Queen Elizabeth II passed away peacefully aged 96, Buckingham Palace confirmed in a statement.

Her death brings an end to a 70-year reign, the longest in history, having ascended the throne following the death of her father, King George VI on 6 February 1952.

The beloved monarch was born in the year 1926 into a rapidly modernising world. 

Have a look back at the momentous year that brought us the country's longest-reigning sovereign.

The Queen's life in pictures

When was Queen Elizabeth II born?

Princess Elizabeth was born on April 21, 1926, at 17 Bruton Street in Mayfair, London, the third in line to the throne

She was the first child of the Duke of York, Prince Albert and his wife Elizabeth, who later became King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.

The princess was christened Elizabeth Alexandra Mary in the chapel at Buckingham Palace.

She was named after her mother and her two middle names are those of her paternal great-grandmother Queen Alexandra and her paternal grandmother Queen Mary.

What was life like in 1926 when Queen Elizabeth II was born?

The Prime Minister in 1926 was Conservative Stanley Baldwin, who had won the 1924 General Election.

In the Soviet Union, Stalin had succeeded Lenin in 1924, while Mussolini had come to power in Italy in 1922.

Calvin Coolidge was President of the United States of America.

In 1926 a nine-day general strike was called in support of the miners and martial law was declared.

Mourners pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II

The country was also gripped by a mysterious celebrity disappearance when crime writer Agatha Christie went missing.

Her car was found abandoned and an extensive manhunt took place as police forces up and down the country looked for the missing novelist.

Christie was discovered in a Harrogate hotel, where she registered under the name of her husband’s lover.

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The famous whodunnit writer was missing for 11 days and she never uttered a word about why she did what she did.

The same year, Christie published The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, the third novel to feature Hercule Poirot.

The novel goes on to be hailed as her best and also one of the greatest crime novels of all time.

A new device was also launched in 1926 by John Logie Baird, called the mechanical television system.

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Thirty-one years later the Queen would make her first televised Christmas address to the Commonwealth, saying: “I very much hope this new medium will make my message more personal and direct.

"It’s inevitable that I should seem a rather remote figure to many of you... but now, at least for a few minutes, I welcome you to the peace of my own home.”

Her Majesty was born in the same year as Marilyn Monroe, Fidel Castro, Mel Brooks, Tony Bennett and Sir David Attenborough.