Rare and Classic Photos of the Queen From Between the 1940s and 1960s

Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain is currently the longest-reigning monarch in British history. She was crowned in 1953 and her 60 years on the throne was celebrated in June 2012 with the Diamond Jubilee. Here's a series of informal portraits of England's Queen Elizabeth II.

Princess Margaret (left), the future Queen Elizabeth II (third from left) and the Queen Mother (third from right) with the Grenadier guards on the occasion of Princess Elizabeth's birthday, 1942. (Photo: David E. Scherman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

Queen Elizabeth II shakes hands with a well-wisher while standing next to the General and Governor of Bermuda, Sir Alexander Hood, 1961. (Photo: Lisa Larsen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

Queen Elizabeth II prepares to speak at University of the West Indies, Jamaica, 1953. (Photo: Cornell Capa—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

Queen Elizabeth II watches a University of Maryland vs. University of North Carolina football game at Maryland's Byrd Stadium during her 1957 official visit to the United States. (Photo: Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

Queen Elizabeth with Prince Charles and Elizabeth II at Princess Margaret's wedding, 1960. (Photo: Loomis Dean—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

Queen Elizabeth II upon her arrival in India in 1961, the first British monarch to visit since George V in 1911. (Photo: Hank Walker—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

Queen Elizabeth II speaking at a State Dinner in Ghana, 1961. (Photo: Paul Schutzer—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

Queen Elizabeth II during a visit to Sudan, 1964. (Photo: John Loengard—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

Queen Elizabeth II during her 1966 tour of the Caribbean. (Photo: Michael Rougier—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

Queen Elizabeth II in Ethiopia, 1965. (Photo: John Loengard—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

Queen Elizabeth II in Ethiopia, 1965. (Photo: John Loengard—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

Queen Elizabeth II (right) and Prince Philip on a tour of Trinidad and Tobago, 1966. (Photo: Michael Rougier—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

Queen Elizabeth II in Ethiopia, 1965. (Photo: John Loengard—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)