QUEEN ELIZABETH II

OF THE uNITED kINGDOM OF gREAT bRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND

Sophia Marielle Lozada Daclan | Independent Study | May 14, 2021

 Introduction
The current Queen of England is the longest reigning monarch as of today.
She has surpassed her great-grandmother’s, Queen Victoria’s record of 63 years,
7 months, and 2 days while this year is her 68th year on the throne. Over the
years she has done so much for her country and the world as well. She has
experienced her own ‘annus horibilis’ or horrible year but she has managed to
continue and surpass it. Have you ever wondered if the Queen is related to her
own husband by blood? How is she related to Queen Elizabeth I? And how big her
family is? Queen Elizabeth II experienced a lot more than we know.

Queen Elizabeth II’s Early Life

Queen Elizabeth II was born Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor as the first
child to the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth)
at 2:40 am on April 21, 1926 17 Bruton Street in Mayfair, London. She was
christened at Buckingham Palace on May 29, 1926. Four years later, she had a
sister named, Margaret Rose, the future Countess of Snowdon. The sisters did not
attend school, so they were tutored by their mother, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, and
governess, Marion Crawford. When Princess Elizabeth as 11, her grandfather, King
George V died and her uncle ascended to the throne as King Edward VIII then
abdicated the same year to marry, American divorcee, Wallis Simpson; they
became the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Princess Elizabeth’s father, Prince
Albert, Duke of York, became King George VI, making her the heir apparent. At
the age of 13 she met Philip Mountbatten, a royal with ties from the Danish and
Greek royal family. They both kept in touch over the years and would eventually
fall in love and get married. When the princess was 18, she helped her father
perform royal duties and by the time she was 21 she pledged her devotion to the
monarchy. On the very same year she married Prince Philip of Greece on the 20 th
of November, in the year 1947, at London’s Westminster Abbey. There were over
2,000 guests in their wedding (even though Prince Philip’s family was not invited).
Princess Elizabeth collected clothing coupons to get the fabric for her gown that
was made of ivory silk with crystals and 10,000 seed pearls. They had their
honeymoon on Princess Elizabeth’s childhood home, Balmoral Estate. They
received a total of 2,500 wedding gifts from around the world. A year after their
wedding, Princess Elizabeth gave birth to a son, Prince Charles, who would be
known as the Prince of Wales given to the firstborn son. Two years later, she gave
birth to a daughter, Princess Anne, who would be known as the Princess Royal,
given to the firstborn daughter. During 1951, King George VI was in poor health
and the princess had to attend meetings in the place of her father. Princess
Elizabeth and Prince Philip toured the coast of Canada and traveled 10,000 miles
over 14 days. Then they visited the U.S. and got a tour of the White House by U.S.
President Harry Truman. She also visited Australia and New Zealand. While
passing through Kenya on the way home news reached to her that her father had
died due to coronary thrombosis. They immediately returned home. After the
death of her father, Princess Elizabeth performed royal duties and even prevented
her sister, Margaret Rose, from marrying a divorcee named Peter Townsend who
was her sister’s lover, according to a law that royals cannot marry divorcees. By
1952, Princess Elizabeth became the reigning monarch but not until 1953 that
she had her coronation.

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 Queen Elizabeth II Reign Supreme
Queen Elizabeth’s coronation was held in Westminster Abbey on the 2 nd of
July, the year 1953, despite the death of her grandmother, Mary, a few months
earlier. Her coronation was the first ever that was on broadcast on television and
radio. After her coronation Queen Elizabeth did a world tour and became the first
reigning monarch to circumnavigate the world! They flew from London to
Bermuda, then to Jamaica. They visited Fiji where a chief gave Queen Elizabeth a
whale tooth. Then went to Tonga. After 18 hours on land, they visited Australia
and New Zealand. They flew to Malta and reunited with their children, Prince
Charles, and Princess Anne. After 6 months abroad, the queen came back to fulfill
the role of being a mother. She even escorted Prince Charles on his first day of
school. In 1957, Queen Elizabeth opened the Canadian Parliament, and became
first monarch to open a parliamentary system. The queen gave birth to Prince
Andrew in 1960, and Prince Edward in 1964. In the 60’s and 70’s, over 20
countries gained independence from Britain. During her reign, Queen Elizabeth
met various U.S, presidents such as Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan,
George Bush, and Barack Obama. She also met current U.S. President Donald
Trump. In 1972, the queen’s uncle (former King Edward VIII), Edward, Duke of
Windsor, died of throat cancer. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip celebrated their
Silver Wedding Anniversary the same year. She then visited Australia to see the
newly made Sydney Opera House. In 1977, she celebrated her Silver Jubilee (her
25th year on the throne). In 1982, a man named Michael Fagan, trespassed in
Buckingham Palace, and entered the Queen’s bedroom and was charged for
stealing a bottle of wine. The Queen had the honor to reward Mother Teresa the
‘Order of Merit’ and the ‘Nobel Peace Prize’ in India. During her reign, she worked
with a lot of prime ministers such as Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, and
recently, Boris Johnson. Queen Elizabeth visited Australia once again, to celebrate
200 years of European settlement in the country. The year 1992 was a headache
for the Queen. She called it her ‘annus horibilis’ meaning ‘horrible year’. Prince
Charles (her eldest son) was constantly on the news about her wife, Princess
Diana and paramour, Camilla Parker Bowles. Princess Anne, the Queen’s only
daughter, was going through divorce, while Prince Andrew announced his
separation with Sarah Ferguson. During a state visit to Germany, eggs were
thrown to the Queen, back in England, Windsor Castle suffered a fire. To restore
Windsor Castle, 16 million pounds had to be paid by British taxpayers. It was the
very worst, horrible, awful terrible year of the Queen’s life. In a visit to Capetown,
she was welcomed by President Nelson Mandela. It was her first visit since 1947
(when she was still a princess). Her Royal Highness returned the favor by letting
President Nelson Mandela to be the first South African President to stay at
Buckingham Palace. They have a quite strong friendship. 1997 became a bad
year when the Queen’s daughter-in-law, Princess Diana, was killed in a car crash
in Paris due to paparazzi. Queen Elizabeth celebrated her Golden Wedding
Anniversary with Prince Philip that same year. In 2000, Queen Elizabeth II’s
mother, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, was the first in their family to reach
100 years old. But in 2002, the Queen’s sister, Margaret suffered a stroke and
died. Her own mother had died in the following month, aged 101. She celebrated
her Golden Jubilee despite the death of both her sister and mother. Queen
Elizabeth over the years was extremely healthy, although not many know that
she had a knee surgery in 2003, and even had several regions of her face
removed. The following year, she opened the Princess’ Memorial Fountain, in
honor of Princess Diana, the People’s Princess, 7 years after her death. Members
of both the Royal Family and the Spencer’s were seen together after a long time.

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In 2016, she welcomed U.S President Barack Obama to Buckingham Palace.
During the Coronavirus Pandemic, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip quarantined
in Windsor Castle. They celebrated their 73rd wedding anniversary last November
20th, 2020, and they even received a homemade card from their great-
grandchildren, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.

Recently, Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth’s husband, died on the morning of

April 9th, 2021 at Windsor Castle, aged 99, two months before his 100th birthday.
He was the longest-serving royal consort in British history. The cause of death has
not been disclosed, though the palace said Philip died peacefully. His death led to
the commencement of Operation Forth Bridge, the plan for publicly announcing
his death and organizing his funeral. The funeral was scheduled to take place on
April 17th, 2021 at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.

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 THE BRITISH ROYAL FAMILY TREE

Queen Elizabeth’s Family Tree

The Queen has a huge family. She has a total of 4 children, 8
grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren. Not to mention her maternal and
paternal families, her in-laws and her sister’s own family. Queen Elizabeth is
related to her own husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Prince Philip was a
Prince of Greece and Denmark before he married Queen Elizabeth. They are
second cousins once removed through Christian XI of Denmark and third cousins
through Queen Victoria, meaning that they are both great-grandchildren of the

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late queen. Queen Elizabeth is also a first cousin to Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden
through Queen Victoria’s daughter, Princess Margaret of Connaught.

The British Royal Family is worth $88 billion (estimate). But the Queen
herself is worth $530 million (estimate).

From left, Prince Edward, Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth, Prince
Andrew

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 Every royal member of the British Royal Family has either served in the
army, navy, or air force. When the Queen was still a princess, she joined the
Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service as a driver and mechanic. She devoted
herself in serving the UK. Throughout her reign, she has supported many

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charitable causes. She even decreed that she will also pay her tax (since the royal
family does not have to).

Despite being the Queen, she is not allowed to vote in the government
elections, nor anyone in the Royal Family since it may affect the opinion of the
people.

FUN FACTS ABOUT QUEEN ELIZABETH II:

− According to some sources, the Queen’s favorite color is blue.

− The Queen is very fond of dogs. Throughout her lifetime she had 30 corgis in
total. Since the death of her remaining corgis, Willow and Holly, she was said
to have two remaining dogs: dorgis (a dachshund and corgi mix) called Candy
and Vulcan. The Queen’s furry friends eat chicken, beef, rabbit, liver, rice, and
cabbage daily.

− The Queen has a large collection of hats. Approximately, 5,000 during her
reign. They say she must wait years before she could repeat each of her hats.

− Queen Elizabeth II reportedly wears Guerlain L’Heure Blue, a spicy citrus with
a powdery dry down. It has been a classic for the fragrance house ever since
the scent was created in 1912.

− She is the longest reigning monarch ever, surpassing her great-great-

grandmother’s (Queen Victoria’s) record.

− She is the longest reigning monarch ever, surpassing her great-great-

grandmother’s (Queen Victoria’s) record.
− Even though she does not have a passport, driver’s license, or license plate,
she can drive and go out of the country if she wants to.

− She first learned how to drive in 1945.

− The Queen has 2 birthdays. Her actual birthday is on April 21 st and her official
birthday, which is held on a Saturday in June – when the weather is better.

− The Queen’s birthplace is now a fancy Cantonese restaurant called Hakkasan,

at 17 Bruton Street in Mayfair.

− The Queen first sent an email in 1976 and published her first Instagram post
in 2019.

− She has many hobbies including, horse-riding, pigeon-racing, and football –

she is an Arsenal supporter.

− Queen Elizabeth became a houseowner at the age of 6, the people of Wales

gifted her a house in the grounds of Windsor’s Royal Lodge. Named, Y Bwthyn
Bach meaning “little cottage”.

− The Queen has sent around 50,000 Christmas cards – and counting.

− She owns an elephant, two giant turtles, a jaguar, and a pair of sloths,
presents from other countries which live in the London Zoo.

− She sometimes goes undercover. On a recent trip low-key trip to Scotland, she
met some American tourists while walking. When the tourists asked if she
lived locally, she mentioned that she had a house nearby, and asked if she
had ever met the Queen she simply pointed at her security and said, “No, but
he has!”.

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− Her nicknames are ‘Lilibet and Cabbage’. Lilibet from her father, and Cabbage
from Prince Philip.

− She has studied constitutional history and law.

− Elizabeth and Philip first met when she was 8 at Princess Marina of Greece and
Prince George, Duke of Kent’s wedding.

− At her wedding, she had 8 bridesmaids. Princess Margaret, Princess Alexandra

of Kent, Lady Caroline Montagu-Douglas-Scott, Lady Mary Cambridge, Pamela
Mountbatten, Margaret Elphinstone, and Diana Bowes-Lyon.

− She has made 5 official visits to the U.S. – in 1957, 1976, 1983, 1991, and
2007.

− Prince George her great-grandson, calls her “Gan-gan”.

− She speaks fluent French.

− Norman Hartnell designed her wedding and coronation gowns.

− She receives 70,000 letters a year, and 200-300 letters a day.

− Her crown snapped on her wedding day.

− She owns all the swans and dolphins in the U.K. waters.

− She wears Essie “Ballet Slippers” nail polish.

− She owns and apartment in NYC.

− She has a total of 30 godchildren.

− She has a glass of champagne each night.

− Her purse is used to signal her staff.

− She hosted Buckingham Palace’s first ever women only event – J.K. Rowling
was there!

− She has a personal poet.

− She has sat for 129 portraits since she became queen.

− For the 2012 Olympics, the Queen and her corgis made a cameo in a James
Bond sequence.

− She wakes up to a bagpiper each morning.

− Sources say that some Hollywood celebrities that they are distantly related to
the royal family.

− The Succession to the Crown Act means that in determining he succession to

the Crown, the gender of a person born after the 28th of October 2011 does
not give that person, or that person’s descendants, precedence, over any
other person (whenever born). Princess Charlotte was the first to benefit from
this.

− The House of Windsor was originally the House of Hanover then the House of
Saxe Coburg-Gotha. Queen Elizabeth’s grandfather, King George V, was the
first Windsor monarch.

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− Buckingham Palace has an ATM machine in the basement so that the Queen
can withdraw money whenever she needs it.

Class 8 2020-2021

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