Elizabeth II

Rather like the first Queen Elizabeth, the current Queen was born unlikely to take the throne. As the granddaughter of George V, she was always a princess but as the child of his second son, Albert, it would have taken an extraordinary event to push her into the line of succession. That extraordinary event took place in 1936 when Edward VIII, George V’s elder son, abdicated, passing the throne to his brother. Albert – now George VI – ruled for 16 years before his death in 1952 passed the throne on again to Elizabeth. Again, like the first Elizabeth, her reign has seen amazing advances – the conquest of Everest, the moon landings, the birth of the internet and more. Her record currently stands at 61 years and 336 and if she survives until next September, she will take the lead as the longest-serving British monarch ever.