A life in pictures: Queen Elizabeth marks 95th birthday four days after husband Philip’s funeral

Decade by decade: how the queen grew into life on the throne

Queen Elizabeth II meeting attendees during a reception for delegates of the Global Investment Conference at Windsor Castle in October 2021. PA

Queen Elizabeth during her annual Commonwealth Day Message in St George's Hall at Windsor in March 2021. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth speaks with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry during a flypast to mark the centenary of the Royal Air Force from the balcony of Buckingham Palace in July 2018. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth II tours Queen Mother Square in October 2016 in Poundbury, Dorset. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth watches the Trooping the Colour to mark her 90th Birthday in 2016 with Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Charles, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte, Prince George, Prince William, Prince Harry, and Prince Philip. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip wave to guests attending "The Patron's Lunch" celebrations for The Queen's 90th birthday on The Mall in June 2016. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth is pictured next to a floral exhibit at Chelsea Flower Show in 2016. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth makes a speech during the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth stands with US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama during their visit to the UK in 2011. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth is escorted by her grandson Prince William during a visit to RAF Valley where Prince William was stationed in 2011. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth looks on as she opens the refurbished East Wing of Somerset House in 2011. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth sits in the Regency Room at Buckingham Palace as she looks at some of the cards which have been sent to her for her 80th birthday in 2006. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth meets the Spice Girls at The Victoria Palace Theatre in 1997. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip review tributes to the late Princess Diana outside Buckingham Palace in 1997. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth celebrates the Queen Mother's 90th birthday with Prince Edward, Princess Diana, Prince Charles And Princess Margaret outside Clarence House in 1990. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth sits with Princess Diana after Prince William's christening ceremony in 1982. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth sits with US President Ronald Reagan at a gala dinner at Windsor Castle in 1982. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth greets the crowds outside St Paul's Cathedral during her Silver Jubilee in 1977. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip visit a farm on the Balmoral estate in Scotland, during their Silver Wedding anniversary year, in 1972. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles travel in an open top car in Avignon during a state visit to France, in 1972. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth smiles during a picture-taking session in the salon at Sandringham House in 1970. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth during a visit to New Zealand in 1970. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth is surrounded by school children at a children's playground in Sydney during a Commonwealth visit to Australia in 1963. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Mother with a young Prince Charles at Princess Margaret's wedding at Westminster Abbey in 1960. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth while watching Prince Philip play cricket in Hampshire in 1958. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth during her coronation ceremony in Westminster Abbey in June 1953. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip wearing formal dress as they attend a concert at Festival Hall in 1951. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth at Epsom Downs Racecourse with King George VI, the Queen Mother and Bernard Fitzalan-Howard, 16th Duke of Norfolk, in 1948. Getty Images

Members of the British royal family on the balcony at Buckingham Palace after the wedding of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip in November 1947. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth as 'Prince Florziel' posing with another actress in the Christmas production of 'Cinderella' at Windsor Castle in 1941. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth makes her first broadcast, accompanied by her younger sister Princess Margaret, in 1940. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret standing together on the train platform as they see off their parents, King George VI and the Queen Mother, at Waterloo Station in 1939. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth seated between her grandfather King George V and grandmother Queen Mary of Teck as they ride in a carriage back to Balmoral Castle in 1935. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth watches members of a pipe band play in the grounds of Glamis Castle in 1929. Getty Images

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II turned 95 on Wednesday, less than a week after the funeral for her husband, raising questions about how long her reign will continue.
The combination of Prince Philip's funeral and her birthday highlights that her reign – already the country's longest at 68 years – is finite but certainly not over.
Since 2013, the queen has passed more responsibilities to Prince Charles and as she closes in on her centenary, others such as Prince William and Kate, the Duke and the Duchess of Cambridge, could take on additional duties.
"The queen is certainly moving now into the twilight of her reign and a new phase of her reign," said Anna Whitelock, director of the Centre for the Study of Modern Monarchy at the University of London.

"She now is a widow and it remains to be seen how she’s going to respond to that."

She is marking her birthday in low-key fashion at Windsor Castle with some family members expected to join her.

In a letter written on Windsor Castle notepaper she acknowledged the "support and kindness" shown to her from around the world.

"I have, on the occasion of my 95th birthday today, received many messages of good wishes, which I very much appreciate.

"While as a family we are in a period of great sadness, it has been a comfort to us all to see and to hear the tributes paid to my husband, from those within the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and around the world.

"My family and I would like to thank you all for the support and kindness shown to us in recent days."

UAE President Sheikh Khalifa, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, all sent birthday messages congratulating the queen.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was also one of many people to send best wishes to the monarch.
"I have always had the highest admiration for Her Majesty and her service to this country and the Commonwealth," Johnson said on Twitter. "I am proud to serve as her prime minister."

Royal supporters saw Philip's death as a symbol of national unity but the BBC received more than 100,000 complaints about its decision to drop scheduled programmes – across TV, radio and online – for coverage of Prince Philip’s funeral.

By the time he queen was crowned on June 12, 1953, after the death of King George VI, Philip had been her husband for five years.

She has seen 14 British prime ministers take power, was the first British royal woman to serve full-time in the military and is credited with the creation of the dorgi, a corgi dachshund crossbreed.

Without the man she called her "strength and stay", she will continue, but there will be changes – a point illustrated at the funeral when she sat alone during the service.
"Symbolically, the transition towards the succession is already under way," historian Ed Owens said.
"I anticipate that we're going to see a lot more of Prince Charles in the next couple of years so that we, as a people, start to see him in his future role as king."

Questions about the end of the queen’s reign will also fuel debate over the long-term future of the British monarchy.