Royals Share Never Before Seen Photo Of Queen Elizabeth With Her Great-Grandchildren To Mark What Would've Been Her 97th Birthday
Gone but not forgotten. To mark what would have been Queen Elizabeth II's 97th birthday, members of the monarchy made special social media tributes in her honor on Friday, April 21.
The most touching post came courtesy of Kate Middleton and Prince William, who uploaded a picture of Her Majesty with their own three kids and several more of her great-grandchildren.
"Today would have been Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s 97th birthday. This photograph — showing her with some of her grandchildren and great grandchildren — was taken at Balmoral last summer," read the caption, which revealed the snap was taken by the Princess of Wales herself.
The sweet photos showed the mother-of-four sitting on a couch with some of her relatives while Prince George, 9, Princess Charlotte, 7, Prince Louis, 4, and some of their cousins stood smiling in the background.
The royal family's official Instagram page, which is also King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla's account, shared a recent photo of the late monarch beaming in a crowd of people, and they also provided some background information on her historic reign.
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"When Her Majesty was born in April 1926, Princess Elizabeth and her family did not expect that she would one day become Queen. Following the abdication of her uncle King Edward VIII in 1936, her father acceded to the throne," the statement read. "When King George VI died in February 1952, Princess Elizabeth became Queen Elizabeth II when she was just 25. Her Majesty went on to be Britain’s longest reigning Monarch — the only one in history to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee."
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Plenty of the queen's admirers left sweet messages, with one person commenting, "Happy heavenly birthday Queen Elizabeth II. May she rest in peace, I’m glad we got to witness her as long as we did."
"I miss Her Majesty and always will. She was one of a kind," gushed another, with a third writing, "Dedication and duty like we will never see again ❤️."