Answers to your queen questions, on the occasion of her platinum jubilee

Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary ascended to the throne in the early morning of February 6, 1952, when her father, King George VI, breathed his last at the royal family’s Sandringham estate. Elizabeth and her husband Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, were in Kenya at the time to replace George on an extended royal tour. They returned to Britain and the princess, then 25 years old, was proclaimed “Queen Elizabeth II, by the grace of God, Queen of this Kingdom and of all her other realms and territories, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith”.

She is now Britain’s longest-serving monarch and Sunday marks her 70th year on the throne. Her next big step will be on May 27, 2024, when she overtakes Louis XIV in France as Europe’s longest-reigning monarch. He reigned for 72 years and 110 days, from 1643 to 1715.

What’s so special about a Jubilee?

The British royal family borrowed the idea from the Old Testament, which instructed the Israelites to celebrate a year of jubilee every 50 years as a time of atonement. The Catholic Church has followed this tradition for 700 years, although it has reduced the time limit to once every 25 years. The first Royal Jubilee was celebrated in 1809, when King George III celebrated 50 years on the throne with fireworks and a procession through London. The Queen’s Platinum will be celebrated in the United Kingdom with a national baking competition, a parade involving 1,200 soldiers, a major concert and 200,000 street parties.

How many times has the Queen been to Canada?

The Queen has made 22 royal visits to Canada, more than any other country. She is also the first monarch to include Canada and other members of the Commonwealth in her coronation oath, which officially recognized her as Queen of Canada. Prior to 1953, the oath only referred to the “British Dominions Beyond the Seas”.

How many countries has the Queen visited?

She has traveled to over 100 countries, but there are a few places the Queen has not visited. One of the most notable is Israel. The British government reportedly dissuaded the Queen from traveling to Israel for political reasons, although Prince William and Prince Charles have made official trips. The Queen has also never been to Greece, apparently because Prince Philip never liked her birthplace. He also misses Cuba, Vietnam, Ukraine and the Philippines, among others. And she never went to Argentina, given the quarrel over the Falklands.

Where does she reign?

When she acceded to the throne in 1952, Elizabeth II was at the head of seven countries: Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan and Ceylon. Everything else was considered part of the British Empire. The decolonization of the 1960s and 1970s changed all that. She is now the head of state of 15 countries. During his reign, several nations abandoned the ruling monarchy, including South Africa, Pakistan, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Mauritius, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica and, last year, Barbados.

Which Canadian Prime Ministers and American Presidents has she met?

Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent attended the Queen’s coronation, and she has met all but one prime minister since; Kim Campbell hasn’t been in the job long enough. She has also met 12 US presidents dating back to Dwight Eisenhower, who hosted on his first state visit to the United States as a monarch. The Queen has met Richard Nixon so many times that she reportedly tried to arrange her daughter, Tricia, with Prince Charles.

How many corgis has she had?

She’s loved Pembroke’s Welsh corgis ever since her parents bought one in 1933 and named it Dookie. She has since had over 30, including Monty, Emma, ​​Linnet, Vulcan, Whisky, Sherry, Cider and Spick and Span. Most were descendants of Susan, a corgi she received as a gift on her 18th birthday in 1944. The last corgi in Susan’s line was Willow, who died in 2018. Willow was featured with the Queen in a sketch of James Bond performed during the opening ceremonies of the 2012 Olympics. She currently has three dogs; a corgi named Muick (after Loch Muick on the Queen’s Balmoral estate in Scotland), a cocker spaniel named Lissy; and Candy, who is a dorgi – she’s a dachshund-corgi mix the queen raised for the first time.

And the horses?

The Queen owns around 100 horses and her estate of Sandringham is one of the best thoroughbred breeders. His horses have won around 1,600 races. The biggest victory came in 2013, when Estimate won the Ascot Gold Cup, marking the first victory for a reigning monarch in the race’s 207-year history.

Does she have a driver’s license?

The Queen is the only person in Britain who does not need a driving licence. She is also the only member of the royal family who does not need a passport to travel. She sponsors over 600 charities and is Commander-in-Chief of the British Armed Forces and the Canadian Armed Forces, although the Governor General exercises these functions on her behalf. She is also Chief Commissioner of the RCMP.

Does she have any hobbies?

His main hobby is stamp collecting. The Queen has one of the largest private collections in the world and it has been valued at £100m, or around $173m, according to the Daily Telegraph. Among his most prized possessions is an 1847 Mauritius Post stamp, one of the first stamps issued by a colonial post office. He is believed to be worth £2m, or $3.5m.

How much is it worth?

Estimating the queen’s wealth is not easy. The Sunday Times rich list pegged his net worth at £365m in 2021 or $630m. She personally owns Sandringham and Balmoral, but most of her income comes from the Crown Estate – a £14.4billion property portfolio that includes the park around Windsor Castle, most of Regent Street in London and the funds sailors around England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Although the Queen owns the Crown Estate, she does not control it and does not receive direct income from its holdings. Instead, the company hands over its net profit to the government, which provides the Queen and other members of the Royal Family with an annual “Sovereign Grant” to cover their expenses. Last year it was £85.9million.

What kind of gifts does she receive?

Unsurprisingly, the Queen receives hundreds of gifts from around the world every year. The most recent gift list, from 2019, included a painting of a swimming pig, a set of silver cutlery, traditional Iraqi clothing, a canned bottle of gin and two glasses, and three wood carvings. pygmy hippos. He was also given a variety of animals, such as a Nile crocodile, a sloth, two black jaguars, an elephant – called Jumbo – and six red kangaroos. They are all housed at London Zoo.

And all those movies?

The Queen has been portrayed in around 200 films, documentaries and TV shows. Among those who have performed it are Oscar winners Olivia Colman (The crown), Helen Mirren (The Queen), Emma Thompson (BBC Playhouse Presents: Walking the Dogs), Cate Blanchet (family guy) and Vanessa Redgrave (Cars 2). Fred Armisen has also played the queen several times on Saturday Night Live and who could forget Scott Thompson’s rendition of Elizabeth II on Children in the room?

And the songs?

She is featured in four Beatles tracks – His Majesty, Penny Lane, For you blue and Means Mr. Mustard. Billy Bragg portrayed her as a tragic figure in his Rule No Reason but the Smiths were more direct in The queen is dead. The Manic Street Preachers sang unprintable things about the Queen in Repeat (stars and stripes) and perhaps the most notorious ode to His Royal Highness came from the Sex Pistols, who released God Save the Queen during its silver jubilee in 1977. It was quickly banned by the BBC.

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