The millions are breaking down in tears as they watch the end of a historical era with the demise of Queen Elizabeth II, who was the longest reigning monarch in Britain's history. She breathed her last at Balmoral Castle, one of her favourite residences, on Thursday at the age of 96. She reigned Britain and other Commonwealth realms for seventy years, surpassing Queen Victoria. 

During her reign, Elizabeth travelled through a mixture of joyous and tumultuous times and there was nothing that left her eyes or knowledge during her rule. Ascended to the throne at the age of 26, Elizabeth stood as a towering monarch and witnessed personal divisions to global disputes. 

Her life travelled through the wave of the second world war, the fight for Indian independence and under her reign, she witnessed the end of the Vietnam war, the fall of the Berlin wall, successful space explorations, shocking terrorist attacks, assassinations of various leaders, women ascending to power, a nuclear disaster, and for the first time in her life, she experienced how a pandemic can impact the world. 

Let's take a look at the timeline of her life and the major events that happened during her reign,

• April 21, 1926 - The Queen was born Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor in Mayfair, London.
• December 11, 1936 - She became heir apparent at the age of 10 after her uncle Edward VIII abdicated his role and her father George VI became king. 
• November 20, 1947 - She married navy lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, a Greek prince, at London's Westminster Abbey. Philip then became the Duke of Edinburgh. 
• November 14, 1948 - Prince Charles, who is now King Charles III, is born. 
• August 15, 1950 - Elizabeth's second child and only daughter, Anne, is born. 
• February 1952 - When Elizabeth and Philip were in Kenya, the news of her father's death reaches her on February 6 and she has become the first sovereign in more than 200 years to accede to the throne while abroad. 
• June 2, 1953- Her coronation service was held at Westminster Abbey during which she was crowned as Queen. It was the first royal ceremony to get televised and 20 million people from across the world watched it. 
• November 24, 1953 - Queen Elizabeth II begins her first Commonwealth tour. She visited several countries including Australia, Fiji, Bermuda, Tonga, and Gibraltar. 

• February 19, 1960 - Elizabeth's third child, Prince Andrew is born. 
• March 10, 1964 - She gave birth to her fourth child, Prince Edward.  
• May 1965 - Queen Elizabeth II makes a historic visit to West Germany, the first German visit by a British Monarch in 52 years. 
• 1977- The Queen celebrates her Silver Jubilee after marking 25 years on the throne. 
• 1981 - The Queen's eldest son Prince Charles married Diana Spencer and the couple gave birth to two sons- Prince William and Prince Harry.
• 1991 - The Queen tours the United States and becomes the first monarch to address the US Congress. 
• 1992 - Her 40th year on the throne, which she called 'annus horribilis' (a year of disaster) as, during that year, she witnessed the end of the marriages of three of her four children and her Windsor Castle was damaged by fire. 
• December 1992 - Prince Charles and Diana announce their separation.
• March 1995 - It was confirmed by Buckingham Palace that the Queen has written to Charles and Diana asking them to divorce. 
• August 1996 - Charles and Diana got divorced. 

• August 31, 1997- Diana, the divorced wife of Elizabeth's eldest son Charles, died in a car crash in Paris. Under public pressure to demonstrate her grief, Elizabeth made an unprecedented television broadcast in tribute to Diana. 
• February 9, 2002 - The queen's sister, Princess Margaret, passed away at 71. 
• March 30, 2002 - Queen Elizabeth's mother died at Windsor Castle aged 101. 
• June 1-4, 2002 - Elizabeth celebrated her Golden Jubilee on the throne.
• April 29, 2011 - The Queen attends the wedding of her grandson Prince William and Kate Middleton.
• 2012 - Elizabeth marks 60 years of her reign with a Diamond Jubilee. 
• September 9, 2014 - Elizabeth becomes the nation's longest-reigning monarch, surpassing her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria. 
• April 21, 2016 - The Queen celebrated her 90th birthday, the first British monarch to celebrate the feat. 
• February 6, 2017 - She becomes the first British monarch to be on the throne for 65 years. 
• August 2, 2017 - Elizabeth's husband Philip retires from public life after 65 years of supporting his wife. 
• May 19, 2018 - The Queen's grandson Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle at Windsor Castle. 
• October 2019 - A family dispute between William and Harry becomes public and the latter confirmed the rumours of the dispute. 
• April 5, 2020 - The Queen makes the fifth special televised broadcast of her reign amid the Covid outbreak. 
• April 9, 2021 - Elizabeth's husband, Prince Philip died peacefully at Windsor Castle at the age of 99. 

• October 20, 2021 - The Queen has spent a night in hospital for the first time in years for preliminary investigations. 
• February 6, 2022 - The Queen marked her 70th year on the throne and celebrated her Platinum Jubilee. 
• February 20, 2022- Elizabeth tested positive for Covid and she soon returned to official duties. 
• July 2022 - She left her official workplace Buckingham Palace for Balmoral, her summer retreat in Scotland. 
• September 6, 2022 - Queen Elizabeth broke the tradition of appointing the Prime Minister in Buckingham Palace as she appointed Liz Truss as the new Prime Minister at Balmoral. 

• September 8, 2022 - 12.30 pm Britain time - Buckingham Palace announced that Her Majesty's doctors are concerned about her health and placed her under medical supervision. It further said she was comfortable.
• September 8, 2022 - 6.30 pm Britain time - The Palace announced the death of Queen Elizabeth II, which marked the end of the second Elizabethan era. She died at 96 as the longest reigning monarch. Later, her eldest son and longest-serving heir apparent Prince Charles was announced as the new King and he would be called King Charles III.