What do you think about Queen Elizabeth II?
Queen Elizabeth II was one of the most loved royal figures in the world. She reigned over the United Kingdom and the countries that are part of the Commonwealth for 70 years. Her diplomacy, grace, and authority managed to help the nation gain respect and build several strategic relationships with other countries.
September 8, 2022, was the saddest day for the United Kingdom; it was the day when Her Majesty left the world behind. She died at the age of 96, leaving her son, Prince Charles, to take the throne.
Many people said that things won’t be the same now that she’s no longer there, but her memory will always live with them. We all know that the Queen was passionate about bold colors and horses, but there are other things that nobody told us about. Until now.
We became extremely curious to discover more about the woman who was the sovereign of such a strong country for no less than 7 decades. If you’re just as curious as we are, keep reading because we’ll talk about some fun facts you didn’t know about the Queen of Great Britain.
1. She was very funny
In 1998, when Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia went to Europe to visit Her Royal Highness, it was against the law for women to drive. We don’t know why, but these were the rules.
Of course, the Queen had the power to avoid them and this was exactly what she did. According to sources, Prince Abdullah was stunned to see the monarch getting into the front seat of the car as she gave him the royal tour of one of her Scottish properties.
With the help of his interpreter, Prince Abdullah begged Her Majesty to slow down and pay attention to the road as she sped along Scotland’s curvy, winding roads.
She once again displayed her cute sense of humor when she came upon some American visitors while she was out for a walk in the countryside in Balmoral. The tourists asked her if she had ever met the sovereign, and she replied, “No, but he has,” pointing to her security. We love a royal figure who doesn’t take themselves too seriously!
…What do you think about her sense of humor? Do you find it funny?
2. She had 2 birthdays
Yes, you’ve read that right. The most important person in the United Kingdom was celebrated twice a year. Apparently, she wasn’t the only monarch that had two birthdays.
She was born in London on April 21, 1926, and was the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York. Elizabeth became queen of the United Kingdom and fourteen other Commonwealth countries when she was only 25 years old. Even though she was born in the spring, the world celebrated her birthday on June 11th.
This interesting habit goes back to King George II. He was born in November, a month in which the weather is typically soggy, gloomy, and cold, and he wasn’t a big fan of that. He made the decision to coincide his birthday celebration in 1749 with the Trooping of the Colour parade in June when the weather was normally better and warmer.
From that moment, any kings or queens whose birthdays happened to be in the winter or the rainy season could choose to formally celebrate in accordance with the summer parade. And this is exactly what Her Majesty did.
3. She created her own dog breed
Everyone knew that Her Royal Highness loved animals and she had a large variety of pets over the years, including horses, sloths, and, believe it or not, even elephants. However, none of these animals were more famous than her Welsh Corgis.
She liked these pups so much that she had 30 Corgis as pets. We understand why she loved them. They’re so small and fluffy, and they’re the cutest creatures when they walk with those tiny legs.
One of her beautiful dogs crossed with her sister Margaret’s Dachshund, and it resulted in a brand-new breed of dog, called the Dorgi. There’s a lot of cuteness in the Royal Palace! We love it!
4. She always had a handbag when she was out
Her Royal Highness was very popular for the bright, colorful suits she used to wear, but one of the things she always had when she was out was her purse. She was never photographed without her purse.
You might think that the monarch just liked to be prepared if you saw her modest daily carry of makeup, mints, and reading glasses. Her handbag, however, served a second purpose.
Her purse was actually a way to communicate with her staff regarding different things that she wanted during a meeting. For instance, putting her handbag on a table meant she was leaving in five minutes, but putting it on the ground meant she needed to get out of a boring or embarrassing conversation as soon as possible!
…There’s also an American political figure who used to communicate different things through her sharp fashion sense. Madeleine Albright, our former Secretary of State, used brooches to communicate what she was thinking.
If she was on a diplomatic trip, for example, and things were moving slower than she was expecting, she would wear a brooch in the shape of a turtle. The two important ladies were very creative!
5. She loved James Bond
Queen Elizabeth II was all about action, and she knew how to show everyone that she was never afraid to try new things! At the dramatic opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics, Danny Boyle’s comedy sketch, which won him an Oscar, was the star of the event.
The Queen greeted Daniel Craig, the actor who played James Bond, as he arrived at Buckingham Palace to escort her to the ceremony. When he entered the room, Her Majesty was seated at a writing desk and said, “Good evening, Mr. Bond”.
After making a quick trip to a helicopter where she was accompanied by her royal corgis, Her Royal Highness then seemed to parachute into the arena. They flew above London and the Olympic Stadium. Of course, this dangerous scene was played by a stunt double.
However, a short while later, the actual Queen entered the stadium to roaring cheers while costumed exactly like her high-flying impersonator. We told you that she was funny!
6. She served in the military
People knew that Queen Elizabeth II was always a brave woman, but did you know that she was the first female member of the royal family that was actually a full-time dedicated member of the military?
She was only a 13-year-old when World War II broke out in the United Kingdom in 1939. A lot of children in London, including Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, were evacuated by their families to avoid those uncertain and dangerous times.
However, a few years later, she decided that she wanted to help the cause and do something meaningful, so in 1944, when she turned 18, she joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS), which was the women’s division of the British Army.
Many unmarried females who were under the age of 30 were encouraged to join the military’s efforts and help the cause. They had to labor in industry, on the farm, or in the military forces.
However, King George wanted to make sure that his daughter was safe, so he took measures to prevent the army from assigning her a special rank. Her Majesty joined the ATS as a second subaltern and then advanced to Junior Commander, which is a Captain’s rank.
In 1945, the Princess started being trained as a mechanic. She enrolled in an Aldershot driving and auto maintenance course, passing on April 14. At the time, she was known as “Princess Auto Mechanic” in newspapers.
Even though Princess Elizabeth spent most of her time at the training site, Windsor Castle was near enough for her, so she would visit her family each evening rather than spend the night there with her fellow ATS members.
While she was involved in the army, the Princess had to operate military vehicles, including trucks and automobiles, as part of her job. Some sources say that she was indeed very good at it!
7. She sent her first email in 1976
The Queen became the first monarch to send an email on March 26, 1976, when she visited the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment, which was a research facility for telecommunications in Malvern, United Kingdom. She did this using ARPANET, the computer network that later developed into what we know today as the Internet.
Her Royal Highness sent her email only a few years after the email was created as a tool for academics to communicate inside institutions. As Peter Kirstein, a man who coordinated the event and set up her personal email account said, all she had to do was push some keys to send her message. We can say that she really was some years ahead of the majority of people on the globe.
8. She published her first Instagram post in 2019
In 2019, the Queen visited the Science Museum in London and came across a letter that was destined for Prince Albert and Queen Victoria. It was sent by Charles Babbage, the first computer engineer in the world.
Her Majesty signed in on the official Royal Family Instagram account and she posted 2 photographs of the latter, with a description saying that while she was visiting the museum, she discovered a letter from the Royal Archives, which was written in 1842.
The Monarch referred to the use of these letters in her first Instagram post as “appropriate” since it celebrates how far technology has gone in the last decades. As you can imagine, a lot of people were happy to see Her Royal Highness join Instagram and left her thousands of comments saying that they can’t wait to see other posts from her.
…Did you know these things about Queen Elizabeth II?
…If you enjoyed reading this article about a member of the royal family, you should definitely check out this one too: Mary Tudor: 6 Shocking Things You Don’t Know About the FIRST Queen of England!
