70 free Elizabeth II trivia questions with answers — history quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Elizabeth II trivia quiz covers the longest reign in British history: the girl who called her grandfather Grandpa England, the teenage mechanic in the ATS, the bride who needed ration coupons, the princess who became queen in a Kenyan treehouse, the sovereign who paid income tax after her annus horribilis, the grandmother who spoke to the nation before Diana's funeral, and the 96-year-old who appointed her fifteenth prime minister two days before she died. The easy questions cover the outline: her husband, her children, her nickname, the jubilees, the corgis, the Bond sketch and her successor. The harder half is for readers of Ben Pimlott and Robert Hardman: the Caesarean birth in Mayfair, the governess who wrote a tell-all, the service number and rank in the ATS, the eve of the coronation, the man who called her out of touch and was slapped for it, the eight-day delay after Aberfan, the horse she calmed under fire, the hoax caller from Montreal, the letter recommending a divorce, the laser torch at the Dome, the peacetime Cabinet she attended, the day she gave up driving, and the crossbow in the Windsor gardens. Every answer was checked against Elizabeth II's encyclopaedia entry before publishing. If you enjoy this, try our British royal family, Queen Victoria and Prince Philip quizzes next.
30 of 70 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Where in London was Elizabeth born, by Caesarean section, on 21 April 1926?
17 Bruton Street, Mayfair
It was her maternal grandfather's house; her parents' town house was at 145 Piccadilly.
Q 02What was Elizabeth's family nickname, based on what she called herself as a small child?
Lilibet
Prince Harry and Meghan later gave the name to their daughter.
Q 03What did the young Elizabeth call her grandfather King George V?
Grandpa England
Her visits during his illness in 1929 were credited with raising his spirits.
Q 04Which governess dismayed the royal family by publishing The Little Princesses in 1950?
Marion Crawford
The book describes Elizabeth's love of horses and dogs, her orderliness and her sense of responsibility.
Q 05Whose 1936 abdication over Wallis Simpson made ten-year-old Elizabeth heir presumptive?
Her uncle Edward VIII
Her father took the regnal name George VI.
Q 06From which Vice-Provost of Eton did Elizabeth receive private tuition in constitutional history?
Henry Marten
A Girl Guides company, the 1st Buckingham Palace Company, was formed so she could mix with girls her age.
Q 07How did the Queen Mother respond to a wartime suggestion that the princesses be evacuated to Canada?
"The children won't go without me. I won't leave without the King. And the King will never leave."
The girls spent most of the next five years at Windsor Castle.
Q 08On which BBC programme did the 14-year-old Elizabeth make her first radio broadcast in 1940?
Children's Hour
She addressed children evacuated from the cities: in the end all will be well.
Q 09In which wartime women's corps did Elizabeth train as a driver and mechanic in 1945?
The Auxiliary Territorial Service
Service number 230873, she rose to honorary junior commander, then the female equivalent of captain.
Q 10What did Elizabeth and Margaret do on VE Day in 1945?
Mingled incognito with the crowds in London
We were terrified of being recognised, she recalled in a rare 1985 interview.
Q 11On her 21st birthday in 1947, Elizabeth pledged what in a radio broadcast from southern Africa?
That her whole life would be devoted to service
Whether it be long or short, she said; she renewed the vow on her Platinum Jubilee accession day.
Q 12How old was Elizabeth when she said she fell in love with Philip at Dartmouth in July 1939?
13
He was 18; they were third cousins through Queen Victoria and began exchanging letters.
Q 13What did Elizabeth need in order to buy the material for her Norman Hartnell wedding gown in 1947?
Ration coupons
Q 21What proportion of Australia's population was estimated to have seen the queen in person on the 1953–54 tour?
Three-quarters
The seven-month tour covered 13 countries and more than 40,000 miles.
Q 22Whom did Elizabeth appoint prime minister in 1957 after Eden resigned, on Lords Salisbury and Kilmuir's advice?
Harold Macmillan
The Conservatives had no formal way to pick a leader until 1965, drawing her into criticism twice.
Q 23Who called Elizabeth 'out of touch' in his magazine in 1957, and was slapped in the street for it?
Lord Altrincham
He also said her speeches sounded like those of a priggish schoolgirl.
Britain had not yet recovered from the war; Philip's German relations were not invited.
Q 14What did the Queen Mother reportedly nickname Philip, whose sisters had married Germans with Nazi links?
The Hun
In later life she called him an English gentleman.
Q 15Where did Elizabeth and Philip live intermittently in 1949–51 while he served in the Royal Navy?
Malta
They lived at Villa Guardamangia, rented by Philip's uncle Lord Mountbatten; the children stayed in Britain.
Q 16Where was Elizabeth when her father died on 6 February 1952?
In Kenya, having spent the night at Treetops Hotel
Philip broke the news; she chose to keep Elizabeth as her regnal name.
Q 17Why did the numeral 'II' in the new queen's title offend some Scots?
She was the first Elizabeth to rule in Scotland
Elizabeth I had reigned only in England, before the union of the crowns.
Q 18What did Philip complain when Elizabeth declared in 1952 that the royal house would stay Windsor?
"I am the only man in the country not allowed to give his name to his own children"
The compromise surname Mountbatten-Windsor was adopted in 1960 for untitled male-line descendants.
Q 19Which divorced group captain did Princess Margaret wish to marry in the 1950s?
Peter Townsend
Margaret abandoned the plan and in 1960 married Armstrong-Jones, later Earl of Snowdon.
Q 20What was new about the coronation ceremony of 2 June 1953?
It was televised for the first time
Only the anointing and communion were kept off camera; her gown bore the floral emblems of Commonwealth countries.
Q 24The birth of Prince Andrew in 1960 was the first to a reigning British monarch since which year?
1857
Queen Victoria's ninth child, Beatrice, had been the last.
Q 25Which Rhodesian prime minister declared independence in 1965 with Elizabeth as queen?
Ian Smith
She formally dismissed him, but his regime survived for over a decade.
Q 26How long did Elizabeth II wait before visiting Aberfan after the 1966 disaster?
Eight days
Her private secretary Martin Charteris said the delay, made on his advice, was a mistake.
Q 27Which was the first communist country Elizabeth visited, in October 1972?
Yugoslavia
President Tito met her at the airport and thousands greeted her in Belgrade.
Q 28Why did Elizabeth decline to reverse Gough Whitlam's dismissal in the 1975 Australian crisis?
She would not interfere in decisions reserved for the governor-general
The affair fuelled Australian republicanism, though a 1999 referendum kept the monarchy.
Q 29Which communist leader's 1978 state visit did Elizabeth endure, privately thinking he had blood on his hands?
Nicolae Ceaușescu
The next year brought the unmasking of Anthony Blunt as a spy and the IRA murder of Lord Mountbatten.
Q 30Which Canadian prime minister pirouetted behind Elizabeth II and slid down banisters at Buckingham Palace?
Pierre Trudeau
She found him rather disappointing, but impressed Canadian politicians with her grasp of the constitution.