Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II A Century of Grace, Duty, and Love
There are moments in a nation’s life when time itself seems to hold its breath. When the history of a civilisation is written, certain lives emerge not merely as chapters but as the very spine of the book — and Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was, without question, the defining story of her age. The 21st of April 2026 was a day when Britain did not simply mark a birthday; it marked the centenary of a soul whose quiet, unbreakable devotion to duty became the moral compass of a nation, and whose steady presence across seventy years of reign made her as permanent in the imagination as the stone of Westminster or the deep roll of the Thames. One hundred years on, the light she cast has not dimmed by a single degree — if anything, seen now across the distance of time, it burns all the more brilliantly.
At the heart of these commemorations stand King Charles III and Queen Camilla, who have approached these tender days with a devotion that speaks of something far deeper than royal duty. For His Majesty the King, every wreath laid and every tribute offered carries the pride of a son remembering his mother — the woman who showed him, by quiet and constant example, what it means to serve without hesitation and to lead without vanity. Her Majesty Queen Camilla has walked beside him with grace and warmth, her steady presence a reminder that the monarchy’s greatest strength has always been its very human heart. Together, they have ensured that these commemorations carry exactly the spirit the late Queen herself would have cherished — celebratory, generous, and rooted in genuine feeling.
The commemorative programme opened on the 20th of April with a visit to The King’s Gallery within Buckingham Palace, where the Royal Collection Trust has assembled the most ambitious exhibition ever devoted to the late Queen’s personal wardrobe. Over three hundred garments and accessories span a lifetime of public life — a visual autobiography stitched in silk, wool, and ceremony. The christening robe that welcomed her into the world; the Norman Hartnell wedding gown, radiant with ten thousand seed pearls, in which she walked toward her beloved Philip on a grey November morning in 1947; the Coronation dress that carried the emblems of every nation under her care, embroidered into its golden hem like a prayer. Nearly half of these pieces have never before been seen by the public, making the exhibition not merely a fashion retrospective but a private diary, opened at last to the world. Each garment is a chapter; together, they compose a life of extraordinary purpose.
On the centenary morning itself, the King stood alongside the Prime Minister at the British Museum to receive the final vision for the national memorial — a permanent landmark to rise in St James’s Park, that most beloved of London’s green spaces, where the late Queen had so often walked. Designed by the visionary architect Lord Norman Foster, the memorial will reshape the park with both grandeur and intimacy. A new bridge, its lines drawn deliberately from the tiara she wore on her wedding day, will arc across the lake — love made architecture, youth made permanent in stone. A new gate will honour Prince Philip, the man who stood at her side for seventy-three years and whose absence she carried, quietly, until the very end. Across the park, in Regent’s tranquil greenery, Princess Anne — her mother’s truest reflection in spirit and in steel — opened a newly created two-acre garden planted entirely with the flowers her mother had loved. To walk through it is to understand that remembrance, at its most beautiful, is simply a form of continued conversation.
The centenary reached its most intimate and luminous moment within the Marble Hall of Buckingham Palace, where the King and Queen welcomed a gathering of fellow centenarians — men and women born, as the late Queen was, in that extraordinary year of 1926, a year when the world was finding its shape after one catastrophe and before another. These remarkable individuals received their hundredth birthday cards directly from the King’s hands — a tradition begun by his mother, now tenderly continued in her honour. Representatives of the great causes she had championed throughout her life gathered alongside the Royal Family, and the Prince and Princess of Wales were among those present, the next generation of the Crown standing as living proof that what she built endures. The evening drew to its close with the King’s own words — a tribute written not by a speechwriter but by a son — accompanied by images of a life that had become, across seven decades, inseparable from Britain’s own story. Outside, the city glittered on, carrying her legacy forward into its next century, in the quiet and certain knowledge that some lights, once kindled, never truly go out.
Life and legacy of Queen Elizabeth II
Step into royal heritage through rare exhibitions and unforgettable historic access. Discover an extraordinary opportunity to experience the life and legacy of Queen Elizabeth II through a series of carefully curated royal events and exhibitions designed to inspire and captivate visitors throughout the year.
At The King’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, a remarkable fashion exhibition invites you to explore iconic outfits worn by Queen Elizabeth II across decades of history. Each piece tells a story of diplomacy, identity, and timeless elegance, offering a rare glimpse into the personal and public life of one of the world’s most enduring monarchs.
Also on April 21, Princess Anne, will inaugurate the official garden dedicated to her mother in London’s Regent’s Park. It will open its doors to the public six days later. It is already known that it will be located on the grounds of a disused former nursery and will include a large pond with a pergola.
In Scotland, visitors are welcomed to an unprecedented experience at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, where Her Majesty’s private apartments are being opened for the first time. This intimate access reveals the quieter, deeply personal spaces behind royal life, enriching the journey with a sense of authenticity and history rarely seen.
Throughout the year, a distinguished programme of events will unfold, celebrating Queen Elizabeth II’s life, service, and influence. These occasions are designed not only to inform, but to invite reflection, connection, and participation in a living royal legacy.
You are warmly invited to be part of this exceptional tribute, where history, culture, and royal tradition come together in a uniquely memorable experience.
