Happy Birthday Queen Elizabeth II: Most Interesting Facts About The Longest-Reigning British Monarch as She Turns 94

Queen Elizabeth II, the queen of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth realms turns 94 on the April 21. She is the daughter of George VI, the King of the United Kingdom between 1936 and 1952 and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. Queen Elizabeth took over the reigns of her empire on June 2, 1953, and is the longest-serving female head of a state in the world. Her sense of duty over these years has won praise from international communities. The Queen is known for her devotion towards public life and continues to honour all her day to day commitments with great vigour. She is one of the most travelled monarchs in history and that has helped her strengthen UK’s tie with the rest of the world. On her birthday, we take a look at some of the interesting facts about Queen Elizabeth. Queen Elizabeth II Turns 94! An Ode to How Her Majesty Crafted Her Own Rainbow With a Brilliant Fashion Arsenal!

• In World War 2 of 1939, a teenaged Elizabeth asked her father to join the war but after his refusal, she came up with an alternate plan to make a contribution towards her nation. She made radio broadcasts to lift the morale of the soldiers, sailors and airmen who were risking their lives in the battle.
• She studied constitutional history and law at home tutored by some of the best brains in Britain at that time to prepare her for her future role.
• At the age of 18, she became the first member of the Royale Family to join the Armed Services when she was inducted as a truck driver and a mechanic.
• She met her husband, Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh when she was 8 at the wedding of Princess Marina of Greece and Prince George, Duke of Kent.
• Queen Elizabeth loved Welsh Corgis when she was young and owned over 30 of those dogs and bred them.
• The Queen is a keen learner of new languages and picked up French when she was young. In addition to this, she also knows 4 types of English, basic German and Spanish.
• Queen Elizabeth II’s birth name is Elizabeth Alexandra Mary after the names of her mother Elizabeth, her paternal great grandmother, Alexandra and paternal grandmother Mary.
• She gets to celebrate her birthday twice due to the UK celebrating its monarch’s anniversary in warmer months than her real birthday of April 21.
• Since she is the Queen of the United Kingdom and all passports and driver license issued in the country are in her name, she herself does not need one.
• The Queen is hugely popular both in the UK and around the world and it is believed she receives around 70000 letters a year.
• Her iconic wedding dress designed by Norman Hartnell was paid by rationing coupons she collected during her participation in the war.
• All the swans and dolphins in the UK water are technically owned by the Queen. She is also the owner of all whales and sturgeon in the British water.
• Although she is not liable to pay any tax, she has been paying income and capital gain taxes since 1992.
• She survived an assassination attempt in 1981 when a 17-year-old Marcus Sarjeant fired a series of rounds towards her. A year later, a man named Michael Fagen managed to sneak into her room after breaking the here Palace’s security cordon. The man was apprehended on time though.
• Queen Elizabeth has 30 godchildren. They include the likes of Guy Nevill, Princess Anne Marie of Denmark, Lady Camilla Wallop and James Ogilvy.
• She has a glass of champagne each night along with dry Martini. She takes a gin and Dubonnet before lunch.

Elizabeth II is the 40th monarch since William the Conqueror obtained the crown of England on Christmas Day 1066. Elizabeth was crowned as Queen Elizabeth II on June 2, 1953, in Westminster Abbey, at the age of 27. Queen Elizabeth II became the longest-reigning British monarch on September 9, 2015, when she surpassed the reign of her great-great-grandmother Victoria.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 21, 2020 11:13 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).