60 Fun Facts About British Royal Family

The royal house was renamed Windsor in 1917. What was its previous, German-sounding name?

George V made the change amid wartime anti-German feeling, the same year Gotha bombers began raiding London.

Who suggested the name 'Windsor' for the royal house?

Arthur Bigge, the King's private secretary, took it from the Berkshire town and castle.

On hearing of the name change, Kaiser Wilhelm II joked he would go and see which Shakespeare play?

The pun was on The Merry Wives of Windsor; George V also stripped three German relatives of their British titles in 1919.

How many British monarchs have there been from the House of Windsor?

George V, Edward VIII, George VI, Elizabeth II and Charles III.

What surname do Elizabeth II's male-line descendants use when one is needed?

It reflects the name Prince Philip took on naturalisation; Churchill had blocked Lord Mountbatten's claim that the House of Mountbatten now reigned.

Courtiers' nickname for the royal family, 'The Firm', is said to have originated with which king?

Members are expected to stay politically and commercially independent and are patrons of about 3,000 charities.

How long was Elizabeth II's reign, the longest of any British monarch?

She passed her great-great-grandmother's record on 9 September 2015 and became the longest-reigning queen regnant in history.

Elizabeth II was born in 1926 not in a palace but at 17 Bruton Street, in which London district?

It was her maternal grandfather's townhouse; she was delivered by Caesarean section at 2:40 am.

What was Elizabeth II's childhood family nickname, later given to Prince Harry's daughter?

It came from how she pronounced her own name as a toddler; she called George V 'Grandpa England'.

In which wartime organisation did Princess Elizabeth train as a driver and mechanic?

She was appointed an honorary second subaltern in February 1945 with the service number 230873.

In which country was Elizabeth when she learned she had become queen in February 1952?

She and Philip had just returned to Sagana Lodge after a night at the Treetops Hotel, en route to a tour of Australia and New Zealand.

What made Elizabeth II's 1953 coronation a broadcasting landmark?

The anointing and communion were kept off camera.

Which year did Elizabeth II famously call her 'annus horribilis'?

Anne divorced, Andrew separated, Charles and Diana's marriage collapsed publicly and Windsor Castle caught fire, all in twelve months.

With whom did Elizabeth II appear in the 2012 London Olympics opening film?

She later received an honorary BAFTA and was called 'the most memorable Bond girl yet'; the Paddington sketch came at the Platinum Jubilee.

Elizabeth II died in September 2022 at which residence?

Two days earlier she had appointed her 15th prime minister, Liz Truss, at the same Scottish estate.

Elizabeth II's lifelong love of corgis began in 1933 with a dog named what?

Her preferred breed was the Pembroke Welsh Corgi; two royal corgis stood beside her funeral procession.

How old was Charles III when he acceded, making him the oldest person ever to take the British throne?

He had also been the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales in British history.

Charles's 1969 investiture as Prince of Wales was staged at which castle?

He had held the title since 1958; the ceremony was televised and his mother placed the coronet on his head.

Charles was the first British heir apparent to do what?

He read archaeology and anthropology, then history, at Trinity College, Cambridge, graduating with a 2:2 in 1970.

Charles's youth charity, founded in 1976 and renamed after his accession, was originally called what?

He went on to become patron or president of more than 800 other organisations.

Charles and Camilla's 2005 civil wedding was moved from Windsor Castle to Windsor Guildhall. Why?

Licensing the castle for civil marriages would have obliged it to open to any couple who applied.

Charles III's coronation on 6 May 2023 was the 40th held at the abbey since which monarch's?

The date was chosen to allow enough time to mourn Elizabeth II; Charles had become king the instant she died.

Charles was crowned at his coronation with which historic headpiece?

It was taken out of the Tower of London in December 2022 to be resized; Jony Ive's coronation emblem was based on its shape.

Where did Prince William meet Catherine Middleton?

Both were students there; William took a master's in geography.

William and Catherine married on 29 April 2011 at which church?

Harry was best man, Pippa Middleton maid of honour, and about a million people lined the route back to Buckingham Palace.

Which title was William given immediately before his wedding?

He became Prince of Wales in September 2022 on his father's accession.

Before becoming a full-time royal, William spent two years flying for which organisation?

He had earlier served with the RAF Search and Rescue Force after graduating from Cranwell in 2008.

What is the name of the environmental award William launched in 2020?

He is also patron of the Tusk Trust and Centrepoint, and founded The Royal Foundation with Catherine.

Charles and Diana married in July 1981 at which venue?

The marriage made her Princess of Wales; the couple divorced in August 1996.

Diana was born at Park House on the royal estate in which English county?

Her grandmothers had both been ladies-in-waiting to the Queen Mother; her parents had hoped for a boy and took a week to name her.

Diana died in August 1997 in a car crash in a tunnel in which city?

The Pont de l'Alma tunnel crash happened as her driver fled paparazzi; her funeral drew a UK TV audience peaking at 32.1 million.

Which journalist's 1995 Panorama interview with Diana was secured with forged bank statements?

Lord Dyson's inquiry concluded he had played on Diana's fears and paranoia, a view shared by her son William.

Harry and Meghan married on 19 May 2018 at which venue?

Harry was created Duke of Sussex ahead of the wedding to the American actress.

Which sporting event for wounded servicemen and women did Harry found in 2014?

He was inspired by the US Warrior Games after two tours of Afghanistan, and remains its patron.

What is the title of Harry's 2023 memoir?

He and Meghan had stepped back from royal duties in 2020 and set up Archewell in California.

In 1976 Princess Anne became the first British royal to compete in the Olympics. In what sport?

She rode the Queen's horse Goodwill in Montreal and has sat on the International Olympic Committee since 1988.

In 1974 a gunman tried to kidnap Princess Anne on Pall Mall. What did he say he wanted the ransom for?

Ian Ball demanded £2-3 million, shot four people and pleaded guilty to attempted murder; the episode inspired part of Tom Clancy's Patriot Games.

Prince Philip was born in 1921 on a dining-room table on which Greek island?

The villa was called Mon Repos; the family was exiled from Greece soon afterwards.

How old was Prince Philip when he died at Windsor Castle in April 2021?

He was the longest-serving royal consort in British history, having overtaken Queen Charlotte in 2009.

How long did Edward VIII reign before abdicating in December 1936?

He signed the abdication at Fort Belvedere in front of his three brothers and was created Duke of Windsor.

How old was Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother when she died in 2002?

She died seven weeks after her younger daughter, Princess Margaret; she was born Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the ninth of ten children.

How many rooms does Buckingham Palace have?

It began as a 1703 townhouse for the Duke of Buckingham and became the monarch's London home when Victoria acceded in 1837.

Which monarch's accession made Buckingham Palace the sovereign's official London residence?

John Nash had already begun turning the house into a palace for George IV in 1826.

Who bought the Balmoral estate in Aberdeenshire in 1852?

He bought it from the Farquharsons and amended William Smith's designs; it remains the monarch's private property, not Crown Estate.

Sandringham House was the setting for which broadcasting landmark in 1932?

The estate was bought in 1862 for the future Edward VII and passed as private property to each monarch.

Trooping the Colour, held on Horse Guards Parade, celebrates what?

It has marked the occasion since 1748 and ends with a 41-gun salute and a balcony flypast.

After losing his royal titles in 2025, what name did the former Duke of York adopt?

He left Royal Lodge for private accommodation on the Sandringham estate after years of fallout from his Epstein association.

Andrew served as a helicopter pilot in which conflict?

He served in the Royal Navy from 1979 to 2001 and married Sarah Ferguson in 1986, becoming Duke of York that day.

In 2025, how many sovereign states, including the UK, had the British monarch as head?

They included Canada, Australia, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea and Tuvalu.

In which Berkshire town was Catherine, Princess of Wales, born?

She grew up in Bucklebury, where her mother founded the party-supplies firm Party Pieces in 1987.

Which subject did Catherine, Princess of Wales, graduate in at St Andrews in 2005?

She initially studied psychology before focusing solely on art history, and worked part-time as a waitress.

For which Andrew Lloyd Webber organisation did Prince Edward work as a production assistant?

He later founded his own television firm, Ardent Productions, before taking up full-time royal duties in 2002.

On which birthday in 2023 was Prince Edward granted the title Duke of Edinburgh?

The dukedom, previously held by his father Prince Philip, was granted as a life peerage by Charles III.

In which year was Princess Anne given the title Princess Royal?

She has been closely associated with Save the Children for more than fifty years.

Where was Princess Anne born in 1950?

She was educated at Benenden School and married Captain Mark Phillips in 1973.

Sophie Rhys-Jones met Prince Edward in 1987 while working for which broadcaster?

She worked in public relations and opened her own agency in 1996 before marrying Edward at Windsor in 1999.

Where in London was Prince George born in July 2013?

His birth meant three generations of direct heirs were alive at once for the first time since Victoria's reign.

Where did Prince George spend his first months before his family moved to Kensington Palace?

Prince William was then based there as a search-and-rescue pilot.

Under the succession reforms, males born after which date no longer leapfrog elder sisters?

The same changes lifted the ban on marrying Catholics, though the monarch must still be in communion with the Church of England.

Succession to the British throne is restricted to Protestant descendants of which princess?

The rule comes from the Bill of Rights 1689 and the Act of Settlement 1701.