Elizabeth II has been the United Kingdom ' s reigning monarch since 1952. She was proclaimed queen on 6 February 1952 following the death of her father, George VI; she was formally crowned the next year, on 2 June 1953. Her husband, Prince Philip, comes from the royal family of Greece and was created Duke of Edinburgh prior to their wedding on 20 November 1947. Elizabeth Philip had four children: Charles (b. 1948), Anne (b. 1950), Andrew (b. 1960) Edward (b. 1964); as the eldest, Prince Charles is heir to the throne