70 Fun Facts About Elizabeth II

Where in London was Elizabeth born, by Caesarean section, on 21 April 1926?

It was her maternal grandfather's house; her parents' town house was at 145 Piccadilly.

What was Elizabeth's family nickname, based on what she called herself as a small child?

Prince Harry and Meghan later gave the name to their daughter.

What did the young Elizabeth call her grandfather King George V?

Her visits during his illness in 1929 were credited with raising his spirits.

Which governess dismayed the royal family by publishing The Little Princesses in 1950?

The book describes Elizabeth's love of horses and dogs, her orderliness and her sense of responsibility.

Whose 1936 abdication over Wallis Simpson made ten-year-old Elizabeth heir presumptive?

Her father took the regnal name George VI.

From which Vice-Provost of Eton did Elizabeth receive private tuition in constitutional history?

A Girl Guides company, the 1st Buckingham Palace Company, was formed so she could mix with girls her age.

How did the Queen Mother respond to a wartime suggestion that the princesses be evacuated to Canada?

The girls spent most of the next five years at Windsor Castle.

On which BBC programme did the 14-year-old Elizabeth make her first radio broadcast in 1940?

She addressed children evacuated from the cities: in the end all will be well.

In which wartime women's corps did Elizabeth train as a driver and mechanic in 1945?

Service number 230873, she rose to honorary junior commander, then the female equivalent of captain.

What did Elizabeth and Margaret do on VE Day in 1945?

We were terrified of being recognised, she recalled in a rare 1985 interview.

On her 21st birthday in 1947, Elizabeth pledged what in a radio broadcast from southern Africa?

Whether it be long or short, she said; she renewed the vow on her Platinum Jubilee accession day.

How old was Elizabeth when she said she fell in love with Philip at Dartmouth in July 1939?

He was 18; they were third cousins through Queen Victoria and began exchanging letters.

What did Elizabeth need in order to buy the material for her Norman Hartnell wedding gown in 1947?

Britain had not yet recovered from the war; Philip's German relations were not invited.

What did the Queen Mother reportedly nickname Philip, whose sisters had married Germans with Nazi links?

In later life she called him an English gentleman.

Where did Elizabeth and Philip live intermittently in 1949–51 while he served in the Royal Navy?

They lived at Villa Guardamangia, rented by Philip's uncle Lord Mountbatten; the children stayed in Britain.

Where was Elizabeth when her father died on 6 February 1952?

Philip broke the news; she chose to keep Elizabeth as her regnal name.

Why did the numeral 'II' in the new queen's title offend some Scots?

Elizabeth I had reigned only in England, before the union of the crowns.

What did Philip complain when Elizabeth declared in 1952 that the royal house would stay Windsor?

The compromise surname Mountbatten-Windsor was adopted in 1960 for untitled male-line descendants.

Which divorced group captain did Princess Margaret wish to marry in the 1950s?

Margaret abandoned the plan and in 1960 married Armstrong-Jones, later Earl of Snowdon.

What was new about the coronation ceremony of 2 June 1953?

Only the anointing and communion were kept off camera; her gown bore the floral emblems of Commonwealth countries.

What proportion of Australia's population was estimated to have seen the queen in person on the 1953–54 tour?

The seven-month tour covered 13 countries and more than 40,000 miles.

Whom did Elizabeth appoint prime minister in 1957 after Eden resigned, on Lords Salisbury and Kilmuir's advice?

The Conservatives had no formal way to pick a leader until 1965, drawing her into criticism twice.

Who called Elizabeth 'out of touch' in his magazine in 1957, and was slapped in the street for it?

He also said her speeches sounded like those of a priggish schoolgirl.

The birth of Prince Andrew in 1960 was the first to a reigning British monarch since which year?

Queen Victoria's ninth child, Beatrice, had been the last.

Which Rhodesian prime minister declared independence in 1965 with Elizabeth as queen?

She formally dismissed him, but his regime survived for over a decade.

How long did Elizabeth II wait before visiting Aberfan after the 1966 disaster?

Her private secretary Martin Charteris said the delay, made on his advice, was a mistake.

Which was the first communist country Elizabeth visited, in October 1972?

President Tito met her at the airport and thousands greeted her in Belgrade.

Why did Elizabeth decline to reverse Gough Whitlam's dismissal in the 1975 Australian crisis?

The affair fuelled Australian republicanism, though a 1999 referendum kept the monarchy.

Which communist leader's 1978 state visit did Elizabeth endure, privately thinking he had blood on his hands?

The next year brought the unmasking of Anthony Blunt as a spy and the IRA murder of Lord Mountbatten.

Which Canadian prime minister pirouetted behind Elizabeth II and slid down banisters at Buckingham Palace?

She found him rather disappointing, but impressed Canadian politicians with her grasp of the constitution.

What horse was Elizabeth riding when six blank shots were fired at her at Trooping the Colour in 1981?

Her composure in controlling the horse was widely praised; the 17-year-old gunman got five years.

Who was found in Elizabeth's bedroom at Buckingham Palace on the morning of 9 July 1982?

Help only came after two calls to the palace switchboard, a serious lapse of security.

Which 1983 US action angered Elizabeth because it hit one of her realms and she was not told?

She had hosted Reagan at Windsor the year before and visited his California ranch.

On her 1986 state visit to China, Elizabeth joked that what had 'improved since 1602'?

The first British emissary had been lost at sea with Elizabeth I's letter to the Wanli Emperor.

Which two honours in her personal gift did Elizabeth II give Margaret Thatcher after she left office?

Thatcher had reputedly said the queen would vote SDP.

In May 1991 Elizabeth became the first British monarch to do what?

It followed the coalition victory in the Gulf War.

What Latin phrase did Elizabeth II use to describe 1992, the year of the Windsor fire?

Angry demonstrators in Dresden had also thrown eggs at her that October.

From which year did Elizabeth pay income tax, under reforms announced after her 1992 speech?

The civil list was also reduced and Buckingham Palace opened to the public.

Why did Elizabeth sue The Sun at the end of 1992?

The paper paid her legal fees and gave £200,000 to charity.

In October 1995 a Montreal radio host tricked Elizabeth into a phone call by impersonating whom?

She said she would try to influence Quebec's independence referendum.

What did Elizabeth write to Charles and Diana at the end of December 1995?

She had consulted Philip, John Major and the Archbishop of Canterbury first.

What omission at Buckingham Palace caused public dismay in the days after Diana's death in 1997?

She returned to London and broadcast live on 5 September, speaking as a grandmother.

At the site of which massacre did Elizabeth lay a wreath during a controversial 1997 visit to India?

Protesters had chanted Killer Queen, go back; the 30-second silence softened much of the fury.

How did Elizabeth describe Philip at their golden wedding reception in 1997?

They went on to become the first royal couple to celebrate a diamond and then a platinum wedding anniversary.

How did Elizabeth light the National Millennium Beacon on the eve of 2000?

At the Dome she held hands with Philip and Tony Blair for Auld Lang Syne.

How did Elizabeth break with tradition at the changing of the guard after the 9/11 attacks?

In 2010 she opened a memorial garden in New York for British victims.

Which two close relatives died within weeks of each other in early 2002, her Golden Jubilee year?

Margaret's funeral was one of the rare occasions on which she openly cried.

In 2003 Elizabeth obtained an injunction against the Daily Mirror over a reporter who had posed as what?

The paper paid £25,000 towards her costs; the same year she had keyhole surgery on both knees.

How did UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon introduce Elizabeth to the General Assembly in 2010?

It was her second UN address; the first was in 1957.

In May 2011 Elizabeth made the first state visit by a British monarch to which country?

She had visited China first in 1986 and Russia in 1994; Ireland's president Mary McAleese issued the invitation.

On 18 December 2012 Elizabeth became the first sovereign since George III in 1781 to do what?

It marked her Diamond Jubilee year.

Elizabeth was the first head of state to open two Olympic Games in two countries. Which Games?

For London she appeared in a film with Daniel Craig as James Bond and later got an honorary BAFTA as the most memorable Bond girl yet.

In which year did Elizabeth overtake Queen Victoria as the longest-reigning British monarch?

She had already become the longest-lived British monarch on 21 December 2007.

Which unprecedented anniversary did Elizabeth mark on 6 February 2017?

That November she was also the first British monarch to celebrate a platinum wedding anniversary.

Why did Elizabeth give up driving on public roads in March 2019?

She had trained as a driver in the ATS in 1945.

What was the sanitary protocol at Windsor Castle during the pandemic nicknamed?

Her 5 April 2020 broadcast, watched by 24 million, promised: we will meet again.

For how many years had Elizabeth and Philip been married when he died on 9 April 2021?

Covid rules meant she sat alone at his funeral; she reportedly refused a government offer to relax them.

How many US presidents did Elizabeth meet, Joe Biden being the last, in 2021?

She also met five popes and was advised by more than 170 prime ministers across her realms.

On Christmas Day 2021, an intruder entered Windsor Castle's grounds carrying what weapon?

Jaswant Singh Chail said he wanted revenge for the Amritsar massacre; he was sent to Broadmoor.

What did the queen open on a surprise visit to Paddington in May 2022?

That month she missed the State Opening of Parliament for the first time in 59 years.

Who was the 15th and last British prime minister Elizabeth appointed, on 6 September 2022?

It was the only time she received a new prime minister anywhere other than Buckingham Palace.

What did Elizabeth tell Canada's governor-general in 2002 about abdication?

She never abdicated, though Charles took on more of her duties in her last years.

Elizabeth was the first monarch to die in Scotland since whom?

Her death at Balmoral triggered Operation Unicorn alongside Operation London Bridge.

How old was Elizabeth when she died on 8 September 2022?

Her death certificate recorded old age; Gyles Brandreth wrote that she had multiple myeloma.

Elizabeth's funeral at Westminster Abbey was the first monarch's funeral service held there since whose?

About 250,000 people had filed past her coffin in Westminster Hall over four days.

What was the name of the first of Elizabeth's many royal corgis, acquired in 1933?

Her Pembroke Welsh Corgis and horses were her main leisure interests; two corgis watched her final procession at Windsor.

How many popes did Elizabeth meet during her life?

Pius XII, John XXIII, John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis.

When and where did Elizabeth conduct her first royal 'walkabout' among ordinary members of the public?

Solid-colour overcoats and bright hats became her signature so she could be seen in a crowd.

How did Elizabeth answer when journalist Paul Routledge raised the 1984-85 miners' strike?

She meant Arthur Scargill; Routledge was widely criticised for asking at all.

In October 1994, Elizabeth became the first reigning British monarch to set foot in which country?

Earlier that year she broke her left wrist when a horse she was riding at Sandringham tripped and fell.