1917
17 July: The House of Windsor (previously the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha) is created by Royal Proclamation
1923
18 January: Prince Albert (Bertie), the Duke of York, announces his engagement to Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, daughter of the Earl of Strathmore
26 April: Prince Albert and Lady Elizabeth are married in Westminster Abbey, the first senior royal to do so since 1382
21 April: Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor is born at 2.40 a.m. at her parent’s home in 17 Bruton Street
29 May: The young princess is christened. She cries throughout the ceremony
1930
21 August: Elizabeth’s sister, Princess Margaret Rose, is born
1936
20 January: George V (‘Grandpa England’) dies. Edward VIII becomes King
10 December: Edward VIII signs the Instrument of Abdication
11 December: Bertie, the Duke of York, is formally proclaimed King George VI. Princess Elizabeth is now heiress presumptive
1937
12 May: Coronation of George VI at Westminster Abbey
1939
21 April: Princess Elizabeth celebrates her thirteenth birthday, and soon begins a demanding course of study under the Vice-Provost of Eton College
22 July: Princes Elizabeth meets and falls in love with Cadet Captain Philip of Greece at the Royal Dartmouth Naval College
3 September: Britain declares war on Germany
1945
4 March: Princess Elizabeth joins the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS)
8 May: VE Day
1947
10 July: Buckingham Palace officially announces the engagement of Princess Elizabeth to Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten
20 November: Elizabeth marries Philip (now known as the Duke of Edinburgh) at Westminster Abbey
1948
14 November: Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, is born
1950
15 August: Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, is born
31 January: Elizabeth and Philip leave for a tour of East Africa, Australia and New Zealand
1952
6 February: George VI dies and Elizabeth II succeeds to the throne
15 February: Funeral of George VI at St George’s Chapel, Westminster Abbey
7 April: Proclamation issued declaring that the family’s dynastic surname would remain ‘Windsor’
1953
2 June: Coronation of Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey
24 November: The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh embark on a tour of the Commonwealth
1954
15 May: The royal couple return to England, after six months abroad
1955
31 October: Princess Margaret releases a statement confirming that she will not marry Group Captain Peter Townsend
1960
19 February: Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, is born
1964
10 March: Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex, is born
1969
21 June: First broadcast of the Royal Family documentary
1977
7 June: The Queen’s Silver Jubilee celebrates her 25 years on the throne
1979
27 August: Lord Louis Mountbatten is killed by an IRA bomb off the coast of Sligo in the west of Ireland
1981
24 February: Elizabeth’s eldest son, Prince Charles, announces his engagement to Lady Diana Spencer
29 July: Charles and Diana marry in St Paul’s Cathedral
1982
21 June: Diana gives birth to Prince William
1984
15 September: Diana gives birth to Prince Harry
1992
7 June: The first instalment of the serialization of Andrew Motion’s book, Diana: Her True Story, appears in the The Sunday Times
20 November: Windsor Castle is partly destroyed by fire
9 December: Prime Minister, John Major announces in the House of Commons that Charles and Diana are to separate
1996
28 August: Charles and Diana’s marriage is dissolved in the High Court
1997
31 August: Diana dies in a car crash in Paris
2002
9 Feb: Elizabeth’s sister, Princess Margaret, dies
30 March: Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother dies
30 April: Elizabeth officially launches her Golden Jubilee celebrations with a speech to both houses of parliament
2005
9 April: Elizabeth’s eldest son, Prince Charles, marries his second wife, Camilla Parker-Bowles in a civil ceremony at the Guildhall in the town of Windsor. Despite initial opposition to the relationship, the Queen has since come to accept her new daughter-in-law, and was in attendance at the service of blessing held for the couple at St George’s Chapel.
2006
21 April: Elizabeth celebrates her eightieth birthday.
2011
29 April: Prince William, Elizabeth’s grandson and second in line to the throne, marries Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey.
2012
6 February: The sixtieth anniversary of the death of George VI, and of Elizabeth’s ascension to the throne.
2–5 June: Various events take place throughout the United Kingdom to celebrate Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee.