Elizabeth the Queen (81 page)

Prince Edward and his wife Sophie Rhys-Jones—the Earl and Countess of Wessex—in the carriage procession after their wedding in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, June 19, 1999.
Tim Graham/Getty Images

“Lucian had a whale of a time with the Queen. They talked about racing and horses.”

Elizabeth II having her portrait painted by Lucian Freud in the Friary Court Studio at St. James’s Palace, 2001.
David Dawson, courtesy of Hazlitt Holland-Hibbert

“The happy couple are now in the winners’ enclosure,” the Queen declared
.

Prince Charles after his marriage to Camilla Parker Bowles, the Duchess of Cornwall, with the Queen outside St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, April 9, 2005.
Bob Collier/Press Association Images

“She gave me a look only a mother could give a child.”

President George W. Bush winking at Queen Elizabeth II during a welcoming ceremony on the White House lawn, May 7, 2007, after he mistakenly recalled her visit to the United States in 1776 rather than 1976.
Anwar Hussein/EMPICS/Press Association Images

At the heart of the celebration was the infectious joy of a young man and woman who both loved and understood each other
.

The wedding of Prince William and his bride, Catherine Middleton, now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, at Westminster Abbey, April 29, 2011.
Ian Jones Photography

The Queen signaled her approval with
an almost imperceptible nod
.

The bride and groom bowing and curtsying to Queen Elizabeth II following their marriage service.
Kirsty Wigglesworth/Press Association Images

“Does that mean that you will have to be the next Queen?”
“Yes, someday,” Elizabeth replied. “Poor you,” said Margaret
.

Newly crowned King George VI and Queen Elizabeth on the Buckingham Palace balcony with the King’s mother, Queen Mary (
center
); Princess Elizabeth, the heiress presumptive (
left
); and her sister, Princess Margaret (
right
), May 12, 1937.
Fox Photos/Getty Images

She learned to drive a three-ton truck in heavy London traffic, change wheels and spark plugs, understand the workings of ignition systems, bleed brakes, and strip down engines
.

The heiress presumptive as Second Subaltern Elizabeth Alexander Mary Windsor during her mechanical transport training for the Auxiliary Territorial Service, 1945.
Photograph by the Imperial War Museum, Camera Press London

“I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service.”

Princess Elizabeth giving her twenty-first birthday speech in Cape Town, South Africa, April 21, 1947.
Associated Press

“I pray that God will help me to discharge worthily this heavy task that has been lain upon me so early in my life.”