole mixture together and giving it strength. The mixture was left to dry in the sun and formed what was a strong building material. 

At night, any animal you owned would be brought inside for safety. There were a number of reasons for this.

• Wild animals roamed the countryside - wolves and bears in the forests and these could easily have taken a pig, cow or chickens. The loss of any animal could be a disaster but the loss of valuable animals such as an ox would be a calamity. 
• They could also have been stolen or simply have wandered off. 
• This would have brought fleas, and unhygienic conditions.

Knights

The knight was one of three types of fighting men during the middle ages: Knights, Foot Soldiers, and Archers. e was covered in multiple layers of armor, and could plow through foot soldiers standing in his way. No single foot soldier or archer could stand up to any one knight. Knights were also generally the wealthiest of the three types of soldiers. This was for a good reason. It was terribly expensive to be a knight. The war horse alone could cost the equivalent of a small airplane. Armor, shields, and weapons were also very expensive. Becoming a knight was part of the feudal agreement. In return for military service, the knight received a fief. In the late middle ages, many prospective knights began to pay "shield money" to their lord so that they wouldn't have to serve in the king's army. The money was then used to create a professional army that was paid and supported by the king. These knights often fought more for pillaging than for army wages. When they captured a city, they were allowed to ransack it, stealing goods and valuables. 

There are two stages before becoming a Knight:

1. Page - A boy would spend 7 years as a page serving others and continue to learn manners, courtesy, loyalty and religion. A page had many duties and often assisted knights with their armour and horses. Pages also played battle games, learning some of the techniques that they would later need as knights.
2. Squire - When a page successfully completed his duties and reached the age of 14 or 15, he was promoted to a new title, a squire. A squire was more like an apprentice. A squire received hands-on training. He was taught everything he needed to know to become a knight later on. He was heavily instructed on battle techniques and performed scrimmages with other squires. After a few years, squires went to battle with their assigned knights and even took over fighting if the knight was injured.
3. Knight - Once a squire proved himself worthy of becoming a knight, a ceremony was held. The squire was knighted, finally reaching the last stage in his journey. He became responsible for upholding honour and all that he was taught. He also had to bravely fight in all battles that were assigned to him. Eventually he was responsible for training other squires on how to become a knight.

A Knight's Armour

Nobles 
The nobles of the Middle Ages were fierce and proud people. They had high-sounding titles, such as Duke, Count, or Baron, which their ancestors had received from the King in return for services they had done on the battlefield or in council. All the land which did not belong to the church they owned, and they looked down on the poor laboring peasants who lived on their estates as hardly better than cattle. Not all of them indeed were cruel or wicked, but they believed that their "gentle blood" made them far superior to other people. The chief business of the nobles was war, and their amusements were warlike games and hunting. They lived in great fortified buildings called castles, generally set on some steep hill so that the enemy could not easily reach them. In early times the castles were only "stockades" of logs, but later they were made of stone and, as men learned more and more about building, they came to be great structures with massive, walls, huge towers, and frowning battlements. A ditch filled with water (moat) which could be crossed only by a drawbridge gave still further protection.

King

The King during the Early Middle Ages was in law (de jure) supreme. No-one would dare question his authority. In many cases the King's word was final. Some King's would have advisor's who would assist the King in making his decisions. These would be mainly Bishops, Dukes and Lords. Some nobles did not like that the King was supreme. In England, the Barons of King John  made the King sign the Magna Carta in 1215. This charter reduced the power of the King and gave more power to the nobles and the "common people"

King John of England - A Medieval King

The Normans

The Normans (French: Normands) were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They are descended from the Vikings of Frank. They emerged during the 10th century.
 They played a major political, military, and cultural role in medieval Europe. They are famed for their martial spirit and Christian mysticism(piety). 


The Benedictine Monk Goffredo (Geoffrey) Malaterra described the Normans as "eager after both gain and dominion" and "a race skillful in flattery given to the study of eloquence, so that the very boys were orators, a race altogether unbridled unless held firmly down by the yoke of justice.


Normandy
The  Duchy of Normandy was established in the mid 10th century by Rollo or Robert I (First Duke of Normandy, 846-931) It was founded in the former kingdom of Neustria. The pagan culture was substituted by the Christian faith and Gallo-Romance Language of the local people. The small groups of Vikings that settled there adopted the language and culture of the French majority into their own customs to create the Norman culture.
During the Norman period Feudalism was being adopted across Europe including the Normans. This system was hierarchical with a King and Queen, Lords and Lady's, Knights and peasants. In Norman society Knights were poor and land hungry. By 1066, Normandy had been exporting fighting horsemen for more than a generation. Knighthood before the time of the Crusades held little social status, and simply indicated a professional warrior wealthy enough to own a war horse.

Rollo,  1st Duke of Normandy

Conquest

The Normans are renowned for there conquest achievements. Normans first began a conquer of   Mezzogiorno or Southern Italy in 1017. They eventually captured Sicily and Malta from the Moslem Saracens, under the famous Robert Guiscard, a Hauteville, and his young brother Roger the Great Count. Roger's son, Roger II, who was crowned king in 1130 (exactly one century after Rainulf was "crowned" count) by Pope Anacletus II. The kingdom of Sicily lasted until 1194, when it fell to the Hohenstaufens through marriage.

Soon after the Normans first began to enter Italy, they entered the Byzantine Empire(Eastern Roman empire), and then Armenia against the Pechenegs, Bulgars, and especially Seljuk Turks. 

The famous Norman conquest in history was the conquest of England. The Normans were in contact with England from an early date. This relationship eventually produced closer ties of blood through the marriage of Emma, sister of Duke Richard II of Normandy, and King Ethelred II of England.  Ethelred fled to Normandy in 1013, when he was forced from his kingdom by Sweyn Forkbeard. His stay in Normandy (until 1016) influenced him and his sons by Emma, who stayed in Normandy after Cnut the Great's conquest of the isle.  Edward the Confessor returned from his father's refuge in 1041, at the invitation of his half-brother Harthacnut, he brought with him a Norman-educated mind. He also brought many Norman counsellors and fighters, some of whom established an English cavalry force. This concept never really took root, but it is a typical example of the attitudes of Edward. He appointed Robert of Jumièges archbishop of Canterbury and made Ralph the Timid earl of Hereford. He invited his brother-in-law Eustace II, Count of Boulogne to his court in 1051, an event which resulted in the greatest of early conflicts between Saxon and Norman and ultimately resulted in the exile of Earl Godwin of Wessex. 

In 1066, Duke William II of Normandy conquered England killing King Harold II at the Battle of Hastings. The invading Normans and their descendants replaced the Anglo-Saxons as the ruling class of England. The nobility of England were part of a single French-speaking culture and many had lands on both sides of the channel. Early Norman kings of England were, as Dukes of Normandy, vassals to the King of France.

Eventually, the Normans merged with the natives, combining languages and traditions. In the course of the Hundred Years' War, the Norman aristocracy often identified themselves as English. The Anglo-Norman language became distinct from the French language, something that was the subject of some humour by Geoffrey Chaucer. The Anglo-Norman language was eventually absorbed into the Anglo-Saxon language of their subjects and influenced it, helping (along with the Norse language of the earlier Anglo-Norse settlers and the Latin used by the church) the development of Middle English which would gain much vocabulary of French origin.

William the Conqueror invades England

In Ireland, The Normans had a profound effect on Irish culture and history after their invasion at Bannow Bay in 1169. They merged Norman and Irish culture and were said to be "more Irish than the Irish themselves". The Normans settled mostly in an area in the east of Ireland, later known as the Pale, and also built many fine castles and settlements. 

In Scotland one of the claimants of the English throne opposing William the Conqueror, Edgar Atheling, eventually fled to Scotland. King Malcolm III of Scotland married Edgar's sister Margaret, and came into opposition to William who had already disputed Scotland's southern borders. William invaded Scotland in 1072, riding as far as Abernethy where he met up with his fleet of ships. Malcolm submitted, paid homage to William and surrendered his son Duncan as a hostage, beginning a series of arguments as to whether the Scottish Crown owed allegiance to the King of England. 

In Wales, before the Norman Conquest of England, the Normans had come into contact with Wales. Edward the Confessor had set up the aforementioned Ralph as earl of Hereford and charged him with defending the Marches and warring with the Welsh. In these original ventures, the Normans failed to make any headway into Wales.  Normans began a long period of slow conquest during which almost all of Wales was at some point subject to Norman interference. 

Culture

The Normans have many great examples or architecture. They spread a unique Romanesque idiom to England and Italy and the encastellation of these regions with keeps in their north French style fundamentally altered the military landscape. Their style was characterised by rounded arches (particularly over windows and doorways) and massive proportions. One of the most splendid  examles of Norman architecture is the Tower of London, home of the British Crown Jewels:

Tower of London

William I (the Conqueror) the facts!

• Claimed the throne by killing his enemy Harold II(last Saxon King of England) who was killed by an arrow in his eye.
• The battle of Hastings lasted about a day, they even took a break for lunch!
• Reigned 1066-1087, first monarch of the Kingdom of  England
• Crowned on Christmas day in Westminster Abbey 
• William once was so fat he fell off his horse!
• Died aged 60
• So fat he was buried in a square, metal coffin
• His tomb was often raided, all that remains is his femur! 
• Buried in Normandy

William the Conqueror

May 29th in History

1453 - Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, ending the Byzantine Empire.

1660 - Charles II was restored to the English throne after then Puritan Commonwealth.

1721 - South Carolina was formally incorporated as a Royal Colony.

1848 - Wisconsin became the 30th state to join the United States.

1916 - The official flag of the President of the United States is adopted.

1916 - US forces invade the Dominican Republic and remain until 1924.

1922 - Ecuador became independent.

Famous Birthdays:

1630 - King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland.

1736 - Patrick Henry,Prominent figure in the American Revolution.

1903 - Bob Hope, Comedian

1917 - John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 35th President of United States

1950 - Rebbie Jackson, Singer (The Jacksons)

1956 - LaToya Jackson, Singer

1967 - Noel Gallagher, Musician

Who were the Vikings?

Who were the Vikings? The term Viking comes from the old Norse and is used to refer to Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, sailed the seas and explored new lands across Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic.  The period of the Vikings lasted from the 8th to the mid 11th century AD. 
One of the Vikings claim to fame is their longships. A long ship is  characterised as a graceful, long, narrow, light wooden boat with a shallow draft hull designed for speed. A typical longship could travel about 5-10 knots (9-19 km/h)

Typical Longship

Vikings originated from Scandinavia(Denmark, Norway Sweden) but were also located in Finland and Iceland.  Why did they venture from their homelands? Was it the cold weather? Maybe! There have been many theories put forward to why they left home. Some historians believe Vikings left home to search for a more fertile land as Scandinavian  land was of poor quality. Some historians believe Vikings left home for a thirst for wealth hence raiding of monasteries, abbeys and churches. Or maybe a group of Vikings got lost and ended up in England?! It is not quite certain why they left but all of the above theories may be results.

Scandinavia 

Viking were pagans who worshipped a variety of Gods and Goddesses. Central to their religion were two groups of gods, the Aesir and the Vanir. The gods lived in Asgard, a kingdom that was connected to mortal Earth(known as Midgard) by a rainbow bridge known as Bifrost.  The pantheon included Odin, the primary god, Thor, the hammer-wielding god of thunder and Frajya the goddess of fertility and beauty.There were also evil giants, dark elves and dwarves. The gods were destined to fight against the giants and evil forces in a battle known as Ragnarok. Norse prophecy predicted that the gods would lose this battle, allowing Asgard, Midgard and the entire universe to collapse into darkness and chaos. They later converted to Christianity. 
Warriors who died nobly could end up in Valhalla, a sort of warrior heaven where everyone gets to fight alongside Odin, die and feast and do it all again the next day. They were escorted to Valhalla by Valkyrie, a sort of warrior angels who assisted Odin. Viking society was patriarchal with women holding no power. 
When wealthy or powerful Vikings died, their body may have been cremated on a longship along with their possessions, or may have been entombed in a narrow, large earthen chamber. In either case, pets and sometimes slaves were sacrificed and buried or cremated along with their master. There is some evidence that Vikings offered ritual human sacrifices in religious ceremonies. 

Viking warrior 

Once Vikings had developed their longships it was not long afterwards that they began exploring new lands.  The majority of Vikings sailed down western Europe but have explored Asia and the North Atlantic. The Vikings first began to explore and raid Scotland, England and Ireland. The first Viking raid was in 793 AD when they raided Lindisfarne monastery in Northumberland off the north east coast of England. They also arrived in the Shetlands, Orkney's, the Hebrides  and the Isle of Man. The Vikings first arrived in Ireland in 795 AD when they raided Rathlin Island. During this period of Irish history, Ireland was known as the Isle of Saints and scholars. The many monasteries possessed many riches. The Vikings soon began raiding and pillaging  the rich monasteries across Ireland. They soon settled across Ireland, England, Scotland, France and Spain. Some Vikings discovered new lands. Eirik the Raude better known as "Eric the Red" discovered Greenland. It is believed he may have been the first European to discover America but did not reach land. 

Eric the Red

 Viking facts:

• Vikings drank out of their enemy's skulls (when they killed them!) 
• They did NOT have horned helmets.
• They dyed there clothes and hair.
• There version of hell is ice, not flames.
• They had a strong economy.
• Some of modern English is derived from old Norse, e.g  love is derived from lufu meaning affection. 
• They were the first to use magnetic compasses.   

May 28th in History

585 BC - The Persian-Lydian Battle ended.

1533 - English Archbishop Thomas Cranmer declared the marriage of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn  valid.

1774 - The first Continental Congress convened in Virginia.

1805 -  Napoleon is crowned in Milan, Italy.

1900 - Britain annexed the Orange Free State.

1918 - Azerbaijan - in Russian Caucasus, declared independent.

1926 - Portuguese General  da Costa  took over in a coup.

1940 - Belgium surrender to Germany.

1961 - Amnesty International was founded.

Famous Birthdays:

1660 - George I of Great Britain and Ireland.

1779 - Thomas Moore, Lawyer Philosopher and author.

1888 - Jim Thorpe, Olympic Athlete and Basketball player

1908 - Ian Fleming, Author and creator of James Bond.

1968 - Kylie Minogue, Musician.

1970 - Morgon Fox, Model and actress.





  

Queen Elizabeth II the Diamond Queen

Young Queen Elizabeth

2012 marks the Diamond Jubilee of HM Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth nations. It was on February 6th 1952 that the then Princess Elizabeth had learned of the death of her father George VI. The 25 year old Princess was now Queen  regnant.

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born on Wednesday, April 26th 1926 in London. She was the eldest daughter of Prince Albert, Duke of York(later became King George VI) and  his wife Elizabeth, Duchess of York(later became Queen Elizabeth). Her only sibling was Princess Margaret who was born on August 21st 1930. Both Elizabeth and Margaret were both educated privately

She was born third in line to the throne. It was not until her uncle Edward VIII abdicated in 1936 that she became heiress presumptive of the throne. When her father became King she inherited the title Her Royal Highness the Princess Elizabeth.

World War II started in September 1939. Until Christmas 1939, Elizabeth and Margaret stayed at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. They then moved onto Sandringham House. It was later suggested that they moved to Canada but Queen Elizabeth insisted that "they wont go without me, I won't leave the King. And the King will never leave". For the remainder of the war the girls stayed in Windsor Castle as their parents remained in Buckingham Palace.

Her first address was at the age of 14 when she spoke on BBC Children's hour. At the age of 16 the Princess began the first of her royal duties.

The Princess met Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark in 1934.  It would not be for some time until they became engaged in in 1946. Prince Philip asked the King for his daughter's hand in marriage. The King granted permission for the engagement. The engagement was officially announced on July 9th, 1947. They were married on November 20th 1947 in Westminster Abbey.

After the war the Kings health deteriorated. Some say his health decline was due to the war. The Princess took on many of his duties. While Princess Elizabeth and Prince Phillip were on a royal tour of Australia and New Zealand by way on Kenya news reached of the Kings  death. The Princess was now Queen. She was asked what her regal name would be where she simply replied "Elizabeth of course". The new Queen returned to London where she was proclaimed Queen.

Under normal tradition there was a period of mourning for the deceased King. Over 18 months later on June 3rd 1953 she was formally crowned Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and commonwealth nations. It was the first time TV was allowed to present a coronation.

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh have four children: Prince Charles(Prince of Wales and heir to the throne), Princess Anne(The Princess Royal) Prince Andrew(Duke of York) and Prince Edward(Earl of Wessex)

In 1977 Her Majesty celebrated her Silver Jubilee(25 years on the throne). Many celebrations took place through out the Kingdom.  Later in 1981 six shots were fired at her from close range while on horseback. IT was  discovered that three shots were blank. In 1992(40th year of her reign) the Queen declared it an annus horribilis (horrible year) In this year Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales separated. Fire also damaged much of Windsor Castle.

In 2002 her sister Margaret died in February aged 71. Six weeks later her mother Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother died aged 101. It is this year she celebrated the 50th year of her ascension to the throne. This year (2012) she celebrates 60 years on the throne. Currently she is Britain's second longest reigning monarch. The Queen must surpass Queen Victoria who reigned for 63 years and 216 days. Queen Elizabeth could become the longest reigning monarch on September 10th 2015.

The Diamond Queen

Other facts on Queen Elizabeth II:

• First Prime Minister: Sir Winston Churchill
• First US President: Dwight D. Eisenhower
• First Pope: HH Pope Pius XVII
• Her nickname was "Lilibet"
• She does not require a passport or driving licence 
• She has visited over 129 countries