Queen Elizabeth II passed away on Sept. 8 at the age of 96, and now most of the world is reflecting on her life and legacy.

On April 21, 1926, a little girl named Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born in London, England, which is part of the United Kingdom. She was born into the royal family. Her parents were the Duke and Duchess of York, who later, in 1936, became King George VI and Queen Elizabeth after George’s brother King Edward VIII abdicated the throne. Thus, Princess Elizabeth became next in line to the throne.

Elizabeth was a good leader even before she became queen. During World War II, as soon as she turned 18, she insisted upon joining the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS), which was the women’s branch of the British Army. Unmarried women under 30 had to join the armed forces or work on the land or in industry. King George made sure his daughter was not given a special rank, so she was trained and became a driver and mechanic and started with the rank of second subaltern and was later promoted to Junior Commander, which would be equivalent to the rank of captain.

When Elizabeth’s father died in 1952, she became queen of the United Kingdom at the age of 25.

In November 1947, Elizabeth married Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. They were married for 73 years until his death on April 9, 2021, at the age of 99. Together, they had four children: Charles, Anne, Andrew and Edward.

For those wanting to learn more about her life and legacy, Netflix does have a series called “The Crown.” While it is a work of fiction, it is based on real characters and events in the life of Queen Elizabeth.