What Were Queen Elizabeth II’s Royal Titles Before She Became A Monarch?

For most people, Queen Elizabeth II is already the monarch when they were born. This is not surprising at all since Her Majesty is now the longest-reigning living monarch in the world.

She ascended the throne on Feb. 6, 1952, upon the death of her father, King George VI. This means that she has been in reign for 67 years now, and those who were just born when she rose to the throne are likewise 67 years old already and have already retired from their respective careers.

It’s understandable that not many are aware of her titles before she became Queen. Someone posted the question “Which dukedom does the Queen belong to before she ascended the throne?” which was answered by a number of knowledgeable royal family fans who not only answered the question directly but also explained Her Majesty’s previous titles as well.

And the answer to the question is that Queen Elizabeth II never had any dukedom before her ascension. “The Queen never held a Dukedom in her own right at any time prior to becoming The Queen, but upon ascension to the throne she gained TWO Dukedoms that were hers in her own right and allows for her to hold the Titles Of The Duke of Normandy and The Duke of Lancaster,” Adam Corder wrote on Quora.

Upon her birth, her royal title was Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth of York, shared another Quora user, Leslie Friedrich. At that time, her father was still the Duke of York.

However, her father’s brother, King Edward VIII, abdicated, which pushed her father to the throne. Thus, Elizabeth’s title changed once more to Her Royal Highness The Princess Elizabeth.

When she married, her husband, Prince Philip, renounced his Greek royal titles and was made the Duke of Edinburgh. As a result, Elizabeth’s title changed once more and became Her Royal Highness The Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh.

Her father, King George VI, died on Feb. 6, 1952, which pushed her to the throne. Since then, her title is Her Majesty The Queen.

However, what many people might not know is that Queen Elizabeth II also held other titles, and some of them were even temporary. For instance, she was the Queen of Ceylon from 1953 to 1972, the Queen of Malta from 1964 until 1974, the Queen of Kenya from 1963 to 1964 and the Queen of Nigeria from 1960 until 1963, to name a few.