62 Royal Queen Elizabeth Facts

By James Israelsen, Associate Writer

Published July 23, 2020

Queen Elizabeth the Second was born on April 21, 1926, and turned 94 years old in 2020._[1]
The Queen’s full official title is “Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and her other realms and territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.”_[5]
As of February 2020, Elizabeth II has been Queen of England for 68 years, making her reign the longest in world history._[8]
Queen Elizabeth’s coronation took place on June 2, 1953._[1]
Twenty million people gathered around their television sets to watch the broadcast of Queen Elizabeth’s coronation._[1]
Queen Victoria, who ruled England for 63 years, held the record for Britain’s longest-reigning monarch until Queen Elizabeth II surpassed that record in 2015._[8]
Fourteen different Prime Ministers have served during Elizabeth's rule, including Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher._[1]
Queen Elizabeth’s favorite dogs are Pembroke Welsh corgis._[1]
The Queen became a homeowner at just six years old, when she was given her own house by the people of Wales. The house, called “Little Cottage,” is located on the grounds of Windsor Royal Lodge._[1]
The Queen is the only person in all of Britain who is legally allowed to drive without a driver’s license._[1]

The Queen has seen seven decades come and go in her reign

Although she was born in April, the Queen always officially celebrates her birthday on a Saturday in June, when the weather is nicer._[1]
The Mayfair home in which Queen Elizabeth was born has become an expensive Cantonese restaurant._[1]
Queen Elizabeth is one of electronic communication’s early users, having sent her first email in 1976. However, she didn’t publish her first Instagram post until 2019._[1]
Queen Elizabeth is an ardent supporter of Britain’s Arsenal soccer team._[1]
At 94 years old, Queen Elizabeth still drives her own car._[1]
According to an ancient English law, any sturgeon caught in British waters is the property of the monarch. When Elizabeth visited Canada in 1953, some Canadian fishermen caught a 350 pound sturgeon and sent it to the Queen through the Royal Canadian Air Force, in honor of her visit._[2]
Thanks to some exotic gifts sent to her by various other countries, the Queen is currently the proud owner of an elephant, a jaguar, two giant turtles, and two sloths. All of them live in the London Zoo._[1]

Young Elizabeth was especially cherished by her grandfather, King George V

When she was born, Queen Elizabeth’s parents, then the Duke and Duchess of York, were not yet King and Queen Mother of England._[1]
While on a low-profile vacation in Scotland, Elizabeth was joined on a walk by some American tourists, who asked her if she had ever met the Queen. In response, Elizabeth pointed at her security guard and said, “No, but he has!”_[1]
Included in Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation was the designation “Queen of Canada”; Elizabeth was the first monarch ever to be officially crowned with that title._[2]
Elizabeth’s coronation gown was embroidered with symbols representing the different lands under her rule at the time: the rose of England, a maple leaf for Canada, the thistle of Scotland, the leek of Wales, the shamrock of Ireland, the wattle flower of Australia, the African sugarbush for South Africa, an ear of wheat for Pakistan, the fern of New Zealand, and lotus flowers for India and Ceylon._[2]
According to various reports, the Queen did not always see eye-to-eye with the popular Princess Diana. In a letter she wrote before Princess Di’s death, however, the Queen expressed both admiration and respect for her daughter-in-law._[10]
The Queen is famous for “inventing” a new breed of dog. The mating of her corgi with Princess Margaret’s dachshund resulted in the creation of the “dorgi.”_[1]
The Queen’s husband was born “Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark”; became “Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten of the Royal Navy” during his service to the armed forces; and, upon his marriage to Elizabeth, was finally dubbed “Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth, and Baron Greenwich."_[5]
The Queen’s full birth name is Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, named after her mother, her grandfather’s mother, and her paternal grandmother, respectively._[2]

Elizabeth was noted for her strong sense of responsibility, even as a young girl

When the Queen was a young girl, her family’s nickname for her was “Lilibet.”_[2]
In addition to Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, Queen Elizabeth has residences in Edinburgh, Scotland; Canberra, Australia; Wellington, New Zealand; and in both Quebec City and Ottawa, Canada._[2]
Queen Elizabeth has three generations of heirs: Prince Charles, who is now in his seventies, will be next to inherit; second in line is Charles’ eldest son, Prince William, who is married to Kate Middleton; and their son, George, became the third heir when he was born in 2013._[12][18]
Of all the monarchs currently alive in the world, Elizabeth II has been on her throne the longest, over 68 years. The second runner-up, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, falls short of the Queen’s reign by over 20 years._[8]
Elizabeth refers to the year 1992 as her family’s "annus horribilis"; in that one year, both Prince Charles and Prince Andrew separated from their wives, her daughter Anne got a divorce, a fire destroyed the interior of Windsor Castle, and the entirety of Britain struggled through an economic recession._[5]
Although the Queen shares a name with Elizabeth I, the 16th-century monarch after whom the “Elizabethan Era” is named, the two monarchs are not related. Elizabeth I was the last of the Tudor royal line, whereas the current Queen is a member of the Windsor family._[16]
The Queen and Prince Phillip have four children: Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward._[12]
Each of the Queen’s four children became a parent to two children of their own, giving her a total of eight grandchildren. She also has six great-grandchildren, the youngest of whom was born in 2019 to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle._[12]
Because she was in mourning for her father, Elizabeth spent the first three months of her reign in seclusion from the public._[5]

Princess Elizabeth was granted the rank of honorary junior commander

After a year of begging permission from her father, King George VI, Elizabeth was allowed to join the British Armed Forces during WWII, making her the first female from the British royal family to serve in the military._[11]
The first time Queen Elizabeth visited Australia and New Zealand in person was when the Queen included them in her round-the-world tour in 1953. She is also the only monarch to have visited South America._[5]
Because they are the children of a reigning queen, Elizabeth’s children all have the surname of “Windsor,” as opposed to “Mountbatten,” the last name of their father._[5]
Elizabeth’s WWII enlistment in the Women’s Auxiliary Territory Service earned her the media title of “Princess Auto Mechanic."_[11]
Great Britain’s monarchs are exempt from paying taxes on their personal income; however, in 1992, Queen Elizabeth agreed to start paying, in response to public resentment over the royal lifestyle._[5]
There was a lot of public criticism of the royal family in the aftermath of Princess Diana's death, especially when the Queen initially refused to fly the national flag over Buckingham Palace at half-staff._[5]
Although all British monarchs are legally bound to keep a neutral stance when it comes to political action, the press once dubbed the Queen “Elizabeth the Silent” for her refusal to make public statements that even hint at her political views._[13]
Queen Elizabeth is an avid horsewoman, frequently attending races and regularly visiting Kentucky stud farms to improve her own stock of racehorses._[5]
Including her Oscar-winning role playing Elizabeth II in The Queen, Helen Mirren has been cast as a British queen in a total of three films. Her other two roles were as Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Charlotte._[9]
Due to public expressions of her Christian faith, a senior Vatican official has called Queen Elizabeth II “the last Christian monarch."_[14]
Elizabeth has said that she first fell in love with her husband-to-be, Prince Philip, when she was only 13 years old._[19]

The royal marriage has been a stable and fruitful one

Being the Queen also means that Elizabeth is the “supreme governor” of the Church of England._[14]
The Queen meets every week with the British prime minister, but no record is kept of the meeting, and neither party has ever disclosed what topics have been discussed nor the results of those discussions._[13]
Estimates of Queen Elizabeth’s private fortune have ranged from $530 million to $11 billion._[3][17]
Singer-songwriter Elton John has been a friend of the royal family since the 1970s. In his autobiography, he wrote that, in private at least, Queen Elizabeth “could be hilarious.”_[4]
According to Princess Di, when she first approached Elizabeth about Charles' adultery, the Queen was unsympathetic and unresponsive. However, both Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Phillip, made attempts to intervene with Charles himself, hoping to persuade him to stop his extra-marital relationship with his best friend’s wife._[10]
In 1981, a teenager fired six blanks from a gun at the Queen while she was out riding horseback. The teen was charged with treason._[17]
In addition to Elizabeth’s record as the longest-reigning monarch in British history, her husband, Prince Philip, carries the record for the longest-serving consort to a monarch._[19]
In March 2020, rumors that the Queen’s husband had died were so widespread that the topic was trending on Twitter—despite the fact that Prince Philip is alive and enjoying his retirement on the Sandringham Estate._[15]
Due in large part to the Queen’s refusal to do media interviews, it took the BBC 22 years to convince Elizabeth to do an on-screen “conversation” with a journalist for a documentary about her coronation._[19]
The coronation crown worn by Queen Elizabeth II weighs almost five pounds. Elizabeth later commented that it felt heavy enough to break her neck._[19]

Nothing like seasons greetings from the Queen

For decades, the royal family has sent Christmas cards to anyone in Britain who first mails their own holiday greeting to the palace._[6]
Queen Elizabeth reigns over a total of 16 different countries, known as the 16 Realms._[7]
Celebrations for Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee, marking 60 years upon the throne, included a boat parade of 1,000 vessels down the Thames River._[18]
Elizabeth is the sixth female to reign as monarch of Great Britain._[17]
Elizabeth was the first British monarch to address a joint session of the U.S. Congress._[17]
Although her next three heirs to the throne happen to be male, the Queen has endorsed a plan to end gender discrimination in the line of succession._[17]
Estimate, one of the Queen’s racing horses, won the Royal Ascot race in 2013._[17]