King George VI

Queen Elizabeth II surpasses Queen Victoria's long reign

 

On Wednesday, September 9, 2015, about 5:30 p.m., Queen Elizabeth II became the longest reigning monarch in Britain's proud and often turbulent history, dating back more than a millennium to the days when kings and queens enjoyed absolute power.

Serving as sovereign for 23,226 days (about 63 years and 7 months), according to Buckingham Palace, Elizabeth surpassed Queen Victoria, her great-great-grandmother, a woman so powerful that she stamped an era with her name.