Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; born 21 April 1926) has been Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand since 6 February 1952.
Additionally, she is Head of the Commonwealth and queen of 12 countries that have become independent since her accession: Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Elizabeth was born in London as the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York, later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, and she was educated privately at home. Her father acceded to the throne on the abdication of his brother Edward VIII in 1936, from which time she was the heir presumptive. She began to undertake public duties during the Second World War, serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. In 1947, she married Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, a former prince of Greece and Denmark, with whom she has four children: Charles, Prince of Wales; Anne, Princess Royal; Prince Andrew, Duke of York; and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.Here are some fascinating facts about this epitome of royalty, the mother and Queen of the word, Queen Elizabeth...
* She never went to school. But that doesn't mean she's not educated. Elizabeth (childhood nickname: "Lilibet") was taught by private tutors at home. Same goes for her younger sister, Princess Margaret.
* She's actually related to the man she married. Technically, Elizabeth and her husband Philip are third cousins. Elizabeth is related to Queen Victoria on her father's side, and Philip is related to Queen Victoria on his mother's side. Philip was born into the royal families of Greece and Denmark, but renounced his original titles when he married Elizabeth. They've now been together for years.
* She's made at least 260 official overseas trips since taking the throne. These days she's making fewer international trips, but the queen hasn't slowed down much: The Telegraph reported that the Queen carried out 341 royal engagements in 2015 — more than Prince Harry, Prince William, and Kate combined.
* She's rich, but she's not even close to being the richest person in the UK. The queen gets some money from taxpayers and whole bunch more from the royal family's private real estate holdings. Her personal fortune is estimated to be £340 million (about $414.7 million). Sounds like a lot — but for the past two years the queen has failed to make the Sunday Times's list of the 300 wealthiest Brits.
* She's been wearing the same nail polish since 1989 — and it's surprisingly cheap. Apparently the queen is rather taken the Essie's classic pale pink polish Ballet Slipper, which retails for just $9. Essie says that, in 1989, Queen Elizabeth's hairdresser wrote a letter to nail polish-mogul Essie Weingarten requesting a bottle of the classic shade. Her majesty refused to wear any other color.
* She doesn't have a passport or a driver's license. She doesn't even need them. Both driver's licenses and passports are issued in the queen's name, so she doesn't need either. Her majesty is pretty comfortable behind the wheel, too: She once hopped into a Land Rover and drove Saudi Arabia's Prince Abdullah around one of her country estates.
* 51. She gives to almost 40 animal-related organizations as well as almost 90 medical and health-care charities, in addition to the hundreds of other organizations she is involved with.
* 54. The queen speaks fluent French.
* Queen Elizabeth has 30 godchildren.
* She is the oldest to celebrate 60 years in the crown, second only to Queen Victoria who celebrated the milestone at 77.
* The queen, when gifted rare animals such as jaguars, donates them to the London Zoo.
* SHE CELEBRATED THE END OF THE WAR BY PARTYING LIKE HER SUBJECTS. When then-Prime Minister Winston Churchill announced that the war in Europe was over on May 8, 1945, people poured out into the streets of London to celebrate—including Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret. The sheltered duo were allowed to sneak out of Buckingham Palace to join the revelers at their father’s behest. "It was a unique burst of personal freedom," recalled Margaret Rhodes, their cousin who went with them, "a Cinderella moment in reverse."
* The Queen joined Facebook in November 2010, with a page called the British Monarchy, which features royal news, photos, videos and speeches. However, it is not possible to poke the royal family. She joined Twitter in July 2009, with teams at Buckingham Palace tweeting daily updates. None of the royals themselves tweet. The page follows only one other Twitter account: Clarence House, the royal home of the Prince of Wales.
* In an average year, the Queen hosts more than 50,000 people at banquets, lunches, dinners, receptions and garden parties at Buckingham Palace.
* The Queen is a keen photographer and enjoys taking pictures of her family. The Duke of York is also a photography buff and has taken a number of photographs of Elizabeth, including an official photograph for Her Majesty's Golden Jubilee in 2002.
* The Queen has an extensive collection of jewelry, most of which are crown jewels, some inherited and some gifts, including the largest pink diamond in the world. Some of her well-known pieces include a brooch of diamonds forming a spray of wattle that was presented by the Australian government in 1954 and a necklace of large square-cut aquamarines and diamonds with earrings, given as a gift in her coronation year by the ambassador of Brazil, which Elizabeth wore on her French state visit in 2004.
* Elizabeth has laid a wreath at the Cenotaph — Britain's iconic war memorial that commemorates the dead in both world wars — on Remembrance Sunday every year of her reign, except in 1959, 1961, 1963, 1968, 1983 and 1999, when she was either pregnant or overseas on an official visit.
* She hosted Buckingham Palace's first women-only event, "Women of Achievement," in March 2004.
* She is supposedly the only British monarch in history properly trained to change a spark plug, as she undertook a car-maintenance course during World War II.
* She celebrates her birthday twice a year. The queen's real birthday is April 21, but the country doesn't officially celebrate until June 11. Monarchs with birthdays in colder months typically schedule an additional, official birthday when the weather is likely to be better for a parade. Elizabeth has one every June.
* She has reigned for so long, four out of five UK residents weren't alive when she ascended the throne. Most Brits have never known another monarch besides Elizabeth: 81% of UK residents weren't alive when Elizabeth ascended the throne, according to data from UK Office of National Statistics. She became queen immediately upon the death of her father 1952. Now, at 90, she's the world's longest-reigning monarch.
* She reportedly uses her purse to send secret signals to her staff. She's said to own over 200 handbags from designer Launer. A recent report in the Telegraph suggests that the queen uses her trusty handbag to subtly exit uncomfortable or boring meetings. If the queen is at dinner and places her handbag on the table, her staff knows that she wants the event to end in the next five minutes. And if she puts her bag on the floor, it signals that she would like to be rescued from her current conversation.
* She can't be prosecuted or compelled to give evidence in court. Elizabeth doesn't appear to be abusing this power, however: A statement on the royal family website reads, "Although civil and criminal proceedings cannot be taken against the Sovereign the Queen is careful to ensure that all her activities in her personal capacity are carried out in strict accordance with the law."
* As a princess, Elizabeth drove a truck and trained as a mechanic in World War II.
* Whales, dolphins, porpoises and sturgeons are considered “Fishes Royal" and therefore the property of the monarch when caught within three miles of the UK coast.
* She also gets to use a private ATM at Buckingham Palace. It's provided by Coutts, one of Great Britain's most prestigious banks.
* She doesn't have to pay taxes, but she does anyway. She pays her taxes every year. The sovereign isn't required to pay income or capital gains taxes, but Elizabeth has been voluntarily doing so since 1993.
* She reportedly drinks a glass of champagne every night before bed. Maybe that's the secret to thriving at 90.
* SHE SURVIVED AN ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT. During the 1981 Trooping the Colour, the Queen led a royal procession on horseback down the Mall toward Buckingham Palace when shots rang out. A 17-year-old named Marcus Sarjeant, who was obsessed with the assassinations of figures like John Lennon and John F. Kennedy, fired a series of blanks toward Elizabeth. Sarjeant—who wrote in his diary, “I am going to stun and mystify the whole world with nothing more than a gun”—was thankfully unable to purchase live ammunition in the UK. He received a prison sentence of five years under the 1848 Treason Act, but was released in October 1984.
* For the queen's 60th wedding anniversary, she returned to her honeymoon location, Broadlands in Hampshire; she and Philip recreated their wedding photos.
* The queen's favorite animals are horses and dogs.
* She was born at 2:40 a.m. on April 21, 1926, at 17 Burton St. in Mayfair, London.
* Elizabeth had four children (Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward).
* Elizabeth carries cash in her purse only on Sundays; she donates money to her church.
Super Amazing woman!!
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