Personal flag of Queen Elizabeth II

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  Elizabeth II

  of the United Kingdom

Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; born 21 April 1926) is the Queen regnant of sixteen independent sovereign states known

informally as the Commonwealth realms:

the United Kingdom,

Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu,

Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.

She holds each crown

separately and equally in a shared monarchy, as well as acting

as Head of the Commonwealth, and Supreme Governor of the Church

of England.

As a constitutional monarch, she is politically neutral and by convention her role is largely ceremonial.

When Elizabeth was born, the British Empire was a pre-eminent world power, but its influence declined, particularly after World War II, and the empire evolved into the modern Commonwealth of Nations.

Her father, George VI, was the last Emperor of India. On his death in 1952, Elizabeth became Head of the Commonwealth, and queen of seven independent Commonwealth countries:

the United Kingdom,

Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon, later renamed Sri Lanka.

During her reign, which at 57 years is one of the longest for a British monarch, she became queen of 25 other countries within the Commonwealth as they gained independence from Britain.

She has been the sovereign of 32 individual nations, half of which later became republics.

Elizabeth married Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in 1947. The couple have four children and eight grandchildren.

Flag of the City of London

Ttels and Styles

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Elizabeth has held titles throughout her life, as a granddaughter of the monarch, as a daughter of the monarch, through her husband's titles, and eventually as Sovereign. In common practice, she is The Queen or Her Majesty. Officially,

she has a distinct title in each of her realms: Queen of Canada in Canada, Queen of Australia in Australia, etc. In the Channel Islands and Isle of Man, which are Crown dependencies rather than separate realms, she is known

as Duke of Normandy and Lord of Man respectively. Additional styles include Defender of the Faith and Duke of Lancaster. When in conversation with the Queen, the practice is to initially address her as Your Majesty and thereafter

as Ma'am (to rhyme with "ham").

Elizabeth has received honours and awards from countries around the world,

and has held honorary military positions throughout the Commonwealth,

both before and after her accession.

Arms

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From 21 April 1944, Elizabeth's arms consisted of a lozenge bearing

the royal coat of arms, differenced with a label of three points argent, the centre bearing a Tudor Rose and the first and third a cross of St George. After her accession as Sovereign, she adopted the royal coat of arms undifferenced. The design of the shield is also used on the Royal Standard of the United Kingdom. Elizabeth has personal flags for use in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, and elsewhere.

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Personal flag of Queen Elizabeth II under Creative Common Licence