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1 of 10Then-Princess "Lilybet" on the Apr. 29, 1929, cover of TIMETIME -
2 of 10Then-Princess Elizabeth on the Mar. 31, 1947, cover of TIMECover Credit: BORIS CHALIAPIN -
3 of 10Queen Elizabeth on the Feb. 18, 1952, cover of TIME, following her ascension to the throneCover Credit: BORIS CHALIAPIN -
4 of 10Queen Elizabeth, as Person of the Year for 1952, on the Jan. 5, 1953, cover of TIMECover Credit: BORIS CHALIAPIN -
5 of 10The Queen on the June 29, 1959, cover of TIMETIME -
6 of 10Queen Elizabeth (at top)—along with Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, Juan Carlos of Spain, Margrethe of Denmark, and Bernhard and Juliana of the Netherlands—on the May 3, 1976, cover of TIMECover Credit: (TOP, CLOCKWISE) SERGE LEMOINE-SYGMA; AGENCE NORMA; EDDIE ADAMS; HUBERT LE CAMPION-SYGMA; DANIEL SIMON-GAMMA/LIAISON -
7 of 10Queen Elizabeth on the June 3, 2002, cover of TIME's Europe edition, marking her Golden JubileeCover Credit: KARSH / CAMERA PRESS -
8 of 10Queen Elizabeth on the Apr. 17, 2006, cover of TIME's Europe edition, at the time of her 80th birthdayCover Credit: PHOTOGRAPH BY ANWAR HUSSEIN COLLECTION -- LFI -
9 of 10The Queen appears (near the bottom right) as a member of the TIME 100 on the May 14, 2007, cover of TIMECover Credit: PHOTO-ILLUSTRATION FOR TIME BY SEAN MCCABE -
10 of 10Queen Elizabeth on the June 4, 2012, cover of TIME's Europe edition, marking her Diamond JubileeCover Credit: EQUANIMITY BY CHRIS LEVINE (ARTIST) AND ROB MUNDAY (HOLOGRAPHER)
Queen Elizabeth is set to make history Wednesday when she passes Queen Victoria as the longest-ruling British monarch. In honor of the occasion, here’s a look back at how TIME has covered the continuing “Elizabethan Era.”
Read the cover story about her ascension to the throne, from 1952, here in the TIME Vault: Elizabeth II
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