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The Queen is already Britain's longest-lived monarch and the world's oldest-serving sovereign. Last year she broke her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria's record of 63
years, seven months and two days on the throne. But she was never expected to rule until a dramatic turn of events. As the eldest daughter of the king's second son, Prince Albert (later
to be King George VI), she was destined for a life of relative privacy and calm. However, the 1936 abdication of her uncle, Edward VIII, after a reign of only 325 days, put her at the
forefront of succession. When she became Queen at the age of 25, Stalin was still leader of the USSR and Truman President of the US. The globe-trotting monarch has visited over 116
countries and hosted hundreds of engagements. The Queen might already be setting her sights on another record down the line as she turns 90 next year. Come 6th February, 2022, the monarch
would become the first British monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee. Royal historian Hugo Vickers said: "You have to be a certain age to remember a time when she wasn't the
queen. "She has given this country an extraordinarily subtle and quiet stability."
