25 Majestic Facts About Queen Elizabeth II

In 2022, Queen Elizabeth II etched her name in history as the first British monarch to hold the throne for an astounding 70 years. While countless articles have chronicled the life of the world’s longest-reigning living monarch, the woman behind the title remains a mystery to many, including her day-to-day responsibilities. Here are some lesser-known insights into this legendary figure, who passed away on September 8, 2022, at the age of 96.

1. She wasn't born with the destiny of becoming the heir to the throne.

For the first decade of her life, Princess Elizabeth held a relatively low-profile royal position—much like Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie of York today—but everything changed following the death of her grandfather, King George V, in 1936.

Next in line for the throne was Elizabeth’s uncle, Edward VIII, who famously abdicated less than a year into his reign to marry American socialite Wallis Simpson. Without children of his own, the crown passed to his brother Albert (Elizabeth’s father), who became George VI, elevating 10-year-old Elizabeth to the position of heir apparent.

2. Queen Elizabeth II’s younger sister affectionately gave her a family nickname.

Elizabeth and Margaret were the only daughters of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and King George VI, who famously remarked about his girls: 'Lilibet is my pride, Margaret my joy.' Lilibet, of course, was Elizabeth, who received the nickname after her younger sister Margaret—whom the family lovingly called Margot—often mispronounced her elder sister's name.

3. She didn’t experience school like other children.

Heirs apparent don’t attend primary school like ordinary children. Instead, Elizabeth was tutored at home by various instructors, including Henry Marten, vice-provost of Eton College (which remains an all-boys school), and also received private religious lessons from the Archbishop of Canterbury.

4. However, Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret technically did have a teacher.

Just because Elizabeth didn’t attend a regular school doesn’t mean she lacked an education. Much of her learning came from her nanny, Marion Crawford, affectionately known as 'Crawfie' by the Royal Family. However, Crawford would eventually fall out of favor with the Royals after publishing a tell-all book in 1953, *The Little Princesses*, which detailed her experiences with Elizabeth during her youth.

5. Elizabeth was eager to join the war effort, but was too young.

When World War II began in 1939, Elizabeth, still a teenager, pleaded with her father to let her contribute in some way. She initially took to the airwaves, delivering radio broadcasts aimed at boosting the spirits of British children. In one of these broadcasts, the 14-year-old princess comforted listeners, saying, 'I can truthfully say to you all that we children at home are full of cheerfulness and courage. We are trying to do all we can to help our gallant sailors, soldiers, and airmen and we are trying too to bear our own share of the danger and sadness of war.'

6. She later served in World War II.

Despite the dangers, Elizabeth joined the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service in 1945 at the age of 18, where she trained as both a truck driver and mechanic.

Queen Elizabeth II was the only female member of the Royal Family to serve in the armed forces, and until her passing, she remained the only living head of state who had officially served during World War II.

7. She marked the end of the war by celebrating just like the rest of her countrymen.

When then-Prime Minister Winston Churchill declared the end of the war in Europe on May 8, 1945, crowds flooded the streets of London to celebrate—including Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret. The sheltered sisters were given special permission to slip out of Buckingham Palace and join the festivities at their father’s request.

“It was a rare moment of personal freedom,” recalled Margaret Rhodes, their cousin who accompanied them, “a Cinderella moment in reverse.”

8. Queen Elizabeth II wed her cousin.

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and Queen Elizabeth were third cousins, both sharing the same great-great-grandparents: Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

9. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip had known each other since childhood.

Philip, the son of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg, first met Elizabeth when she was just 8 years old and he was 14. Both were present at the wedding of Princess Marina of Greece (Prince Philip’s cousin) and Prince George, Duke of Kent (Elizabeth’s uncle).

Five years later, the two met again when King George VI took Elizabeth on a tour of the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, where Philip was a cadet. In a personal note, Elizabeth recalled falling for the young cadet: 'I was 13 years old and he was 18, just about to leave. He joined the Navy when the war broke out, and I only saw him occasionally when he was on leave—about twice in three years,' she wrote. 'Then, when his uncle and aunt, Lord and Lady Mountbatten, were away, he spent several weekends with us at Windsor.'

10. She never told her parents about her upcoming wedding.

In 1946, Philip proposed to Elizabeth during a month-long visit to Balmoral, her royal estate in Scotland. She accepted the proposal without informing her parents. However, when George VI learned about the upcoming engagement, he gave his approval only on the condition that the announcement would wait until after Elizabeth’s 21st birthday.

The official public announcement of their engagement was finally made nearly a year later, on July 9, 1947.

11. Queen Elizabeth II had a distinctly royal name.

She was the second British monarch to carry the name Elizabeth, but Queen Elizabeth II was not named after Henry VIII’s daughter. Her full birth name, Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, was inspired by her mother, Elizabeth; her paternal great-grandmother, Queen Alexandra; and her paternal grandmother, Queen Mary.

12. She had the privilege of choosing her own surname.

Officially, the Queen’s last name was “Windsor,” a title adopted by George V in 1917 to separate the Royal Family from the German-sounding “Saxe-Coburg-Gotha” during World War I.

However, in 1960, as a means of distinguishing themselves from the rest of the Royal Family, Elizabeth and Philip officially adopted the surname “Windsor-Mountbatten.” (This surname controversy was briefly explored in the Netflix series The Crown.)

13. Queen Elizabeth II celebrated two birthdays.

Like many British monarchs, Elizabeth had the unique privilege of celebrating her birthday twice, and the reason lies in seasonal traditions and fitting pageantry.

Born on April 21, 1926, Elizabeth’s birthday was deemed too chilly and potentially rainy for a grand celebration. Therefore, her official state-recognized birthday was moved to a Saturday in late May, or more commonly June, ensuring it fell during warmer weather. The date varied each year, but it often coincided with Trooping the Colour, a major British military event.

14. Her coronation was televised despite her objections.

At just 25 years old, Elizabeth became queen following the death of her father, George VI, on February 6, 1952. At the time, she was in Kenya, and she returned home as the new monarch. As viewers of The Crown will recall, the lead-up to her coronation was filled with significant drama.

Known for being camera-shy, Elizabeth—who had previously refused to allow photographs at her wedding—was initially opposed to having her coronation televised. There was a belief that showing the event to the public would undermine the traditional upper-class exclusivity. A Coronation Commission, led by Philip, was formed to discuss the matter. They initially decided to limit camera access to one specific area of Westminster Abbey, ‘west of the organ screen.’ However, after further discussions, the decision was made to broadcast the ceremony in full, with one stipulation: no close-ups of Elizabeth’s face.

15. She financed her wedding gown using war ration coupons.

Still feeling the effects of post-war austerity, Elizabeth financed her wedding dress with ration coupons and an additional 200-coupon supplement from the government. Despite the challenging circumstances, the gown was a masterpiece, crafted from ivory duchesse silk, adorned with 10,000 imported seed pearls, and taking six months to complete. It also featured a 13-foot train. (Recreating the dress for The Crown cost just under $40,000.)

16. Queen Elizabeth II didn’t require a passport for her travels.

As the world’s most well-traveled head of state, having visited over 115 countries during countless state visits, Elizabeth II never needed a passport. Since British passports are officially issued in the Queen’s name, she technically didn’t require one herself.

17. Queen Elizabeth II didn’t require a driver’s license either.

It wasn’t just because she had an entire fleet of chauffeurs at her disposal. In the UK, driver’s licenses are officially issued in the name of the Queen herself.

Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, former British ambassador to Saudi Arabia, shared a memorable moment with The Sunday Times, recalling when Queen Elizabeth drove former Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah around Balmoral. "To his surprise, the Queen climbed into the driver's seat, turned the ignition, and drove off," he explained. "In Saudi Arabia, women are not—yet—permitted to drive, and Abdullah wasn’t accustomed to being driven by a woman, let alone by a queen."

18. Queen Elizabeth II was not required to pay taxes, though she opted to do so anyway.

Queen Elizabeth made the decision to voluntarily pay income and capital gains taxes starting in 1992, although she was always subject to the Value Added Tax.

19. Queen Elizabeth survived an assassination attempt.

During the 1981 Trooping the Colour, while leading a royal procession on horseback toward Buckingham Palace, shots rang out. A 17-year-old named Marcus Sarjeant, fascinated by the assassinations of figures like John Lennon and John F. Kennedy, fired a series of blanks at the Queen. Sarjeant, who had written in his diary, 'I am going to stun and mystify the whole world with nothing more than a gun,' was unable to obtain live ammunition in the UK. He was sentenced to five years in prison under the 1848 Treason Act, but was released in October 1984.

20. Queen Elizabeth also survived an intruder entering her bedroom.

A year after the Trooping the Colour incident, Queen Elizabeth had another unsettling experience. But instead of occurring near Buckingham Palace, this time the event took place inside the Palace. On July 9, 1982, Michael Fagen managed to scale the Palace’s barbed wire fence, climb up a drainpipe, and sneak into the Queen’s bedroom.

While reports at the time claimed that Fagen and the Queen had a lengthy conversation before he was apprehended by palace security, Fagen later told The Independent that the Queen wasn’t interested in chatting: 'She went past me and ran out of the room; her little bare feet running across the floor.'

21. Technically, Queen Elizabeth II owned all the dolphins in the UK.

In addition to her claim over all the country’s dolphins, Queen Elizabeth also owned all sturgeon and whales. An ancient statute from King Edward II’s reign in 1324 declares, “Also the King shall have ... whales and sturgeons taken in the sea or elsewhere within the realm,” which means most sea creatures are technically considered 'fishes royal' and are thus owned by the Crown.

22. Queen Elizabeth had a special form of currency that she used to give to the elderly.

The Queen had silver coins known as “Maundy Money” — featuring her likeness on the front — which were distributed to pensioners during a ceremony held on Maundy Thursday. This royal tradition, which began in the 13th century, originated from the Royal Family’s obligation to wash the feet of and give gifts to impoverished citizens, symbolizing Jesus’s act of washing the feet of the poor. By the 18th century, washing feet was no longer deemed a royal duty, and the ritual evolved into the distribution of money instead.

23. Gin was her preferred drink.

Before her doctors recommended that she stop drinking, Queen Elizabeth II was said to have a daily ritual of enjoying gin mixed with Dubonnet (a fortified wine) and a slice of lemon on the rocks before lunch. She was also known to have a glass of champagne every evening.

24. She bred her own unique variety of dogs.

Elizabeth, who is well-known for her deep affection for Corgis (having owned over 30 during her reign, with her last one, Willow, passing away in 2018), also had a soft spot for Dorgis. At the time of her death, she owned a Dorgi named Candy, while her other Dorgi, Vulcan, passed away in 2020. The Queen created this crossbreed when one of her Corgis mated with a Dachshund named Pipkin, owned by Princess Margaret.

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25. She dabbled in social media … sort of.

This article was originally published in 2017; it has been updated for 2022.