Feb. 1952 - Princess Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip, set out on a tour of Africa and Asia in place of her ailing father King George VI. George dies on Feb. 6.
June 2, 1953 - Queen Elizabeth is crowned at Westminster Abbey in the first televised coronation service.
1960 - The queen gives birth to her third child, Andrew. Her eldest son, Charles, was born in 1948 and Anne in 1950. The queen has her last child, Edward in 1964.
1973 - The queen's only daughter, Princess Anne, marries Captain Mark Phillips. They divorce in 1992.
1977 - The queen marks her Silver Jubilee with a tour of Commonwealth countries and lavish celebrations in Britain.
July 29, 1981 - Prince Charles marries Lady Diana Spencer in a glittering ceremony. They divorce in 1996.
June 21, 1982 - A son, Prince William, is born to Charles and Diana on June 21. Prince Harry is born two years later.
July 23, 1986 - Andrew marries publishing executive Sarah Ferguson, known as "Fergie".
1992 - Her 40th year on the throne, which the queen calls her 'annus horribilis' (horrible year), is marked by marital upsets and public dissent. Andrew and Sarah separate. Anne divorces Mark Phillips. Photos of a topless Sarah kissing her "financial adviser", Texan John Bryan, cause a furore.
-- In November, Windsor Castle is badly damaged by fire.
-- In December, Charles and Diana announce their separation. Charles and Diana are divorced in August 1996.
Aug. 31, 1997 - Diana and her millionaire companion Dodi Al Fayed are killed when their car crashes while being chased through Paris by paparazzi on motorcycles. In November, large crowds greet the queen and Philip as they mark their golden wedding anniversary.
2002 - The queen marks the 50th anniversary of her accession on Feb. 6.
Feb. 9 - The queen's sister, Princess Margaret, dies at the age of 71 after a life of glamour and heartbreak.
March 30 - Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother dies at Windsor Castle aged 101.
June 1-4 - Four days of nationwide celebrations mark the queen's Golden Jubilee.
April 8, 2005 - Charles announces he will marry his long-time lover Camilla Parker Bowles at Windsor Castle.
May 3, 2007 - The Queen arrives in the United States to mark the 400th anniversary, on May 14, 1607, of Virginia Company explorers landing on Jamestown Island to establish an English colony on the banks of the James River.
Nov. 19 - The queen and the Duke of Edinburgh mark their 60th wedding anniversary.
Oct. 14, 2010 - The Queen cancels a planned Christmas party at Buckingham Palace after deciding it would be inappropriate to celebrate as Britons feel the pinch from the economic crisis.
April 29, 2011 - Prince William and Kate Middleton marry Westminster Abbey in a sumptuous show of British pageantry that attracted a huge world audience and breathed new life into the monarchy.
May 20, 2011 - Large crowds cheer Elizabeth on the fourth and last day of a historic visit to Ireland, the first by a British monarch to the Republic of Ireland since independence from London in 1921. The queen laid a wreath to those who died fighting the British crown. In a speech to the Irish nation, she expressed sympathy to those who suffered during hundreds of years of conflict between the two neighbours.
March 20, 2012 - The Queen addresses parliament in Westminster Hall to celebrate her 60 years and re-dedicates herself to serving her people.
June 3-5 - Queen and the nation celebrates the diamond jubilee over three days which includes a pageant on the river Thames.
- Reuters
source: gmanetwork.com
