Community & Current Events
30 little-known facts about Queen Elizabeth II
Community & Current Events
30 little-known facts about Queen Elizabeth II
Although she was one of the most publicized personalities in the world, much about Queen Elizabeth II remains unknown. Here are some facts that will surely surprise you about the Queen.
- Queen Elizabeth II was only four years old when her grandfather King George V, gave her her first horse. Her love for horses never left her.
- She was passionate about photography. Her first camera of cameras was the Rolleiflex and the Leica M3, which she used in the 1960s and 1970s.
- Among the most unusual gifts given to the Queen was two live turtles and a seven-year-old bull elephant named Jumbo. Among her many animals, the Queen owned over 200 racing pigeons.
- Elizabeth and her sister Margaret, who died on February 9, 2002, were very close to each other. Margaret had a direct telephone line with the Queen at Buckingham Palace. The two accomplices took advantage of their conversations to laugh and gossip.
- The Queen created a new breed of dog, the "Dorgi", when one of Princess Margaret's dachshunds mated with one of her corgis. At that time, there were eight of these dogs.
- The monarch was born at 17 Bruton Street, in the Mayfair district, in London. Her birth house was destroyed in large part by bombings during the war. The place is now occupied by Hakkasan, a Michelin-starred Cantonese restaurant.
- In 1982, an intruder managed to enter the Queen's bedroom while she was sleeping. She had a 10-minute conversation with him before calling security.
- The Queen's children are named after her name, Windsor, rather than her husband's name, Mountbatten. Philip had already complained about being the only man in England whose children did not bear his name.
- The Queen would use her purse to send messages to her staff. If she wanted to leave a gathering after a meal, she would place her purse on the table. If she was tired of talking to someone, she would switch her purse in arm.
- The oldest person she ever sent a personal letter to was a 116-year-old Canadian. That was in 1984.
- Since 1324, the King (or Queen) of England has owned all marine animals living in the territorial waters of the United Kingdom. The sovereign also owns all the swans of the lakes and rivers of their kingdom.
- Her Majesty had more than 30 corgis during her reign. At the most recent count, she had six, which she brought almost everywhere. She received her first puppy of this breed in 1944, for her 18th birthday.
- The queen wore more than 5,000 hats during her reign. However, for reasons of economy, she sometimes wore the same hat up to 30 times.
- Twelve people worked full-time on the Queen's wardrobe, including Angela Kelly, her personal stylist since 2012, three dressmakers, a milliner and four other designers.
- In 1968, the royal family allowed television cameras to film their daily lives at Buckingham Palace; 75% of the population of the United Kingdom watched this documentary.
- Her Majesty has had 12 Canadian Prime Ministers, from Louis St. Laurent (Prime Minister from 1948 to1957) to Justin Trudeau.
- The Queen's favourite song was People Will Say We're in Love, from the American musical, Oklahoma!
- Elizabeth II held nine different thrones: Six in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace, two in Westminster Abbey and one in the House of Lords.
- During her long reign, the sovereign made 261 trips to 116 different countries, including 22 trips to Canada.
- For breakfast, she preferred eggs that came from New Zealand.
- Elizabeth II was patron of more than 600 charities, including 33 in Canada. She gave visibility to the causes she cared about.
- The Queen made 968 of her official visits to the United Kingdom and Europe aboard her yacht, The Brittania, which was in service from 1953 to 1997.
- According to several of the Queen's personal chefs, her favourite cocktail was gin with Dubonnet.
- On average, each year, Queen Elizabeth II entertained approximately 50,000 people at Buckingham Palace, for meals and receptions.
- In order to foster the historically strained relationship between the Catholic Church and the Church of England, Queen Elizabeth II was the first British monarch to visit the Vatican. This was in 1980, when John Paul II was Pope. Queen Elizabeth II and Pope John Paul II met on two other occasions, in 1982 and in 2000.
- She was very fond of the British television show, Downton Abbey. She loved to point out historical errors and anachronisms in the series.
- In 1935, for the Golden Jubilee of her grandfather, George V, Queen Elizabeth II appeared for the first time on a Canadian banknote. She was only eight years old at the time.
- In the course of her official duties, the Queen has awarded more than 400,000 military and civilian medals.
- According to her biographer, Sally Bedell, the Queen had a particular talent for imitating the sound of the Concorde, the famous supersonic aircraft, which is no longer in service.
- Queen Elizabeth II was the only Briton not to hold a passport. In addition, her cars did not need license plates.
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