what countries did queen elizabeth i rule?
England
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 Thus since 1937 , the monarch has been simultaneously crowned as sovereign of several independent nations besides the United Kingdom , known since 1953 as the Commonwealth realms . Elizabeth II was asked , for example : " Will you solemnly promise and swear to govern the Peoples of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland , Canada , Australia , New Zealand , the Union of South Africa , Pakistan and Ceylon , and of your Possessions and other Territories to any of them belonging or pertaining , according to their respective laws and customs ? " 

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 The Americas ' monarchs 

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 Most former British colonies and protectorates are among the 53 member states of the Commonwealth of Nations , a non @-@ political , voluntary association of equal members , comprising a population of around 2 @.@ 2 billion people . Sixteen Commonwealth realms voluntarily continue to share the British monarch , Queen Elizabeth II , as their head of state . These sixteen nations are distinct and equal legal entities – the United Kingdom , Australia , Canada , New Zealand , Papua New Guinea , Antigua and Barbuda , The Bahamas , Barbados , Belize , Grenada , Jamaica , Saint Kitts and Nevis , Saint Lucia , Saint Vincent and the Grenadines , Solomon Islands and Tuvalu . 

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 From Elizabeth 's birth onwards , the British Empire continued its transformation into the Commonwealth of Nations . By the time of her accession in 1952 , her role as head of multiple independent states was already established . In 1953 , the Queen and her husband embarked on a seven @-@ month round @-@ the @-@ world tour , visiting 13 countries and covering more than 40 @,@ 000 miles by land , sea and air . She became the first reigning monarch of Australia and New Zealand to visit those nations . During the tour , crowds were immense ; three @-@ quarters of the population of Australia were estimated to have seen her . Throughout her reign , the Queen has made hundreds of state visits to other countries and tours of the Commonwealth ; she is the most widely travelled head of state . 

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 By the start of the 20th century , Germany and the United States challenged Britain 's economic lead . Subsequent military and economic tensions between Britain and Germany were major causes of the First World War , during which Britain relied heavily upon its empire . The conflict placed enormous strain on the military , financial and manpower resources of Britain . Although the British Empire achieved its largest territorial extent immediately after World War I , Britain was no longer the world 's pre @-@ eminent industrial or military power . In the Second World War , Britain 's colonies in South @-@ East Asia were occupied by Imperial Japan . Despite the final victory of Britain and its allies , the damage to British prestige helped to accelerate the decline of the empire . India , Britain 's most valuable and populous possession , achieved independence as part of a larger decolonisation movement in which Britain granted independence to most territories of the empire . The transfer of Hong Kong to China in 1997 marked for many the end of the British Empire . Fourteen overseas territories remain under British sovereignty . After independence , many former British colonies joined the Commonwealth of Nations , a free association of independent states . The United Kingdom is now one of 16 Commonwealth nations , a grouping known informally as the Commonwealth realms , that share one monarch — Queen Elizabeth II . 
