It is said that Queen Elizabeth II has the most popular and easily recognizable face, and I have no doubt about it. It can be due to the fact that her portrait is printed on all currencies, and interestingly she was the first monarch whose face appeared on the British currency in 1960.

On September 8, 2022, Queen Elizabeth II left this world. Though, she will always remain in our hearts. This article is dedicated to discussing the Queen's life and special facts about her. 

 

Via BBC

 

 The future Queen was born 

 

 Queen Elizabeth II was born on 21 April 1926 at 2.40 am. She was the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York. They later became King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. However, Queen Elizabeth always celebrated her birthday in the month of June, as the weather was more pleasant.

 

Via Google

 

 She was named Elizabeth Alexandra Mary after her mother, great-grandmother and grandmother.

 At her birth, it was most unlikely that she would ever take the throne. She was the third one in the line of succession and likely to be pushed down further if her uncle and father were to have more sons.

 

 Queen Elizabeth’s Childhood 

 

Via Google

 

Queen Elizabeth II was known by the nickname “Lilibet”. She was particularly dear to her grandfather, King, who she referred to as “Grandpa England”.  She was one of the few who were not afraid of him.

 She spent a large chunk of her childhood growing up in a 25 bedroom house near Hyde Park with her set of nannies. Most of her playmates were not other princesses, but children of businessmen and doctors. 

 She was mostly homeschooled, as her parents wanted a happy and memorable childhood for her and her sister Margaret. At the age of 7 she was joined by one of her governess called Miss Marion Crawford. They had an easy and carefree childhood till Queen Elizabeth II turned 10. Her father was crowned as the King and eventually the family moved to Buckingham Palace.

 This changed Lilibet's future completely, as she was now an heir to the throne. It also changed her parents’ education strategy for her. She was educated by private tutors, and the education was focused on British history and law. She learned a number of languages, including French.

 

 Her life before she became Queen Elizabeth 

 

Via Google

 

Queen Elizabeth II made her first public speech on 13th October 1940 when she spoke on a radio broadcast. She expressed her emotions and feelings for the people who were suffering during World War II.

 This was the same year when she was introduced to Prince Philip during the family’s visit to the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth. She was 13 years old, while Prince Philip of Greece was 18. She was fascinated by him and found him quite remarkable. 4 years later Philip came to spend time with their family where the thought of Queen Elizabeth II marrying him came up. However, it was turned down by the king as she did not see him fit enough for her. Her German background did not help the situation.

 In 1945, when Queen Elizabeth II turned 19, she finally convinced her father to let her join the Auxiliary Territorial Service as a trainee ambulance driver. This gave her a chance to compete slightly fairly with others of similar. 

 

 Queen Elizabeth’s Family 

 

Via Google

 

Her engagement was formally announced in 1947 with Prince Philip of Greece, who was also her third cousin. At that time, he was serving as a lieutenant in the Royal Navy. They were later married on November 20, 1947, at Westminster Abbey.

 They had four children, Charles who was born in 1948 followed by Anne who came into the world in 1950. And later Prince Andrew and Prince Edward. She had eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

 

 Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation 

 

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Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation took place a year after the demise of her father, King George VI. It is the royal tradition to hold off from any social gathering as part of respect for the deceased. This period allows them ample time to prepare and plan for a ceremony of this grandeur. The Coronation of Elizabeth II was on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. She claimed the throne at the age of 25, this made her the 6th woman in history to reach the British Throne.

 Her coronation was the only one that was allowed to be aired on national TV. The crowning ceremony was watched by 20 million people. It was the fourth and last coronation in the 20th century.

 She was crowned as the Queen for the following countries and states:

United Kingdom
Canada
Australia
New Zealand
Pakistan
South Africa
Sri Lanka

 

 Queen Elizabeth’s Titles 

 

Via Google

 

Not many are familiar, but the Queen held different titles in different states and countries. They were decided according to the style of the country she was ruling. She held around 18 titles.

 However, between the time of her father’s accession and the day she got married (20th November 1947), she was referred to as ‘Her Royal Highness The Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, Countess of Merioneth and Baroness Greenwich’. However, once she took the throne, below are some of her titles:

She was currently known as Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.

 Her title in Canada was: Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom, Canada and Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.

Her title in Australia was: Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God Queen of Australia and Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth. In the Bahamas, she is Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth. 

 

 Her life as a Queen 

 

Queen Elizabeth II has the longest reign in world history, comprising 70 years. Before her, this record was held by Queen Victoria, who was the longest reigning monarch for 63 years.

Via Google

 

Interestingly, she is the only one in Britain who was allowed to drive her car without a driver's license, and she drove her own car till her last days. However, she did not drive publicly but within her estate grounds. It's a known fact that she was a fan of Land Rover and owned a spectacular collection of British Collection of vehicles.

 Apart from this she has collected some exotic gifts from all over the world which includes a jaguar, two sloths, an elephant and two turtles. They all live in London Zoo.

 She has a handful of key moments during her reign. One of them has to be the time when she visited Australia and New Zealand as part of her royal tour and took a casual stroll to greet the public instead of waving from a safe distance. This practice is common among the royals now, but it wasn't the case back then.

 

Via Google

 

She was also the first Monarch to visit the Chinese mainland after Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's government agreed to return sovereignty to China in 1997. She toured the Great Wall of China and other sites.

The year 1992 was one of the hardest years in Queen Elizabeth’s II life, a year she often referred to as ‘Annus Horribilis’ a Latin word for horrible year. This Year 3 of her children went through a divorce and later her Windsor Castle was destroyed in a fire. Great Britain also faced a tough recession and economic crises.

She celebrated her Golden Jubilee of taking the throne in 2002. However, this year was also tragic as she lost her sister and mother. She spent this year traveling to 70 cities and 50 counties in the United Kingdom. As well has traveling around the world including Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the Caribbeans.

 

Via Google

 

She was also the first Monarch in 100 years to visit the Republic of Ireland in May 2011. 

She faced yet another loss on April 9th, 2021 when Prince Philip, her husband of 73 years, passed away at the age of 99.

She celebrated her Platinum Jubilee in 2022 after completing 70 years on the throne. The celebrations continued through the month of February 22. The Queen along with her 4 generations watched the celebrations from the balcony of Buckingham Palace. The celebrations included a Military parade, Royal Air Force flyover and an 82 gun salute. Here was even a parade of Queen Elizabeth’s II favorite dogs breed, Corgis, as more than 30 of them marched through the streets of London.

 

 The End of Queen Elizabeth’s II era 

 

Via Getty Images

 

She passed away peacefully on 8th September 2022  at her state in Balmora, Scotland. She was 96 years old and had her son Prince Charles( next in line for the throne) and Grandson Prince William next to her.  The state funeral will be held on Monday, 19th September 2022. She will be laid to rest at King George VI Memorial Chapel at Windsor.

 The death announcement was officially made to the concerned officials with the statement “The London Bridge is down”.