Queen Elizabeth II, who was the United Kingdom’s longest-ruling monarch, died on Sept. 8, 2022. She first ascended to the throne in 1952 when she was only 25 years old, and died over half a century later at the age of 96 with her family by her side. Elizabeth was the first daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother and reigned over the UK because her father’s brother, King Edward VIII, forfeited the crown to marry an American, Wallis Spencer, in 1936, per Time.
Queen Elizabeth welcomed four kids with her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who sadly died in 2021 at the age of 99. Together, they have over a dozen grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Learn about Queen Elizabeth’s family and their line of succession below.
Queen Elizabeth’s Grandparents
Queen Elizabeth’s paternal grandparents are King George V of the House of Windsor and Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes, better known as Mary of Teck. Mary was originally engaged to Prince Albert Victor, George’s older brother, but moved on to George once Albert died from the flu, as reported by iNews. George, who was born on June 3, 1865, reigned over England between 1910 and 1936. He had six children: five boys and one girl, according to Britannica.
On her maternal side was Scottish-born Claude Bowes-Lyon, known as Lord Glamis, 14th and 1st Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, respectively. His wife was Cecilia Bowes-Lyon. The pair had 10 children.
Queen Elizabeth’s Parents
As noted above, Queen Elizabeth was born to of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. George VI was born on Dec. 14, 1895, according to Treemily, while his wife was welcomed into the world on Aug. 4, 1900. They welcomed two daughters together: Elizabeth, who was born on April 21, 1926, and Margaret, who was born on Aug. 21, 1930. Elizabeth and Margaret were quite close growing up, although the press often pitted the two against each other and painted Margaret as the troublemaker. “When my sister and I were growing up, she was made out to be the goody-goody one. That was boring so the press tried to make out that I was wicked as hell,” she said in the 1996 biography of Queen Elizabeth, titled The Queen.
George VI reigned over England from 1936 until 1952 and was well-liked after he served during World War I.
Queen Elizabeth’s Children
King Charles, formerly known as the Prince of Wales, is the eldest child of Elizabeth and Philip and was born on Nov. 14, 1948. Although Charles’ two children he shared with the late Princess Diana, Prince William and Prince Harry, are almost always in the news in some way, Charles rarely stirs up headlines. However, the same cannot be said about when he was married to Diana and up until her death in 1997 due to the extramarital affair he enjoyed with Camilla Parker Bowles throughout his marriage. Despite the drama, he continued to loyally serve the queen and fulfill his obligations as a member of the British royal family and will continue to do so as the King of England.
Anne, Princess Royal is the second child of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. She was born on Aug. 15, 1950, and is 16th in the line of succession. She has two kids from her marriage to Mark Phillips: Zara Phillips and Peter Phillips. The pair were wed between 1973 and 1992. She then married Timothy Laurence in 1992, months after her divorce from Mark was finalized.
Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, is the third child of Elizabeth and Philp and was born on Feb. 19, 1960. He married Sarah Ferguson in 1986 and had two daughters with her: Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. Their union ended shortly after Diana and Charles’ in 1996. Andrew has remained out of the public eye since 2019 when Virginia Giuffre accused him of sexually assaulting her in connection to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He and the royal family denied the allegations, but Andrew resigned from his royal duties and has kept a low profile since.
Lastly, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, was born on March 10, 1964. He married Sophie Rhys-Jones in 1999 and they had two children together: Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn.
Queen Elizabeth’s Grandchildren
As mentioned above, Queen Elizabeth had eight grandchildren between her four children: Prince William and Prince Harry from King Charles, Zara Phillips and Peter Phillips from Anne, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie from Prince Andrew, and Lady Louise Windsor and James and Viscount Severn from Prince Edward. Her most famous grandchildren, of course, are Prince William and Prince Harry. The brothers grew up super close, but Harry’s decision to step down as a senior member of the royal family and move to California has put serious tension between the brothers. However, they did come together for their grandfather’s funeral in April 2021 and to celebrate their grandmother’s groundbreaking Platinum Jubilee.
Before the jubilee, a source told the UK outlet Mirror that the brothers were being proactive in repairing their fractured relationship. “The brothers needed time for everything to settle down,” the insider noted. “The family, including William, had been disappointed in the way Harry and Meghan chose to leave the royal family. But now there is a strong feeling that what happened is in the past and that they have moved on.”
Queen Elizabeth’s Great-Grandchildren
Queen Elizabeth II had 12 great-grandchildren from her eight grandchildren. Her eldest great-grandchild is 11-year-old Savannah Phillips. She is the first daughter of Peter Phillips and his ex-wife, Autumn Kelly. Savannah’s younger sister is 10-year-old Isla Phillips. The third-eldest great-grandchild of the queen is Prince William and Kate Middleton‘s son, Prince George. He is 9 years old and is the brother to Princess Charlotte, 7, and Prince Louis, 4. Mia Tindall, 8, is the fourth-eldest great-grandchild in the royal family and is the daughter of Zara and former rugby player, Mike Tindall. Mia has a 3-year-old sister, Lena, and a 1-year-old brother, Lucas.
Lucas has a one-year-old relative, Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, who celebrated her first birthday in England and met her great-grandmother for the first time. Of course, her older brother is 3-year-old Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. They are the children of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Finally, Princess Beatrice has a nearly 1-year-old baby girl, Sienna Elizabeth Mapelli Mozzi, with her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, and Princess Eugenie has a 1-year-old son, August Philip Hawke Brooksbank, with her husband Jack Brooksbank.
Line Of Succession
With so many children and grandchildren, it may be difficult to keep track of who’s next in line for the throne after Charles, who started his role as king once Queen Elizabeth II passed. Many rules determine the line of succession, and now that Charles is king, the line has changed so that his children and grandchildren are at the top. Therefore, those who now directly follow Charles, in order, are his first son Prince William and his three kids in order of birth, George, Charlotte, and Louis of Cambridge, and his second-born son Harry and his two kids in order of birth, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor and Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor.
The tradition of a younger male sibling superseding an older female sibling in the line of succession was ended in 2013 via the Succession to the Crown Act, according to Good Morning America, which is why William’s and Harry’s children are listed by age. However, the new rule applies to royal babies born after Oct. 28, 2011, which is why Prince Andrew is still ahead of his older sister Anne on the list.
Behind 1-year-old Lilibet is Prince Andrew, his first daughter, Beatrice, and Beatrice’s daughter, Sienna. They take up the eighth, ninth, and 10th spots in line. Sienna’s aunt, Eugenie, follows her, and her son, August, is up next. Queen Elizabeth II’s youngest son, Prince Edward, and his children, James and Lady Louise, follow. Anne, the only daughter of Elizabeth, falls behind her siblings and is 16th in line. Her son, Peter, follows. Peter’s kids, Savannah and Isla, are behind him, while Peter’s sister, Zara, comes after. She is 20th in line and her kids, Mia, Lena, and Lucas, fill in the last three spots on the list.