Queen Elizabeth II: A Look Back at One of the Most Enduring — and Successful — Monarchs

You sense her approach before you see her. There's a straightening of shoulders among palace staff, a determined clip of shoes on polished floors, and another sound, harder to place, like autumn leaves blown across tarmac. Then a pack of corgis and dorgis — dachshunds crossed with corgis — comes skittering into view, their nails percussive on the sections of parquet not muted by rugs as they surge ahead of their diminutive owner.

One of the first things people notice about the Queen is how closely she fits their expectations, whether she is accompanied by a...