1. Queen Elizabeth II is the fortieth monarch since William the Conqueror
2. She was born at 2.40am on April 21, 1926 at 17 Bruton Street, Mayfair
3. During her reign she has undertaken more than 256 official overseas visits
to 129 different countries
4. She has visited Australia 15 times, Canada 23 times, Jamaica six times and
New Zealand ten times
5. The Queen has received many unusual gifts including jaguars, sloths,
beaver, an elephant, pineapples, eggs, snail shells, maple trees and 7kg of
prawns
6. She has sent around 100,000 telegrams to centenarians in the UK and the
Commonwealth
7. The Queen has launched 23 ships
8. She has given out about 78,000 Christmas puddings to staff, continuing the
custom of King George V and King George VI
9. The Queen sat for the first and only hologram portrait in 2003
10. She has met five astronauts at Buckingham Palace
11. There have been six Archbishops of Canterbury during the Queen's reign
12. She first visited a mosque in the UK in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire in July
2002
13. The Queen takes a keen interest in horse breeding. Horses bred at the
Royal studs have won virtually every major race in Britain
14. She is a Patron of the Royal Pigeon Racing Association. One of the Queen's
birds is called Sandringham Lightning
15. The Queen's wedding ring was made from a nugget of Welsh gold which came
from the Clogau St David's mine near Dolgellau
16. The Queen's real birthday is on April 21, but it celebrated officially in
June
17. She has attended 34 Royal Variety performances
18. Since 1952, the Queen has conferred more than 387,700 honours and awards
19. She does not have, or need, a passport or a driving licence
20. At her birth the Queen was only third in line to the throne
21. Her early years were spent at 145 Piccadilly (now the Intercontinental
Hotel at Hyde Park Corner)
22. She was instructed in religion by the Archbishop of Canterbury
23. She became a Girl Guide and was a strong swimmer
24. The Queen made her first public speech when she was 14
25. Aged 13, she was entertained to tennis and tea by an 18-year-old naval
cadet, Prince Philip of Greece
26. Before she was 18, she was President of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for
Children in Hackney and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Children
27. She first flew in an aeroplane in July 1945
28. She is the only British monarch in history properly trained to change a
spark plug
29. On VE Day she and her sister slipped into the crowd to celebrate
30. Her first official overseas visit was to South Africa in 1947
31. She collected clothing coupons for her wedding dress
32. The Queen spent her honeymoon at Broadlands, Hampshire, and at Birkhall,
Balmoral
33. She has four children and eight grandchildren
34. Prince Andrew and Prince Edward were the first children to be born to a
reigning monarch since Queen Victoria had her family
35. Her grandchildren are Peter and Zara Phillips (b. 1977 and 1981); Prince
William of Wales and Prince Henry of Wales (b. 1982 and 1984); Princess
Beatrice of York and Princess Eugenie of York (b. 1988 and 1990); Lady
Louise Windsor, daughter of the Earl and Countess of Wessex (b. 2003) and
Viscount Severn (b.2007)
36. The Queen usually spends Christmas at Sandringham in Norfolk
37. She was in a remote part of Kenya when she received the news of her
father's death and her own accession to the throne on Wednesday, February
6, 1952
38. The Coronation took place in Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953, and was
broadcast on television for the first time - at the Queen's request
39. The first prime minister of her reign was Winston Churchill
40. In 1962 she paid an informal visit to the East End of London, visiting
housing redevelopments in Bethnal Green and Stepney
41. The first film about the Royal Family was shown in 1969. It was watched by
23 million
42. In 1970, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh initiated a new practice -
the “walkabout” - to allow them to meet as many people as possible
43. The Queen exercised her Royal prerogative in 1963 when she appointed Lord
Home Prime Minister
44. In 1965, she made the first visit by a monarch to Germany for 52 years
45. She formally acknowledged Prince Charles as heir in 1969
46. She travelled 56,000 miles to celebrate her Silver Jubilee in 1977
47. The Queen has a bank account at Coutts & Co. There is a Coutts
cash-dispensing machine in Buckingham Palace
48. She received the first female prime minister at Buckingham Palace in 1979,
when Margaret Thatcher replaced James Callaghan as leader
49. The Queen was the first British Sovereign to travel to the Middle East in
1979
50. In February 1983, she opened the Jamaican Parliament in its 21st
anniversary year of independence
51. When she opened the Scottish Parliament she called it "the threshold of a
new constitutional age"
52. An era in Royal travel came to end on December 11, 1997, when the Royal
Yacht Britannia was decommissioned
53. On November 20 1992, fire broke out at Windsor Castle in the Queen's
Private Chapel
54. She gave special permission for the American National Anthem to be played
during the Changing of the Guard on September 14 2001
55. The Queen celebrated her Golden Jubilee in 2002, including visiting 70
cities and towns around the UK
56. Every year she attends the Derby at Epsom and the Summer Race Meeting at
Ascot
57. She has made private visits to America to see stallion stations and stud
farms in Kentucky
58. The Queen loves Scottish country dancing
59. Tony Blair was the first prime minister to be born during her reign, which
has already seen nine prime ministers
60. The 1953 FA Cup Final was the first football game she attended
61. Peggy was the first horse that the young Elizabeth owned, a gift from her
grandfather, George V, when she was four
62. The Queen has sat through 91 state banquets and posed for 139 official
portraits
63. She has given the nation a Christmas message every year except 1969
64. She has been sent more than three million letters
65. 1.1 million people have attended her garden parties
66. She has performed the State Opening of Parliament every year except 1959
and 1963, when she was expecting Prince Andrew and Prince Edward
respectively
67. She was the first British monarch to visit China, in 1986, and the first
for 450 years to receive the Pope at Buckingham Palace
68. The Queen sent her first e-mail from an army base in 1976
69. The official Buckingham Palace website was set up in 1997
70. She first used the Underground in May 1939, when she travelled with her
governess, Marion Crawford, and Princess Margaret
71. She has visited the sets of EastEnders, Coronation Street and Emmerdale
72. She is the first monarch to be awarded a gold disc from the recording
industry
73. Her reign has been shared with more than 30 corgis, starting with one
called Susan, a present for her 18th birthday in 1944
74. The Queen introduced a new breed of dog known as the "dorgi", when one of
the corgis mated with a dachshund named Pipkin
75. She owns all the sturgeon, whales and dolphins in British waters, as well
as 88 cygnets on the Thames
76. The Queen is the first British monarch to see three of her children divorce
77. She is the first sovereign to be forced to open Buckingham Palace to the
public (in order to pay for the restoration of Windsor Castle after the fire
of 1992)
78. She is the first monarch to cause an Old Bailey trial to be halted,
despite being Paul Burrell's ultimate prosecutor as Head of State
79. She keeps her cornflakes in Tupperware boxes
80. She demoted a footman for feeding her corgis whisky
81. She owns the largest and finest private art collection in the world
Sources: Royal Handbook, by Alan Hamilton, and Buckingham Palace
I still consider myself a loyal subject of the British Empire, Her Majesty is the greatest shining light of everything good in the world. She is truly inspiring and as an Australian citizen, i am proud to call her my Queen, she has given many years of great service.
I am proud of Her Majesty's accomplishments. All of the worlds leaders should take note of how a real leader acts.
Luke, Melbourne, Australia
Long may she reign over Australia too!
TR, Brisbane, Queensland
A very impressive list from a very amazing and gracious woman. I have the greatest respect for the Queen and the Royal Family as a whole. Some of the individual family members though leave a bit to be desired. I just wonder what the list will look like for Charles' or William's 81st birthday. I'm sure a lot of the facts will be unprintable.
Kevin McKeen, Austin, Texas/USA
Interesting list, however, the "royal walk about" began during the Canadian tour of King George and the Queen Mother in 1939. The location, I believe, was Ottawa.
MC, Toronto,
Her Majesty is a shining beacon of hope, dedication and loyalty to all. Her outstanding years of total devotion to her country have made this yankee a firm believer in her- if not of a monarchy itself. Here's to 80 more years of prosperity for the wonderful Grand Dame herself.
Tammy, perkasie, pa, usa
Even though I live many thousands of miles away in Tamworth Australia, I too am proud to call her my Queen (i'm not so sure of some of the others directly in line. )With the election of the Rudd Labor Government a republic looms on the horizon. But despite all of this in reality Australians have a very poor record in constitutional changes....... most have been easily defeated
Tamworth
Warren Shory, Tamworth, NSW
Her Majesty is a wonderful role model and I am proud to be her subject. I am thrilled that she has reigned this long and hope that she continues to reign over us for many more years. I recently wrote a paper for a uni class about the role of Her Majesty over the past half-century. She truly is an amazing civil servant who takes her coronations vows very seriously. She's someone this nation can be very proud to call their Queen. God save the Queen!
Skylar Baker-Jordan, Basingstoke, England
It seems that in reading many articles and comments over the years on the British monarchy, foreingers value the monarchy and find it's history invaluable and charming a lot more than the some of the British people. Why?
Robin C., Texas, USA
Ian from Solihull, hers was probably the greater art collection in Windsor, so it makes sense that it was saved first. And if your house burnt down, you'd probably want your things saved over someone else's wouldn't you?
I think the Queen is a great asset to our country, and we can be very proud of her - still doing such a great job in her eighties. Long may she reign over us.
Al, Paris,
Good comment Mels. Trouble is Richard the Lionheart was King of England and not therefore a British sovereign. The same can be said of Edward I and Henry IV who both visited Jerusalem.
Mark, Nottingham, UK
God save the Queen :D :D
Lizzie, Wolverhampton,
49. The Queen was the first British Sovereign to travel to the Middle East in 1979
Does Richard the Lionheart not count as a "British" monarch?
mels, toronto,
81 - the art collection.
The onsite fire brigade at Windsor Castle were instructed to save her personal art before the nations art. Corruption.
The Republic is overdue.
Ian, Solihull,
A wonderful public figure. One which the UK can be very proud.
One wonders who could ever match up tp her.
Jerry Scroggin, Phoenix, Arizona/USA