Queen Elizabeth II.

Her coronation took place in Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953, and became the first major international television broadcast.

Although most of the Crown Jewels are owned by the state, the British Royal Family do own one of the most valuable collections of jewels in the world, containing some of the world’s largest diamonds, Emeralds, Sapphires, and Rubies.

Her coronation in 1953 was watched by a 13-year-old David Jason; she later knighted him during her birthday honors on December 1st, 2005. According to Jason, she never told anyone to arise once they had been knighted – it’s an urban myth and not part of the ceremony. Later, she told Jason he had been in the business a long time, and he asked if he had ever done anything to offend her. She laughed and said no.

At the time of her coronation, her favourite actors were Laurence Olivier, Gary Cooper and Dirk Bogarde.

Fifteen prime ministers of the United Kingdom served during Elizabeth’s reign: Winston Churchill 1951-1955, Anthony Eden 1955-1957, Harold Macmillan 1957-1963, Alec Douglas-Home 1963-1964, Harold Wilson 1964-1970, 1974-1976, Edward Heath 1970-1974, James Callaghan 1976-1979, Margaret Thatcher 1979-1990, John Major 1990-1997, Tony Blair 1997-2007, Gordon Brown 2007-2010, David Cameron 2010-2016, Theresa May 2016-2019, Boris Johnson 2019-2022, and Liz Truss, who took office two days before the queen’s death, following Boris Johnson’s resignation in July 2022. This surpassed the record 14 prime ministers who served under George III reigned 1760-1820.

She owned over 30 corgis over the years, and her four dogs as of February 2002 were named Pharos, Swift, Emma, and Linnet.

She owned the world’s finest Pink Diamond; it forms the centre of a flower brooch and weighs 54.50 carats.

As monarch, she had to formally approve all government legislation before it could become law known as royal assent. It would have created a massive constitutional crisis if she did not approve a piece of legislation – a monarch hasn’t refused assent for a bill since Queen Anne in 1708 – although the monarch may choose to ask the prime minister for a two-day delay, which is meant to cause the prime minister to reconsider the legislation; in practice, this very seldom happens.

Her favourite royal residence was Windsor Castle.

She received over 3 million items of correspondence during her reign.

In February 2017 she became the first British monarch to celebrate a Sapphire Jubilee 65 years on the throne and in November 2017 the first to celebrate a Platinum 70th wedding anniversary. She was married for 73 years before Philip’s death in April 2021.

From May 4-8, she stayed in Jamestown, Virginia, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the colonization of Jamestown.

She ascended the throne as queen of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth on February 6, 1952.

She ascended the throne when she was 25.

She learned to drive in 1945 when she joined the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service.

She visited the sets of Britain’s most popular TV soap operas – Coronation Street 1960 in 1982 and again in 2021, EastEnders 1985 in 2001 and Emmerdale Farm 1972 in 2002.

Elizabeth’s reign coincided with the terms of fourteen US presidents, and she met every one with the exception of Lyndon B. Johnson. In chronological order: Harry S. Truman 1951, Dwight D. Eisenhower 1959, John F. Kennedy 1961, Richard Nixon 1970, Gerald Ford 1976, Jimmy Carter 1977, Ronald Reagan 1982, George H.W. Bush 1991, Bill Clinton 2000, George W. Bush 2007, Barack Obama 2009, Donald Trump 2018, and Joe Biden 2021. She also met former president Herbert Hoover in 1957.

Actors including Helen Mirren, Emily Watson, Cate Blanchett, Jane Alexander, Jeannette Charles, Dana Wynter, Kate Robbins, Jennifer Saunders, and Trey Parker have portrayed her.

Prince Harry’s graduation from the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, was the first time in 15 years she presented the ceremony.

She had eight grandchildren: Prince William, Prince Harry, Peter Phillips, Zara Tindall, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Lady Louise Windsor, and James, Viscount Severn.

She was the first British monarch to celebrate her Sapphire Jubilee 65th anniversary on the throne on February 6, 2017 and her Platinum Jubilee 70th anniversary on the throne on February 6, 2022.

On September 9, 2007, there was much news coverage of Queen Elizabeth II attending the opening of the Welsh Assembly. Unintentional humor resulted when some broadcasters used the common abbreviation of the word Assembly.

In her role as Defender of the Faith, she gave Royal Assent to the Equality Act, which put all religions on an equal footing under UK law.

In 2022, Elizabeth became only the fourth monarch of a sovereign state to have reigned for over 70 years based on verifiable dates. In June 2022, she became the second-longest reigning monarch ever, behind only the 72-year reign of Louis XIV of France 1643-1715. Considering her reign never included a period of regency – Louis XIV ascended at age four and his mother ruled as regent – Elizabeth reigned in her own right longer than any other monarch.

Both she and her namesake Queen Elizabeth I who was her first cousin 14 times removed were not expected to be monarch at birth – both were third in line at their lowest point, but in both cases the short reign of a childless king named Edward ended abruptly, changing the expected succession. Both ascended the throne at age 25 following the untimely death of the previous monarch. Both were interested in horses and the arts and had long reigns over periods of great technological innovation. Both were also proposed to by a man named Philip – for Elizabeth I, it was her former brother-in-law Philip II of Spain whom she turned down, while for Elizabeth II it was her husband Philip Mountbatten.

Had she still been on the throne on May 27, 2024, she would have surpassed King Louis XIV of France as the longest-reigning monarch of a sovereign state in history whose length of reign is verifiable.

To commemorate her Platinum Jubilee, Mattel toy company unveiled a Gold Label Collector’s Edition Barbie Doll sculpted in her likeness on April 20, 2022. The doll was released one day before her 96th birthday.

She appeared on the cover of Time magazine more than ten times, first as a child in 1929. Time named her Person of the Year in 1953.

She was delivered via Caesarean section.

As of 2021 she remained the third most admired woman in the world according to the annual Gallup poll, her 52 appearances on the list meaning she had been in the top ten more than any other woman in the poll’s history.

Her last official act as queen, two days before her death, was meeting with Prime Minister-designate Liz Truss and granting her permission to form a government. This meeting was also the last time she was photographed.

She was the Defender of the Faith and once described Jesus as having completely human parentage in a Christmas Message.

She was born at 2:40 AM GMT.

Her role as a mechanic and ambulance driver in the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service during WWII began when she was 17, in 1943.

In 1998, during a visit by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia then crown prince to Balmoral Castle, she offered him a car tour and drove him herself in her Land Rover. At the time, women in Saudi Arabia were not allowed to drive.

All but two of her great-granddaughters have a form of Elizabeth in their name. Zara’s daughter is Lena Elizabeth, Peter Phillips’s daughter is Isla Elizabeth, William’s daughter is Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, Harry’s daughter is Lilibet Diana, and Princess Beatrice’s daughter is Siena Elizabeth.

At 96, she was the longest-lived English or British monarch in history. She has held that distinction since 2007, when she surpassed the longevity of her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria, who died at 81.

She was educated solely by tutors and governesses and never attended formal school. The only time she participated in group education was in 1945, when she took a six-week training course to become a driver and mechanic as part of the UK’s WWII effort.