Who are Queen Elizabeth II's children, where do they live and where are they in the line of succession?

Queen Elizabeth’s children were observed taking more prominent roles in royal life in the months before her death, aged 96, on September 8, 2022. But how many children did she have, who are they and where do they live? 

• Queen Elizabeth's children are some of the most famous royals in the world, and with eight grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren, Her Majesty was the matriarch of a huge family. 
• King Charles III, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward proved to be a source of great support to Her Majesty after Prince Philip passed away in April 2021. 
• In other royal news, we revealed how long the Queen was married to Prince Philip and when they got married.

Queen Elizabeth II died aged 96 at Balmoral Castle on September 8, 2022. She was the longest-reigning monarch in British history and was left devastated in April 2021 when the Duke of Edinburgh passed away at Windsor Castle. Once described as her “strength and stay”, the Queen and Prince Philip were married for 73 years and had four children together.

How many children did Queen Elizabeth have and who are they?

King Charles III

King Charles is the eldest of Queen Elizabeth's four children and the first of her three sons. The monarch welcomed her heir, then Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, on November 14, 1948. The King was born in none other than Buckingham Palace. At the time of his birth, Her Majesty was still Princess Elizabeth and she ascended to the throne when Charles was three.

At this time, King Charles, as the eldest son of the Sovereign, became heir apparent. He was also the first royal child to watch his mother be crowned monarch and attended Queen Elizabeth II's coronation at Westminster Abbey in 1953.  

On July 29, 1981, the King, then Prince Charles, married Lady Diana Spencer in St Paul's Cathedral and the couple went on to have two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry. They sadly went on to divorce in 1996 and Princess Diana tragically passed away a year later in Paris.

As Charles was the first in the royal line of succession, he became King after his mother the Queen died on September 8, 2022. After this, the King's eldest son Prince William takes the title of Prince of Wales and is now first in line to the throne.

The King later went on to marry Camilla Parker Bowles, now Camilla, the Queen Consort, in a private ceremony back in 2005 in Windsor. The beautiful service was followed by a reception at Windsor Castle hosted by the Queen.

Although the King and Queen Consort split their time between their primary London residence, Clarence House, and their countryside home, Highgrove House, in Gloucestershire. 

These are not the only properties they own, as the couple spent much of last year at their Scottish residence, Birkhall. The King also owns a stunning converted farmhouse in Wales where he reportedly headed to grieve Prince Philip in private after his funeral.

Princess Anne, the Princess Royal

The only daughter amongst Queen Elizabeth's children, Princess Anne was born on August 15, 1950. Despite being third in line to the throne when she was born, Princess Anne is now 16th in line for the throne, far lower down than some royal fans might have expected. She and her brother King Charles are very close together in age and are understood to have a close relationship. 

The Princess Royal began public engagements in 1969 when she was 18 years old and went on to make history as she became an Olympian and began her Olympic career in 1976, though sadly she never won a gold medal for Team GB. 

Though her love of horses continued, she retired from professional horse riding in the 1980s. Princess Anne married her first husband and fellow Olympian, Captain Mark Phillips, in November 1973. 

The couple went on to have two children, Peter and Zara, and were married for 19 years before divorcing in 1992. The Princess Royal is now married to Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence and the couple lives at the picturesque Gatcombe Park in Gloucestershire. 

Zara and her husband Mike Tindall also live on the estate, providing wonderful opportunities for Princess Anne to catch up with their three adorable children, Mia, Lena and Lucas.

Prince Andrew, Duke of York

Just like his older brother the King, Prince Andrew was born at Buckingham Palace. The Queen and Prince Philip welcomed their third child on February 19, 1960, and Prince Andrew was the first child born to a reigning monarch for 103 years. He is currently 8th in line to the throne, just ahead of his daughter Princess Beatrice.

On July 23, 1986, Prince Andrew married Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey and he was created Duke of York by the Queen. The royal couple's first child, Princess Beatrice, was born on August 8, 1988, at The Portland Hospital, with her younger sister Princess Eugenie following in 1990. 

Two years later, the same year that the King and Princess Diana separated, it was announced that The Duke and Duchess of York were also separating. Despite their divorce, however, Prince Andrew and Sarah have remained close friends.

In November 2019, Prince Andrew officially stepped back from royal duties after the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. As of January 2022, Prince Andrew no longer uses his HRH title, after the Queen confirmed that his royal privileges, patronages, and military honors would be returned to her. 

The late Queen's decision followed the news that Prince Andrew's bid to have Virginia Giuffre's civil case against him scrapped was dismissed by a US judge.

Virginia Giuffre claims that she was forced, by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, to have sex with Prince Andrew when she was just 17-years-old. Prince Andrew denies the allegations, the BBC (opens in new tab)reports that he paid a financial settlement to his accuser Virginia Giuffre - formally ending a civil case brought against him in the US, according to court documents.

Today, Prince Andrew and his former wife Sarah both live at Royal Lodge in Windsor. They are proud grandparents to Princess Eugenie and Jack Brookbank's baby son August, who was born in February 2021, and Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi's baby daughter Sienna, who was born in September 2021. 

Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh

Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, is the youngest of Queen Elizabeth's children and is ahead of his sister Princess Anne in the line of succession in 13th place. This is due to the old system of male primogeniture that put male ascendancy ahead of female ascendancy and has since been changed. 

The Queen gave birth to Prince Edward in March 1964, once again at Buckingham Palace, leaving Princess Anne as the only one of the Queen's children to not be born at this principle royal residence. He met his future wife Sophie Rhys-Jones at a Real Tennis event in 1993 and the couple went on to announce their engagement six years later. 

They married at St George's Chapel, Windsor, in 1999 and it was on the day of the wedding, that it was announced the Queen had made him Earl of Wessex. On his 59th birthday he became Duke of Edinburgh.

The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh have two children, Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, who was born on November 8, 2003, and could become a Princess in a matter of months, and James, Earl of Wessex, who was born on December 17, 2007. The family of four live at Bagshot Park in Surrey.

What are Queen Elizabeth’s children's ages?

King Charles is the eldest of the Queen's children, having celebrated his 73rd birthday in November 2021. The second born of Queen Elizabeth's children, Princess Anne, turned 72 in August of 2022. 

She and the King are closer in age to one another than they are to their younger siblings who were born over a decade after the Queen had the King, with Prince Andrew being 62 and Prince Edward 58 years old. 

In 2020, the Royal Family paid a sweet tribute to Princess Anne on her milestone 70th birthday. The official Royal Family social media accounts announced, "We’re sharing photos of The Princess Royal from each decade of HRH’s life ahead of her 70th birthday".

They proceeded to share several throwback pictures of the Princess Royal from significant moments throughout her life, including her wedding to Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence.

What are Queen Elizabeth’s children’s royal titles?

All of Queen Elizabeth’s children have official titles as children of the monarch. 

Before he became King, Charles was Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cornwall and in Scotland, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland.

The late Queen Elizabeth announced her intention to make her eldest son Prince of Wales in 1958, when he was just nine years old. The official ceremony happened in 1969 at Caernarfon Castle in Wales. Prior to his investiture, Prince Charles spent a term at the University College of Wales at Aberystwyth, learning to speak Welsh. 

From that day, King Charles took the position seriously, working tirelessly to educate himself about his Welsh neighbors. He even purchased a country home in Llwynwermod, Wales, and undertakes a week-long tour of Wales every year. 

Princess Anne was given the title of Princess Royal, a title customarily (but not automatically) awarded to the eldest daughter of a British monarch back in 1987. This rare title might be passed to her great-niece Princess Charlotte in the future, though Princess Anne holds it for life.  

The Queen's second son Prince Andrew is known as the Duke of York, a title he received from the Queen on his wedding day in 1986.

Meanwhile, Prince Edward is the only son of Queen Elizabeth who was previously an Earl. He was granted the additional title of Earl of Forfar for use in Scotland on his 55th birthday in 2019 and became Duke of Edinburgh on his 59th birthday in 2023.

What is Queen Elizabeth's children's last name?

The Queen and Prince Philip had a difficult decision to make when it came to which royal surname they would pass down to their children. Her Majesty's surname, Windsor, was established in 1917 as the official last name of the Royal Family. Prince Philip was originally born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark before his family was exiled from Greece when he was still a young child. 

When he married the then-Princess Elizabeth, Prince Philip adopted a new surname as part of his British citizenship. He chose Mountbatten, which was his grandparents' last name and a wonderful way to honor their legacy. 

However, Queen Elizabeth was supposedly pressured not to take Prince Philip’s last name and in 1952 declared their descendants would go by Windsor. Eight years later the couple compromised and the surname Mountbatten-Windsor was born.