The Latest Breaking News from Princess Diana

Once called a "Rottweiler" by the woman she replaced, Camilla, the second wife of the new British king, Charles, may never have fully won over the public but she is now Queen Consort, holding a title few would have thought conceivable 25 years ago.

With the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth on Thursday, Prince Charles has finally become king of the United Kingdom and 14 other realms, ending a wait of more than 70 years - the longest by an heir in British history.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth, who died on Thursday aged 96, never gave an interview during her 70-year reign, but her regular public speeches sometimes gave an insight into her private thoughts.

When Queen Elizabeth II came to the throne in 1952, Britain was just seven years out of the second world war. Rebuilding work was still ongoing, and rationing key products such as sugar, eggs, cheese and meat would continue for another year or so.

Monarch led UK royal family through often-difficult times and greeted generations of kings, presidents and despots.

The crowning achievement of Britain's Queen Elizabeth, who died on Thursday after 70 years on the throne, was to maintain the popularity of the monarchy across decades of seismic political, social and cultural change that threatened to make it an anachronism.

When the late historian Sir Ben Pimlott embarked on his 1996 biography, his colleagues expressed surprise that he should consider Queen Elizabeth II worthy of serious study at all. Yet Pimlott’s judgement proved sound and, if few academics have followed his lead, the political role of the monarchy has received…

From joining the army at age 18 to secretly getting engaged to Prince Philip

Charles automatically becomes king after his mother passes ‘peacefully’ at Balmoral