Queen Elizabeth II: A timeline of her reign
From Queen Elizabeth II's coronation to palace break ins and her 'Annus Horribilis' here are some of the key moments throughout her reign:
Her father's death
The then Princess Elizabeth learned she would become Queen following her father's death on February 6, 1952.
King George VI had been in ill health but despite advice from those closest to him, he waved his daughter off as she embarked on a royal tour six days before.
It was widely reported Elizabeth heard the news while staying at Treetops Hotel in Kenya.
But it later came to light she was 20 miles away at a fishing village known as Sagana when the King was discovered to have died in his sleep at Sandringham.
Her Coronation
At the time of her Coronation at Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953, Queen Elizabeth II was 25 years old.
She was already married to the Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip and they had a son, Prince Charles, and daughter, Princess Anne.
Prince Andrew came along in 1960 and Prince Edward was born in 1964.
Threats and scandals
Lord Mountbatten murder
On August 27, 1979, Lord Louis Mountbatten, great-uncle of the Queen's husband Prince Philip, was killed in an IRA terror attack near his Irish summer home.
His 14-year-old grandson Nicholas Knatchbull, Paul Maxwell, a 15-year-old crew member, and his daughter's mother-in-law, the Dowager Lady Brabourne, also died in the atrocity.
IRA member Thomas McMahon was later jailed for 19 years for the killings.
Queen's 'fantasy assassination'
On June 13, 1981, the Queen herself had a dangerous encounter when a teenager shot a gun at her during the Trooping the Colour to mark her official birthday.
Luckily, it turned out to only fire blanks and 17-year-old Marcus Sarjeant was jailed for five years after pleading guilty to a charge under the Treason Act.
Buckingham Palace break in
July 9, 1982 become known as one of the worst royal security breaches in the 20th century when a man broke into Buckingham Palace and entered the Queen's bedroom.
Michael Fagan scaled the 14ft high wall and shimmied up a drainpipe to get inside through an unlocked window but was able to wander round as numerous alarms failed.
He told police he ate cheese and crackers and drank wine before the Queen saw him and called police.
Fagan could not be charged as it was a civil rather than criminal offence at the time and spent six months in a psychiatric hospital.
The Queen's 'Annus Horribilis'
1992 was not a year the Queen looked back on fondly as she famously revealed in a public speech.
It was the year three of her children split from their partners; Prince Charles separated from Princess Diana, later divorcing in 1996, the Duke of York divorced his wife Sarah Ferguson and her daughter Anne divorced husband Captain Mark Phillips.
Part of Windsor Castle also caught fire and several priceless artifacts were lost.
Diana's death
When Princess Diana died in a car crash with her partner Dodi Fayed on August 31, 1997, it triggered national mourning.
However, the Queen was initially criticised for staying silent for a week and not returning to London from Balmoral immediately.
She later gave a speech in which she said: "Diana was an exceptional and gifted human being. I admired and respected her and no one who knew her will ever forget her."
Key moments in the 21st century
On February 9, 2002, the Queen's younger sister Princess Margaret died from a stroke at the age of 71.
Seven weeks later on March 30, 2002, The Queen Mother, the last Empress of India, passed away at the age of 101.
Despite the Queen objecting to the relationship between Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles for years, the pair finally married in 2005.
Prince William married Kate Middleton on April 29, 2011 marking the start of a new chapter for the modern royal family.
On July 22, 2013 William and Kate announced the birth of first child Prince George.
Nearly two years later on May 2, 2015 his sister Princess Charlotte was born.