h, and she was educated privately at home.

Her father acceded to the throne on

the abdication of his brother King Edward VIII in 1936, from which time she was the heir
presumptive. She began to undertake public duties during the Second World War, serving in
the Auxiliary Territorial Service. In 1947, she married Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, a
former prince of Greece and Denmark, with whom she has four children: Charles, Prince of
Wales; Anne, Princess Royal; Prince Andrew, Duke of York; and Prince Edward, Earl of
Wessex.

When her father died in February 1952, Elizabeth became head of the
Commonwealth and queen regnant of seven independent Commonwealth countries:
the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon.
She has reigned as a constitutional monarch through major political changes, such
as devolution in the United Kingdom, Canadian patriation, and thedecolonisation of Africa.
Between 1956 and 1992, the number of her realms varied as territories gained
independence, and as realms, including South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon (renamed Sri
Lanka), became republics. Her many historic visits and meetings include a state visit to the
Republic of Ireland and visits to or from five popes. Significant events have included
her coronation in 1953and the celebrations of her Silver, Golden, and Diamond Jubilees in
1977, 2002, and 2012, respectively. In 2017, she became the first British monarch to reach
a Sapphire Jubilee. She is the longest-lived and longest-reigning British monarch as well as
the world'slongest-serving female head of state, oldest living monarch, longest-reigning
current monarch, and the oldest and longest-serving current head of state.

Elizabeth has occasionally faced republican sentiments and press criticism of the royal
family, in particular after the breakdown of her children's marriages, her annus horribilis in
1992 and the death in 1997 of her former daughter-in-law Diana, Princess of Wales.
However, in the United Kingdom support for the monarchy has been and remains
consistently high, as does her personal popularity.

Contents

 1Early life
 2Heiress presumptive
o 2.1Second World War
o 2.2Marriage
 3Reign
o 3.1Accession and coronation
o 3.2Continuing evolution of the Commonwealth
o 3.3Acceleration of decolonisation
o 3.4Silver Jubilee
o 3.51980s
o 3.61990s
 o 3.7Golden Jubilee
o 3.8Diamond Jubilee and longevity
 4Public perception and character
o 4.1Finances
 5Titles, styles, honours and arms
o 5.1Titles and styles
o 5.2Arms
 6Issue
 7Ancestry
 8See also
 9Notes
 10References
 11Bibliography
 12External links

Early life

On the cover of Timemagazine, April 1929

Elizabeth was born at 02:40 (GMT) on 21 April 1926, during the reign of her paternal
grandfather, King George V. Her father, the Duke of York (later King George VI), was the
second son of the King. Her mother, the Duchess of York (later Queen Elizabeth The Queen
Mother), was the youngest daughter of Scottish aristocrat the Earl of Strathmore and
Kinghorne. She was delivered by Caesarean section at her maternal grandfather's London
house: 17 Bruton Street, Mayfair.[4] She was baptised by the Anglican Archbishop of
York, Cosmo Gordon Lang, in the private chapel of Buckingham Palace on 29 May,[5][c] and
named Elizabeth after her mother; Alexandra after George V's mother, who had died six
months earlier; and Mary after her paternal grandmother.[7] Called "Lilibet" by her close
family,[8] based on what she called herself at first,[9] she was cherished by her grandfather
George V, and during his serious illness in 1929 her regular visits were credited in the
popular press and by later biographers with raising his spirits and aiding his recovery.[10]

Portrait by Philip de László, 1933

Elizabeth's only sibling, Princess Margaret, was born in 1930. The two princesses were
educated at home under the supervision of their mother and their governess, Marion
Crawford.[11] Lessons concentrated on history, language, literature, and music.[12] Crawford
published a biography of Elizabeth and Margaret's childhood years entitled The Little
Princesses in 1950, much to the dismay of the royal family.[13] The book describes
Elizabeth's love of horses and dogs, her orderliness, and her attitude of
responsibility.[14] Others echoed such observations: Winston Churchilldescribed Elizabeth
when she was two as "a character. She has an air of authority and reflectiveness
astonishing in an infant."[15] Her cousinMargaret Rhodes described her as "a jolly little girl,
but fundamentally sensible and well-behaved".[16]

Heiress presumptive
During her grandfather's reign, Elizabeth was third in the line of succession to the British
throne, behind her uncle Edward and her father. Although her birth generated public interest
she was not expected to become queen, as Edward was still young, and likely to marry and
have children of his own, who would precede Elizabeth in the line of succession.[17] When her
grandfather died in 1936 and her uncle succeeded as Edward VIII, she became second in
line to the throne, after her father. Later that year, Edward abdicated, after his proposed
marriage to divorced socialite Wallis Simpson provoked a constitutional
crisis.[18] Consequently, Elizabeth's father became king, and she became heir presumptive. If
her parents had had a later son, he would have been heir apparent and above her in the line
of succession, which was determined by male-preference primogeniture.[19]

Elizabeth received private tuition in constitutional history from Henry Marten, Vice-
Provost of Eton College,[20] and learned French from a succession of native-speaking
governesses.[21] A Girl Guides company, the 1st Buckingham Palace Company, was formed
specifically so she could socialise with girls her own age.[22] Later, she was enrolled as a Sea
Ranger.[21]

In 1939, Elizabeth's parents toured Canada and the United States. As in 1927, when they
had toured Australia and New Zealand, Elizabeth remained in Britain, since her father
thought her too young to undertake public tours.[23] She "looked tearful" as her parents
departed.[24] They corresponded regularly,[24] and she and her parents made the first
royal transatlantic telephone call on 18 May.[23]
Second World War
In Auxiliary Territorial Serviceuniform, April 1945

In September 1939, Britain entered the Second World War. Lord Hailsham[25] suggested that
Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret should beevacuated to Canada to avoid the
frequent aerial bombing. This was rejected by their mother, who declared, "The children
won't go without me. I won't leave without the King. And the King will never leave."[26] The
princesses stayed at Balmoral Castle, Scotland, until Christmas 1939, when they moved
to Sandringham House, Norfolk.[27] From February to May 1940, they lived at Royal Lodge,
Windsor, until moving to Windsor Castle, where they lived for most of the next five
years.[28] At Windsor, the princesses staged pantomimes at Christmas in aid of the Queen's
Wool Fund, which bought yarn to knit into military garments.[29] In 1940, the 14-year-old
Elizabeth made her first radio broadcast during the BBC's Children's Hour, addressing other
children who had been evacuated from the cities.[30] She stated: "We are trying to do all we
can to help our gallant sailors, soldiers and airmen, and we are trying, too, to bear our share
of the danger and sadness of war. We know, every one of us, that in the end all will be
well."[30]

In 1943, Elizabeth undertook her first solo public appearance on a visit to the Grenadier
Guards, of which she had been appointed colonel the previous year.[31] As she approached
her 18th birthday, parliament changed the law so she could act as one of five Counsellors of
State in the event of her father's incapacity or absence abroad, such as his visit to Italy in
July 1944.[32] In February 1945, she was appointed as an honorary second subaltern in
the Auxiliary Territorial Service with the service number of 230873.[33] She trained as a driver
and mechanic and was given the rank of honorary junior commander (female equivalent
of captain at the time) five months later.[34][35][36]

Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (French: [mak.si.mi.ljɛ̃ fʁɑ̃.swa ma.ʁi

i.zi.dɔʁ də ʁɔ.bɛs.pjɛʁ]; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and politician who
was one of the best-known and most influential figures of the French Revolution. As a
member of the Constituent Assembly and the Jacobin Club, he campaigned for universal
manhood suffrage,[1] and the abolition both of celibacy for the clergy and of slavery.
Robespierre was an outspoken advocate for the citizens without a voice, for their
unrestricted admission to the National Guard, to public offices, and for the right to carry arms
in self-defence.[2][3][4] He played an important part in the agitation which brought about the fall
of the French monarchy in August 1792 and the summoning of a National Convention.[5]

As one of the leading members of the insurrectionary Paris Commune, Robespierre was
elected as a deputy to the French Convention in early September 1792, but was soon
criticised for trying to establish either a triumvirate or a dictatorship. In Spring 1793, after the
treason of Dumouriez, he urged the creation of a "Sans-culotte army" to sweep away any
 conspirator. In July he was appointed as a member of the powerful Committee of Public
Safety.[6]

Robespierre is best known for his role during the "Reign of Terror", during which he exerted
his influence to suppress the Girondinsto the right, the Hébertists to the left and the
Dantonists in the centre. Robespierre was eventually brought down by his obsession with
the vision of an ideal republic and his indifference to the human costs of installing it. [7] The
Terror ended with Robespierre's arrest on 9 Thermidor and his execution on the day after,
events that initiated a period known as the Thermidorian Reaction.[8]

Robespierre's personal responsibility for the excesses of the Terror remains the subject of
intense debate among historians of the French Revolution.[9][10] For some, Robespierre was
the incarnation of Terror during Year II (of the French Revolutionary calendar); for others, he
was its principal ideologist and embodies the country's first democratic experience, marked
by the French Constitution of 1793.[11]

Contents

 1Early life
 2Early politics
 3Jacobin Club
 4Opposition to war with Austria
 5The insurrectionary Commune of Paris
 6The National Convention
o 6.1Execution of Louis XVI
o 6.2Destruction of the Girondists
 7Reign of Terror
o 7.1The "enemy within"
 8Abolition of slavery
 9Cult of the Supreme Being
 10Downfall
o 10.1Arrest
o 10.2Execution
 11Legacy and memory
 12Notes
 13References
 14Sources
 15Further reading
 16External links

Early life[edit]
Maximilien de Robespierre was born in Arras in the old French province of Artois. His family
has been traced back to the 15th century in Vaudricourt, Pas-de-Calais; one of his ancestors
Robert de Robespierre worked as a notary in Carvin mid 17th century.[12] His paternal
grandfather, also named Maximilien de Robespierre, established himself in Arras as a
lawyer. His father, François Maximilien Barthélémy de Robespierre, was a lawyer at
the Conseil d'Artois and married the pregnant Jacqueline Marguerite Carrault, the daughter
of a brewer. Maximilien was the eldest of four children and was conceived out of wedlock.
His siblings were Charlotte (1760–1834),[a] Henriette (1761–1780),[b] and Augustin (1763–
1794).[13][14]

Early in July 1764, Madame de Robespierre gave birth to a stillborn daughter; she died
twelve days later, at the age of 29. Devastated by his wife's death, François de Robespierre
left Arras around 1767 and travelled throughout Europe until his death, in Munich on 6
November 1777. His two daughters were brought up by their paternal aunts, and his two
sons were taken in by their maternal grandparents.[15] Already literate at age eight,
Maximilien started attending the collège of Arras (middle school).[16][17] In October 1769, on
the recommendation of the bishop Hilaire de Conzié, he received a scholarship at
the Collège Louis-le-Grand. His fellow pupils included Camille Desmoulins and Stanislas
Fréron. In school, he learned to admire the idealised Roman Republic and the rhetoric
of Cicero, Cato and other figures from classical history. He also studied the works of the
Genevan philosophe Jean-Jacques Rousseau and was attracted to many ideas, written in
his "Contrat Social". Robespierre became intrigued by the idea of a "virtuous self", a man
who stands alone accompanied only by his conscience.[18] His study of the classics prompted
him to aspire to Roman virtues, but he sought to emulate Rousseau in
particular.[19] Robespierre's conception of revolutionary virtue and his programme for
constructing political sovereignty out of direct democracy came from
Rousseau, Montesquieu and Mably.[20]Robespierre studied law for three years at
the University of Paris. Upon his graduation on 31 July 1780, he received a special prize of
600 livres for exemplary academic success and personal good conduct.[21]

Early politics[edit]

The house where Robespierre lived between 1787–1789, now on Rue Maximilien de Robespierre
On 15 May 1781 Robespierre was admitted to the bar. The Bishop of Arras, Hilaire de
Conzié, appointed him as one of the five judges in the criminal court in March 1782.
Robespierre soon resigned, owing to discomfort in ruling on capital cases arising from his
early opposition to the death penalty.[18] Robespierre never had many cases. The most
famous was in May 1783 about a lightning rod in St. Omer. His defense was printed and
Robespierre sent Benjamin Franklin a copy.[22]

On 15 November 1783, he was elected a member of the literary Academy of Arras.[23] In

1784 the Academy of Metz awarded him a medal for his essay on the question of
whether the relatives of a condemned criminal should share his disgrace, which made him
aman of letters.[24] He and Pierre Louis de Lacretelle, an advocate and journalist in Paris,
divided the prize. Robespierre attacked inequality before the law, the indignity of natural
children, the lettres de cachet (getting arrested without a trial) and the sidelining of women
(Kéralio) in academic life.[25] In 1787 he became acquainted with the young officer and
engineer Lazare Carnot and the year after with the teacher Joseph Fouché.[26] Robespierre
claimed to have seen Rousseau in Ermenonville, shortly before he died.[27][28]

In August 1788 King Louis XVI announced new elections for all provinces and a gathering of
the Estates-General for 1 May 1789 to solve France's financial and taxation problems.
Robespierre took part in a discussion of how the French provincial government should be
elected, arguing in hisAddresse à la nation artésienne, 'Address to the

Elizabeth (far left) on the balcony ofBuckingham Palace with her family andWinston Churchill on 8
May 1945,Victory in Europe Day

At the end of the war in Europe, on Victory in Europe Day, Elizabeth and Margaret mingled
anonymously with the celebratory crowds in the streets of London. Elizabeth later said in a
rare interview, "We asked my parents if we could go out and see for ourselves. I remember
we were terrified of being recognised ... I remember lines of unknown people linking arms
and walking down Whitehall, all of us just swept along on a tide of happiness and relief."[37]

During the war, plans were drawn up to quell Welsh nationalism by affiliating Elizabeth more
closely with Wales. Proposals, such as appointing her Constable of Caernarfon Castle or a
patron of Urdd Gobaith Cymru (the Welsh League of Youth), were abandoned for several
reasons, including fear of associating Elizabeth with conscientious objectors in the Urdd at a
time when Britain was at war.[38] Welsh politicians suggested she be made Princess of
Wales on her 18th birthday. Home Secretary, Herbert Morrison supported the idea, but the
King rejected it because he felt such a title belonged solely to the wife of a Prince of Wales
and the Prince of Wales had always been the heir apparent.[39] In 1946, she was inducted
into the Welsh Gorsedd of Bards at the National Eisteddfod of Wales.[40]
Princess Elizabeth went in 1947 on her first overseas tour, accompanying her parents
through souther