Description
April 21, 2016 marked the 90th birthday of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada and fifteen other Commonwealth realms. This $20 one ounce fine silver coin pays tribute to the Queen and celebrates the milestone birthday. Mintage is limited at just 7,000. GST/HST exempt.
The Design:
The design by Canadian artist Tony Bianco features an image that has been selectively enhanced with luxurious colour to draw the eye to the Royal Cypher (EIIR), St. Edward’s Crown, and the garter sash, while a high-tech glittering effect makes the diamond-encrusted maple leaf brooch sparkle. The design is one of celebration, and is enhanced by the flowing form of the garter sash and the frieze of maple leaves. The swirling pattern at the top of the design includes a stylized Tudor rose, and evokes a sense of fireworks in honour of a Sovereign who is admired and beloved around the world.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II:
Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born on April 21, 1926, in London England to the second son of George V, Albert, Duke of York and the Duchess of York, the former Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. Her sister Princess Margaret sister was born 4 years later. In 1936, when she was 10, her uncle, King Edward VIII, abdicated the throne to marry a divorced American named Wallis Warfield Simpson. His brother Albert was next in line to the throne, and he became George VI in honor of his father. She therefore became the Heiress Presumptive, meaning that she would become Queen, if her parents did not have a son.
At the age of 13, she met her distant cousin, 18 year old Prince Philip. They fell in love and got married eight years later, on November 20th, 1947. One year later, they had a son, Charles Philip Arthur George. In 1950, they had Anne Elizabeth Alice; in 1960, Prince Andrew; and in 1964, Prince Edward.
While in Kenya in 1952, they found out that her father had died, and on June 2, 1952, Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the thrones of England and the seven Commonwealth realms that recognized her as their head of state at that time, including Canada. As millions around the world watched her coronation in Westminster Abbey—the first televised British coronation—they could not know that they were witnessing the inauguration of a reign that would last well into the next millennium.
On September 9, 2015, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s reign exceeded that of her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, making her the longest-reigning sovereign in the nearly 1000 year long history of the British monarchy.
