Over the seven decades that Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II reigned LGBTQ+ rights changed and progressed.
Thrust into the role at the age of 25, the Queen reigned through 15 British Prime Ministers, the formation of the European Union, the decolonisation of Africa and most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. During her 70-year reign, the Queen also saw the decriminalisation of homosexuality and gave royal assent to laws which advanced the lives of many of the LGBTQ+ community.
While the Queen was notably quiet on LGBTQ+ issues for the majority of her time on the throne and maintained the expectation of “political neutrality”, some would argue she became more publicly pro-LGBTQ+ in the last few decades.
