Prime News Ghana

Queen Elizabeth turns 91 today

By Jeffrey Owusu-Mensah
Queen Elizbeth
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The Queen of the United Kingdom, Elizabeth II is celebrating her 91st birthday today, Friday 21 April.

Born in London as Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, she ascended the throne on  February 6, 1952 after the death of her father King George VI.

She also Head of the Commonwealth and Queen of countries including Canada, Australia, New Zealand Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis, many of whom gained their independence during her reign.

The longest reigning monarch began to undertake public duties during the Second World War, serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. In 1947, she married Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, a former prince of Greece and Denmark, with whom she has four children: Charles, Prince of Wales; Anne, Princess Royal; Prince Andrew, Duke of York; and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.

Queen Elizabeth II visited Ghana in 1961 four years after the West African country gained independence from British colonial rule.

The Queen, who shies away from the media, is expected to have a low-key celebration at the Buckingham Palace.