2016-02-06 Sat

After the death of King George VI, Princess Elizabeth ascended the throne of Britain on 6th February 1952.

She became queen on February 6, 1952, and was crowned on June 2, 1953. She has held the throne for 63 long years and has reigned through enormous social change and development.

Queen Elizabeth II is, since her accession in 1952, the Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and Head of the Commonwealth. She is the world's oldest reigning monarch. In 2015, she surpassed the reign of her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, to become the longest-reigning British head of state and the longest-reigning queen regnant in world history.

She is also the most featured individual on currency. Queen Elizabeth II's portrait is depicted on the currencies of 33 different countries.

The effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II first appeared on Canadian coins in 1953 when she was 27 years old. The effigy pictured here was used until 1964, with the inscription ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA, meaning "Elizabeth II, by the grace of God, the Queen."