Her early years as Queen were spent traveling to many places. In 1953, the Queen and Prince Philip began an around the world tour in the Royal Yacht, "Britannia". Their tour went for 6 months. She was the first reigning monarch to visit Australia, New Zealand and Fiji.
In October 1957, she made an official visit to the United States. She spoke to the United Nations General Assembly. She toured Canada. She became the first monarch to open the nation's Parliament. The Queen likes to go to Canada. She calls Canada her "home away from home".
In February 1961, she visited Turkey, India, Iran, Pakistan and Nepal for the first time. Since then, the Queen has made visits to most Commonwealth countries. She has also been to most European countries and many countries outside Europe.
In 1991, she became the first British monarch to speak to a joint session of the United States Congress. She goes to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings. She is the most widely traveled head of state in history.
When Elizabeth became Queen on 6 February 1952, she was officially Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan and Ceylon (now called Sri Lanka). These were the Commonwealth countries. She was also Queen of the Union of South Africa (which became a republic in 1961).
There were many more countries that she also ruled, because they belonged to the British Empire. One by one, many of the countries became independent, and as they gained independence she became Queen of many of them. Altogether, she was sovereign of 32 nations.
Some of the countries are now republics and have a president as "Head of State", while some of them keep the Queen as "Head of State". Queen Elizabeth II is the only monarch of more than one independent nation. The old British Empire became the Commonwealth of Nations.
It includes both monarchies and republics. It is now called "The Commonwealth". The Queen is the Head of the Commonwealth. She works hard to keep peace and good communication between all the nations that are members.
Ever since she became the Queen, Elizabeth has spent about three hours every day "doing the boxes". The "boxes" are two large red boxes that are brought to her from the Parliament every day. They are full of state papers sent to her from her various departments, embassies, and government offices. One of the most famous photos taken of Elizabeth as a teenager shows her with her father, the King, learning about "the boxes". Because she has been doing this since 1952, she knows a great deal about the government of the UK.
When the Queen is in London, she meets her Prime Minister once a week, to talk about events. She also has meetings with the First Minister of Scotland and other Ministers of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and the Prime Ministers and Ministers of other countries, when she is in their country, or when they visit London.
In the late 1990s, there were "referendums" in which the people of Scotland and Wales were asked if they wanted parliaments that were separate from the parliament of the United Kingdom. This was called a "devolution policy". As a result, the new Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly of Wales, were set up. The Queen opened the first sessions of these two bodies.
Recently, some people in Australia wanted a republic, with an elected or appointed President as Head of State instead of the Queen. In 1999, the people of Australia were asked in a referendum whether they wanted a republic. The decision of the people was to remain a monarchy. The Queen visited Australia the following year and said that she would continue to serve Australians as she had done for 48 years.
Elizabeth II is friends with many world leaders. Her first Prime Minister of Australia, Sir Robert Menzies called her "My Dear" and recited a poem that said "I will love her till I die". She has friendships with Mary Robinson, President of Ireland (1990-1997) and George W. Bush, who was the first American President in more than 80 years to stay at Buckingham Palace. Nelson Mandela, in a BBC documentary, called her "my friend, Elizabeth".
In May 2007, the Queen and Prince Philip made a state visit to the United States, in honour of the 400th anniversary of the Jamestown settlement.
Elizabeth II, as the Monarch of the United Kingdom, is the "Supreme Governor" of the Church of England and sworn protector of the Church of Scotland. She is very interested in the Church of England, but the Archbishop of Canterbury runs the church. She rarely attends the yearly meeting of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
The Queen is deeply religious. In her Christmas Day television broadcast in 2000, she said:
The Queen regularly goes to church wherever she is: at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, St. Mary Magdalene Church at Sandringham House, Crathie Kirk at Balmoral Castle, and Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh, when she stays there in Holyroodhouse, her official home in Scotland.
The Queen often meets with leaders from other religions as well. In 1980, she became the first British Monarch to visit the Vatican, where she was welcomed by Pope John Paul II. She made another visit twenty years later on 17 October 2000. Queen Elizabeth II is Patron of "The Council of Christians and Jews" in the UK.
The Queen has shown a very strong sense of duty, ever since she was a girl. Her father, King George VI, was not meant to be king. Her uncle became king when her grandfather died. But he fell in love with an American woman who was divorced, and that wasn't allowed. So he had to give up being king very shortly after ascending. George VI didn't want to be king, because he was quite nervous and had a stammer. However, Elizabeth's grandfather said that he didn't think her uncle was very good as a king, and wanted George to reign, then Elizabeth. From the moment she realised that one day she would be Queen, she became very interested in her duties and did all she could to help her father. Her promise to serve her people all her life has always been very important to her. Some people think that now that she is old, perhaps she will retire ("abdicate") and let her son Prince Charles take over. People who know her well, including Prince Charles, have said that this will never happen.
The Queen has often shown courage, ever since she joined the military at 18. During a trip to Ghana in 1961, she was warned that it was dangerous to be near the President Kwame Nkrumah because people wanted to kill him. But she refused to stay away. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Harold Macmillan, wrote that the Queen got very impatient with people if they tried to treat her like "a film star".
In 1964, when the Queen was invited to Quebec, there were fears for her safety because there was opposition to her visit. There were suggestions that the tour should be cancelled. But the Queen's secretary said that the Queen would not want to be stopped from going to Quebec because of any danger. During the Trooping the Colour in 1981, she was shot at, but she carried on. The Queen was praised for her courage and for her ability to keep her horse calm. It was later discovered that the shots were blanks. In 1982, a man called Michael Fagan broke into Buckingham Palace in the morning, and found the Queen's bedroom. He woke her up, and sat on her bed, until the guards came to take him away.
Throughout her long reign, Queen Elizabeth II has been supported in her duties by her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Prince Philip promised to help the Queen on the day of her Coronation. The Queen was also helped by her mother Queen Elizabeth, known as "The Queen Mother", who lived to be 101 years old, and stayed very active in her old-age. The Queen is the patron of many organisations and charities. She has many invitations and official duties. Many of the duties have been shared by other members of the Royal Family, who have also become patrons of many organisations.