Thank You So Much and Welcome
Thank you so much choosing this lovely book about the Queen.
Part of the proceeds will go towards helping people in Africa and other 3rd world countries with
pressing health issues.
I have been a Nurse for 50 years and have always been very grateful for excellent health and our very
good health services. Others are not so lucky!
I sincerely hope that you enjoy reading some amazing and unusual facts about the Queen
1
Table of Contents
Early Years……………………..……………...……………………………… Page 7
The Queens First Home ………..………………….……………………………... Page 9
Never went to school …...... Page 11
A Royal romance...... Page 15
Married in Westminster Abbey...... Page 19
Engagement ring...... Page 18
The wedding …...... Page 19
Eight bridesmaids...... Page 20
The Queen's wedding dress …...... Page 22
Wedding gifts...... Page 22
Honeymoon...... Page 26
The Coronation...... Page 30
The Queens children...... Page 31
Christmas message & Queen's speeches...... Page 35
Interest and hobbies...... Page 38
The Queen's horses...... Page 39
Gillies' Balls...... Page 41
Driving / passport ...... Page 42
How to greet the Queen...... Page 42
Fashion...... ….....Page 44
Birthdays...... Page 50
Countries visited...... Page 53
Five astronauts at Buckingham Palace...... Page 55
Properly trained to change a spark plug...... Page 55
Golden Jubilee in 2002...... Page 56 The royal fishes...... Page 59
Dorgies, a new breed of dog...... Page 59
Don’t feed the corgis whisky...... Page 60
Nine Royal thrones...... Page 61
Unusual live gifts...... Page 63
What the Queen eats for breakfast...... Page 64
Her Majesty's official YouTube Channel...... Page 65
Crawfie...... Page 66
Six Archbishops of Canterbury...... Page 67
Six Popes...... Page 68
The Royal Train...... Page 69
A Gunners fan...... Page 70
Wimbledon...... Page 71
Royal Variety performances...... Page 72
£100,000 apiece for the Diamond Jubilee...... Page 73
Is the Queen a binge drinker?...... Page 73
Hurling shoes, threats and sporting equipment...... Page 74
Trooping the Colour...... Page 75
What gives the Queen the giggles?...... Page 75
The Royal Collection...... Page 78
Garden parties...... Page 79
Windsor Castle after a fire...... Page 81
The Queen's racing colours...... Page 83
Godchildren...... Page 84
The Queen's official visits...... Page 85
12 Prime Ministers. …...... …Page 88
Opening Parliament …...... Page 92
Pope Visits...... Page 93
Honours and Awards...... Page 94 First Investiture...... Page 97
90, 00 Christmas puddings...... Page 98
Royal Yacht Britannia...... Page 99
Unusual Live gifts...... Page 101
Commonwealth tours...... Page 102
Historic visit to the Republic of Ireland...... Page 105
Inward State Visits...... Page 106
56 Royal Maundy services in 43 Cathedrals...... Page 107
Christmas Broadcasts...... Page 109
Silver Jubilee year...... Page 112
Married for 64 years...... Page 115
Amazing facts from the 50th Anniversary...... Page 119
The Queen's Coronation service...... Page 126
The St. Edward's Crown, made in 1661...... Page 142
Camped for two days along the route...... Page 148
Imperial State Crown...... Page 149
The smiling Queen Salote of Tonga …...... Page 151
Coronation Chicken...... Page 154
More amazing facts...... Page 157
The Queen secret signals with her handbag...... Page 158
Secret world behind the Palace doors...... Page 159
The Queen has wept in public...... Page 160
The Queen goes underground...... Page 161
A security guard denied her entry...... Page 162
An Intruder into the Queens bedroom…...... Page 164
All I’ve got is a talking hat!...... Page 165
IRA bomb...... Page 166
Do you like football? ……...... Page 167
In Pantomimes …...... Page 169 How the Mornings are spent...... Page 171
The Queen Crawls on the Floor...... Page 172
Around the Globe...... Page 175
Billy Bass singing fish...... Page 176
The Queen and Kate Middleton’s precious relationship...... Page 177
Spotted at Annabel’s...... Page 212
Tell Prince Philip to shut up...... Page 213
Join us on facebook...... Page 214
Intriguing and Amazing Facts about the Queen
Early Years
1. The Queen was born at 2.40am on 21 April 1926 at 17 Bruton Street in Mayfair,
London.
Princess Elizabeth with members of the royal family
2. She was the first child of The Duke and Duchess of York, who later became King George VI and Queen Elizabeth
The Duke and Duchess of York
As King George VI and Queen Elizabeth
7
3.At the time she stood third in line of succession to the throne after Edward, Prince
of Wales (later King Edward VIII), and her father, The Duke of York. But it was not
expected that her father would become King, or that she would become Queen.
Edward, Prince of Wales
4. The Princess was christened Elizabeth Alexandra Mary in the
private chapel at Buckingham Palace. She was named after her mother,
while her two middle names are those of her paternal great-
grandmother, Queen Alexandra, and paternal
grandmother, Queen Mary.
The Christening
5. The Princess’s early years were spent at 145 Piccadilly, the London house taken by her parents shortly after her birth,
8
145, Piccadilly.
The Drawing Room
With Nanny
9
At 2 years old
Riding a tricycle
6. When she was six years old, her parents took over Royal Lodge in
Windsor Great Park as their own country home
Royal Lodge Windsor
7. Princess Elizabeth was educated at home with Princess Margaret, her younger sister
10
Princess Elizabeth with Princess Margaret.
She received tuition from her father,
With her father, King George V
as well as sessions with Henry Marten, the Vice-Provost of Eton.
Eton College
She was also instructed in religion by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
11
Archbishop of Canterbury
With Her sister Princess Margaret
9. Princess Elizabeth also learned French from a number of French and Belgian governesses. It is a skill which has stood The Queen in good stead, as she often has
cause to use it when speaking to ambassadors and heads of state from French-
speaking countries, and when visiting French-speaking areas of Canada.
12
In Canada
At home
Princess Elizabeth enrolled as a Girl Guide when she was eleven,
As a Girl Guide
and later became a Sea Ranger.
13
As a Sea Ranger.
11. In 1940, at the height of the Blitz, the young Princesses were moved for
their safety to Windsor Castle, where they spent most of the war years.
Windsor Castle
A Royal romance
12. The Queen is the first British monarch to have
celebrated a Diamond Wedding Anniversary.
14 13. Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip first met when they attended
the wedding of Prince Philip's cousin, Princess Marina of Greece to
The Duke of Kent, who was an uncle of Princess Elizabeth, in 1934.
Princess Marina of Greece
14. The engagement between Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip
Mountbatten RN was announced on the 9th July, 1947.
Prince Philip
Prince Philip was born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark.
15
Young Philip
On his bicycle
He joined the Royal Navy in 1939 and after the war, in
February 1947, became a naturalised British subject.
Prince Philip was required to choose a surname in order to
continue his career in the Royal Navy,
16
and adopted Mountbatten, the name of his mother's
British relatives.
Louis Mountbatten of Burma
He was created "Duke of Edinburgh" by King George VI on marriage.
15. The platinum and diamond engagement ring was made by the jewellers, Philip
Antrobus Ltd, using diamonds from a tiara belonging to Prince Philip's mother.
17
The diamond engagement ring
using diamonds from a tiara belonging to Prince Philip's mother.
Prince Philip's mother.
16 .Prince Philip had two stag parties the night before the wedding - the first at the Dorchester
The Dorchester
to which the press were invited and the second with his closest friends at the Belfry Club.
18
The Belfry Club.
The Wedding
17. The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh were married in Westminster
Abbey on the 20th November, 1947 at 11.30am with 2000 invited guests.
18. The eight bridesmaids were: HRH The Princess Margaret, HRH
Princess Alexandra of Kent, Lady Caroline Montagu-Douglas-Scott, Lady
Mary Cambridge, Lady Elizabeth Lambart, The Hon. Pamela Mountbatten,
The Hon. Margaret Elphinstone, The Hon. Diana Bowes-Lyon.
19
With six Bridesmaids
With eight Bridesmaids
19. There were two pages: HRH Prince William of Gloucester (aged 5) and HRH Prince Michael of Kent (aged 5).
20 20. The Queen's wedding dress was designed by Sir Norman
Hartnell. Norman Hartnell submitted designs for the dress in August
1947.
21.The fabric for the dress was woven at Winterthur Silks
Limited, Dunfermline, in the Canmore factory, using silk that
had come from Chinese silkworms at Lullingstone Castle.
Lullingstone Castle.
22.The Queen's Bridal Veil was made of tulle and held by a tiara of
diamonds. This tiara (which can also be worn as a necklace) was made
for Queen Mary in 1919. It is made from re-used diamonds taken from a
necklace/tiara purchased by Queen Victoria from Collingwood and Co and a wedding present for Queen Mary in 1893. In August, 1936, Queen
Mary gave the tiara to Queen Elizabeth from whom it was borrowed by
Princess Elizabeth for her wedding in 1947.
21
23.The grave of the Unknown Warrior was the only stone that was not covered by the special carpet in the Abbey. The day after the wedding,
Princess Elizabeth followed a Royal tradition started by her mother, of sending her wedding bouquet back to the Abbey to be laid on this grave.
The Grave of the Unknown Warrior
24. The Queen's wedding dress was made from a nugget of Welsh gold
which came from the Clogau St David's mine near Dolgellau.
Gold Nugget
25. Around 10,000 telegrams of congratulations were received at Buckingham Palace
22
And the Royal couple received over 2,500 wedding presents from well-
wishers around the world.
The dorset bow brooch
26.As well as jewelry from their close relatives, including the King and Queen,
From the King and Queen
From the King and Queen .The Halo Tiara
The couple received many useful items for the kitchen and home, including salt
cellars from the Queen, a bookcase from Queen Mary, and a picnic case from
Princess Margaret.
23
From Princess Margaret.
A generous gift from the RAF and the WAAF
With personalised number plate
Tins of food
24 Decorated glass
Pens
Jewelry
27. The "wedding breakfast" (lunch) was held after the marriage ceremony at
Westminster Abbey in the Ball Supper-room at Buckingham Palace. The menu was Filet de Sole Mountbatten, Perdreau en Casserole, Bombe Glacee Princess
Elizabeth.
The Ball Supper-room at Buckingham Palace.
25 Honeymoon
28. The couple departed Waterloo station with the
Princess's corgi, Susan, for their honeymoon.
29. The newlyweds spent their wedding night at Broadlands in
Hampshire, home of Prince Philip's uncle Earl Mountbatten. The
second part of the honeymoon was spent at Birkhall on the
Balmoral Estate
Broadlands
Birkhall
26
Homes
30. Early in 1948 the couple leased their first marital home, Windlesham
Moor, in Surrey, near Windsor Castle,
Windlesham Moor
where they stayed until they moved to Clarence House on 4th July 1949.
Clarence House
Naval Career
31. After marrying Princess Elizabeth, The Duke of Edinburgh continued his
naval career, reaching the rank of Lieutenant-Commander in command of
the frigate HMS Magpie.
27
Frigate HMS Magpie.
Prince Philip
32. Although he was The Queen's husband, The Duke of
Edinburgh was not crowned or anointed at the Coronation ceremony in 1953. He was the first subject to pay Homage to
Her Majesty, and kiss the newly crowned Queen by stating
"I, Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, do become your liege man of
life and limb, and of earthly worship; and faith and truth I
will bear unto you, to live and die, against all manner of
folks. So help me God."
28
Prince Philip paying homage
33. Prince Philip has accompanied The Queen on all her Commonwealth tours and State visits, as well as on
public engagements in all parts of the UK. The first of these was the Coronation tour of the Commonwealth
from November 1953 to May 1954, when the couple visited Bermuda, Jamaica, Panama, Fiji, Tonga, New
Zealand, Australia, Cocos Islands, Ceylon, Aden, Uganda, Libya, Malta and Gibraltar, travelling a distance of
43,618 miles.
29 The Coronation
34. The Coronation took place in Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953. It was a solemn
ceremony conducted by Dr Geoffrey Fisher, Archbishop of Canterbury.
35. The Coronation was followed by drives through every part of London, a
review of the fleet at Spithead, and visits to Scotland, Northern Ireland and
Wales.
Reviewing the fleet at Spithead
36.The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh have four children: Prince Charles,
The Prince of Wales (b. 1948), Princess Anne, The Princess Royal (b. 1950),
Prince Andrew, The Duke of York (b. 1960), and Prince Edward, The Earl of
Wessex (b. 1964).
30
With the children
37. With the birth of Prince Andrew in 1960, The Queen became the first reigning Sovereign to give birth to a child
since Queen Victoria, whose youngest child, Princess
Beatrice, was born in 1857.
With Prince Andrew
31 Grandchildren
38. The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh have eight grandchildren –
Peter Phillips .
Princess Anne's Son
Zara Phillips (b. 1981)
Princess Anne's daughter
32
Prince William, Prince Charles's son (b. 1982),
Prince Harry
Prince Harry, Princes Charles's son (b. 1984),
Princess Beatrice Prince Andrew's Daughter (b. 1988),
33
Princess Eugenie, Prince Andrew's Daughter (b. 1990)
Lady Louise Windsor, Prince Edwards daughter (b. 2003)
James, Viscount Severns, Prince Edwards son (b. 2007)
34 The Queen has five great-grandchild Savannah (b. 2011) , George (b. 2013) , Charlotte (b. 2015), Isla Elizabeth Phillips (b. 2012) , Mia Grace (b 2014)
Great-grandchild Savannah, Peter and Autumn Phillips daughter
Great-grandchild George, Prince William’s son
Great-grandchild Charlotte, Prince William’s daughter
35
Great-grandchild Isla Elizabeth Phillips, Peter and Autumn Phillip’s daughter
Great-grandchild Mia Grace, Zara and Mike Tindall’s daughter
35
The Queen's speeches
39. The Queen has delivered a Christmas message every year
except in 1969, when she decided the royals had been on TV
enough after an unprecedented family documentary. Her
greeting took the form of a written address.
40. In her 1991 message, the Queen silenced rumours of abdication
as she pledged to continue to serve.
35
1991 message
41. The Queen issued a writ against The Sun newspaper after it published the full text of her
1992 broadcast two days before transmission. She later accepted an apology and a £200,000
donation to charity.
1992 broadcast
42. The Queen's grandfather, King GeorgeV
,delivered the first royal Christmas broadcast live on
the radio from Sandringham in 1932.
King George V
43. George V was at first unsure about using the relatively untried
medium of the wireless, but eventually agreed.
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44. There was no Christmas broadcast in 1936 or 1938, and it was the outbreak of
the Second World War in 1939 that firmly established the tradition.
45. Last year the Queen delivered her address from Hampton Court Palace - the
first time the historic building had been used.
Hampton Court
46 The speech is written by the Queen and each has a strong religious framework,
reflects current issues and often draws on her own experiences.
Christmas Speech
37
Interest and hobbies
Animals
48 An animal lover since childhood,
The Queen takes a keen and highly knowledgeable interest in horses. As an owner and breeder of thoroughbreds, she often
visits other race meetings to watch her horses run, and also frequently
attends equestrian events.
Watching a Race
38
Royal Windsor Horse show
49. She attends the Derby at Epsom, one of the classic flat races in Britain
The Derby at Epsom with Princess Margaret
and the Summer Race Meeting at Ascot, which has been a Royal occasion since 1911.
Race Meeting at Ascot
50. The Queen's horses won races at Royal Ascot on a number of occasions. There was
39 a notable double on 18 June 1954 when Landau won the Rous Memorial Stakes
Queen Elizabeth giving a horse a fond pat
and a stallion called Aureole won the Hardwicke Stakes,
Aureole
and in 1957 The Queen had four winners during Ascot week.
A Winner
40
Taking a keen interest
51. Other interests include walking in the countryside and
working her Labradors, which were bred at Sandringham.
The Labradors
52. A lesser known interest is Scottish country dancing. Each year
during her stay at Balmoral Castle, The Queen gives dances known as Gillies' Balls, for neighbours, estate and Castle staff and members
of the local community.
At the Gillies Ball
41 53. The Queen is the only person in Britain who can drive without a licence or a registration number on her car. And she doesn't have a passport.
54. The Queen is patron to more than 600 charities
To formally greet the Queen men should perform a neck bow (from the head only)
The Queen & Sir Winston Churchill
42 Whilst women do a small curtsy
Kate curtsying to the Queen
Madonna curtsying to the Queen
On presentation to The Queen, the correct formal address is
'Your Majesty' and subsequently 'Ma'am'
43
Bow and Curtsy from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge
Fashion
56. Norman Hartnell who first worked for the then Princess Elizabeth in the 1940s,
Norman Hartnell
Produced many of the finest evening dresses in Her Majesty’s wardrobe.
One of the Queens evening gowns
44 A Norman Hartnell Design
Evening Gown, Norman Hartnell
His signature style of the 1940s and 1950s was full-skirted dresses in sumptuous
silks and duchesse satins
45
Designed by Norman Hartnell
57. Hardy Amies began designing clothes for The Queen in the early 1950s and established his name with the deceptive simplicity of his accomplished tailoring.
Sir Edwin Hardy Amies was one of the Queens favourite designers
46
The portraits by Cecil Beaton released to mark Her Majesty’s birthday in 1969 They are amongst the most memorable designs
by Hardy Amies.
Designed by Hardy Amies.Photo by Cecil Beaton
58. In the 1970s The Queen awarded her patronage to Ian Thomas, who was an assistant designer to Norman Hartnell before setting up his own salon. Thomas’s flowing chiffon dresses from the 1970s reflect the relaxed style of the decade. Maureen Rose of the same
house continued to design for Her Majesty after Ian’s death until the late 80’s.
Ian Thomas design
59. Between 1988 and 1996, Her Majesty’s dresses were designed
by John Anderson.
His business partner Karl Ludwig Rehse took over the mantle after his death
in 1988 and the Queen still wears his designs today.
47
John Anderson design
60. Stewart Parvin, the youngest of Her Majesty’s designers, trained at Edinburgh College of Art. He began to design for The Queen in 2000 and continues to do so.
Stewart Parvin design
Stewart Parvin design
48
Stewart Parvin design
61. Angela Kelly is Personal Assistant and Senior Dresser to The Queen. Her role
includes designing for The Queen, which she has done since 2002.
Angela Kelly
Angela and her team try and use both old and new fabrics when designing.
Some of the material they incorporate has been given to Her Majesty many years
ago, some dates from when she was Princess Elizabeth.
49 Birthdays
62. The Queen celebrates two birthdays each year: her actual birthday on 21 April
and her official birthday on a Saturday in June.
63. The Queen usually spends her actual birthday privately, but the occasion is marked publicly
by gun salutes in central London at midday: a 41 gun salute in Hyde Park, a 21 gun
salute in Windsor Great Park and a 62 gun salute at the Tower of London.
At the Tower of London.
64. In 2006, Her Majesty celebrated her 80th Birthday in 2006 with a
walkabout in the streets outside of Windsor Castle to meet well-wishers.
50 Walkabout in Windsor
65. On her official birthday, Her Majesty is joined by other members of the Royal
Family at the spectacular Trooping the Colour parade
On the balcony at Buckingham Palace
The Duke & Duchess of Cambridge
51
With Prince Philip
The Trooping of the colour moves between Buckingham
Palace, the Mall and Horse guards’ Parade.
Horse guards’ Parade.
The Mall
66. Queen Elizabeth II is the fortieth
Monarch since William the Conqueror
52
William the Conqueror
67. She has visited Canada 23 times,
Australia 15 times,
Jamaica six times
and New Zealand ten times
53
68. She has sent around 100,000 telegrams to centenarians in the UK and the Commonwealth
69. The Queen has launched 23 ships
Launching a ship
and met five astronauts at Buckingham Palace
With the Astronauts
54 70. She first flew in an aeroplane in July 1945
First flight
71. She is the only British monarch in history properly trained to change a spark plug
Properly trained
72. On VE Day she and her sister slipped into the crowd to celebrate
73. She collected clothing coupons for her wedding dress
55
74. The Queen has a bank account at Coutts & Co. There is a Coutts cash-
dispensing machine in Buckingham Palace
75.
76. The Queen celebrated her Golden Jubilee in 2002,
including visiting 70 cities and towns around the UK
In Leeds,Yorkshire
In Slough
56
In London
In Woodford
In Wells
In Manchester
57
Saying hello to a Corgi
76. Tony Blair was the first prime minister to be born during her reign,
77. The Queen has sat through 91 state banquets and posed for 139 official portraits
The Banqueting Room Buckingham Palace
78. Technically the Queen still owns the sturgeons, whales and dolphins in the waters around the UK
which are recognised as 'Fishes Royal'. She also owns all wild 'mute' swans living in open water.
58
79. The Queen introduced a new breed of dog known as the "dorgi",
When one of the corgis mated with a dachshund named Pipkin
80. The Queen is the first British monarch to see three of her children divorce
Andrew, Anne and Charles
81. She demoted a footman for feeding her corgis whisky
59
The Queen has nine Royal thrones - One at the House of Lords,
House of Lords
Two at Westminster Abbey,
60
Coronation chair Westminster Abbey
and six in the throne room at Buckingham Palace.
Throne room at Buckingham Palace
83. She is a Patron of the Royal Pigeon Racing Association. One of the
Queen's birds is called Sandringham Lightning
84. There have been six Archbishops of
Canterbury during the Queen's reign
61
Archbishop Rowan Williams with the Pope
85. The Queen is 5ft 4 inches or 160cm tall.
With Camilla & Kate
With President & Michelle Obama
More amazing facts
86. On a state visit to Brazil in 1968, the Queen was given two sloths.
62
Two sloths.
The animal gifts she receives tend to be placed in zoos,
though a horse donated by Queen Beatrix of the
Netherlands was housed in the Royal Mews.
87. The Queen costs the public purse £36.2m each year, including
£359,000 paid directly by the Government to Prince Philip.
Prince Philip with Kate & Harry
88. Since 1952 the Queen has given royal assent to more than 3,500 Acts of Parliament.
63
On her way to Parliament
89. Each morning, the Queen's breakfast table is laid out with cornflakes and porridge oats in Tupperware containers, yoghurt and two kinds of marmalade – light and dark.
90. Britain's monarchy is the most expensive in Europe, though the
Netherlands isn't far behind. Spain's royal family gets a comparatively
meagre £7m allowance each year.
91.. The Queen is thought to be worth around £300m, making
her the 257th richest person in the UK.
91. All 5,300 breeding pairs of mute swan in Britain are officially owned by the Queen.
64
Breeding Mute Swans
93. The Queen sent her first email in 1976 from an army base.
94. The top video on Her Majesty's official You Tube Channel is a clip of
Prince William and Kate leaving Buckingham Palace in an Aston Martin
95. At an official photo call marking the end of 2009's G20 summit, Her Majesty
was offended by Silvio Berlusconi hollering "Mr Obama!" at the US President.
Unimpressed, the Queen snapped: "What is it? Why does he have to shout?"
G20 summit
96. The Queen was educated by her governess Marion Crawford, to whom
she gave the nickname "Crawfie".
65
With her Mother, Princess Margaret and her Father
97. Ms Crawford's services were not enough to grant her everlasting favour with the royals, however. In 1950, she published a book titled The Little Princesses, recounting the time she
spent with Elizabeth and Margaret. The royals were apparently furious.
98. There have been six Archbishops of Canterbury during the Queen's reign –
Geoffrey Fisher,
66
Michael Ramsey,
Donald Coggan,
Robert Runcie,
67
George Carey
and Rowan Williams.
99.There have also been six popes –
Pius XII,
68
John XXIII,
Paul VI,
John Paul I,
John Paul II
69
and Benedict XVI.
100. The Royal Train comes with chefs, lace-trimmed pillows, and
a no bumpy track rule during the Queen's 7:30am bath.
Inside the Royal Train
101. According to former Arsenal player Cesc Fabregas, the Queen is a Gunners fan.
102.The first football match the Queen attended was the 1953 FA Cup Final.
70
With Sir Stanley Matthews
103. When Her Majesty visited Centre Court's Royal Box for an
Andy Murray match in 2010, it ended a 33-year Wimbledon snub.
At Wimbledon
104. The Queen's vocal range is as yet untested, but a recording of a concert to celebrate her
Golden Jubilee titled Party at the Palace sold 100,000 copies in its first week of release,
making the Queen the first member of the Royal Family to be awarded a gold disc.
105. Her Majesty has endured 36 Royal Variety Performances.
71
With Simon Cowell
With Dame Shirley Bassey
With Lady Gaga
With Sir Elton John, Sir Cliff Richard, Sir
Tom Jones, Sir Paul McCartney
106. Diageo, the world's biggest distiller, is selling 60 decanters of
Scotch whisky for
£100,000 apiece for the Diamond Jubilee.
72
107. According to Margaret Rhodes, the Queen's cousin, HM's alcohol intake never varies. She takes a gin and Dubonnet before lunch, with a slice of lemon and a lot of ice. She will take wine with lunch and a dry Martini and a glass of champagne in the evening. That comes to 6 units per
day, which would make Her Majesty a binge drinker by government standards.
A Binge Drinker …...... by Government standards!
With President Felipe Calderon of Mexico
73
With President Bush
and surprised !
108. On a state visit to Australia in 1954, during an argument with Prince
Philip, the Queen was filmed "hurling shoes, threats and sporting equipment, and venting the sort of regal fury that, in another age, would have cost someone their
head", according to writer Robert Hardman. "I'm sorry for that little interlude,"
she later said, "but, as you know, it happens in every marriage."
109. The Queen has been at the saluting base of her troops in every Trooping the Colour
74 ceremony since the start of her reign, with the exception of 1955, when a national rail strike forced the cancellation of the parade.
110. A message of the Queen's congratulations to Apollo 11 astronauts for the first moon
landing was microfilmed and deposited in a metal container on the satellite's surface.
111. What gives the Queen the giggles? Ali G impressions, according to Prince William.
Laughing with Prince Charles
75
At the Jubilee celebrations
112. The Queen, the official head of the Church of England, first entered a
mosque in July 2002, at Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire.
At the Mosque
112. During the last 60 years, the Queen has undertaken 261 official overseas visits, including 78 state visits, to 116 different countries.
76
In America with President Bush
114. She's also received 102 inward state visits from 1952 to the end of 2011, the
last being Turkey in November 2011.
115. She has broadcast a Christmas message every year since her
coronation in 1952, except in 1969.
116. The Royal Collection, a vast hoard of art including 150,000
paintings by the likes of Rubens, Rembrandt, Titian and Raphael, is
held in trust by the Queen for the nation.
77
117. The monarch has answered around three and a half million items of correspondence and
more than 175,000 telegrams sent to centenarians in the UK and the Commonwealth.
118. The Queen has sat for 129 portraits during her reign, painted in a variety of styles.
Lucian Freud's 2001 depiction of HM divided critics and was slated by the tabloids.
119. During the past 60 years almost one and a half million people have attended
garden parties at Buckingham Palace or the Palace of Holyrood house, with 8,000
people head through the gates every year.
78
Kate, Camilla & Prince Charles
Buckingham Palace Garden Party
In the rain at a Garden Party
120. Owing to the collapse of the Empire the Queen has presided over the loss of
sovereignty of more countries than any of her predecessors.
121. Since 1952, the Queen has conferred more than 404,500 honours and awards.
79
David Beckham waiting
122. The Queen's first portrait was painted in 1933, when she was
seven, and the most recent was for Rolf Harris in 2005.
123. The monarch and the Duke of Edinburgh have sent
approximately 45,000 Christmas cards.
124. The Queen became the first monarch to open the doors to
Buckingham Palace to the public in 1993.
80
The Grand Staircase
Inside Buckingham Palace
She needed the cash for the repair of Windsor Castle after a fire.
Windsor Castle
25. The design of the 1st class stamp has been updated for the Jubilee.
The traditional gold is replaced with a blue colour scheme and the words
"Diamond Jubilee" highlighted in iridescent ink.
81
126. The four-day holiday for the jubilee hit the economy with a
0.5 per cent reduction in GDP, despite the boost to tourism and retail.
127. The Queen has seen 12 different Prime Ministers during her reign – from Sir Winston Churchill through to the incumbent David Cameron.
128. Apparently, it has always been the Queen’s dream to see one of her horses win
the Epsom Derby. Aureole came second in 1953, and last year
Carlton House managed third.
At the Epsom Derby
129. The Queen's racing colours are a purple body with gold braid, scarlet sleeves and black
velvet cap with gold fringe. They were adopted from those used by Edward VII; one of his
most successful horses was called Diamond Jubilee.
82
Queens Racing Colours
Diamond Jubilee.
83
130. The Queen and Duke have been married for a whopping 64 years.
131. Queen Victoria was the last, and previously the only, British monarch to
celebrate a diamond jubilee.
132. The Queen has bought a lot of Christening gifts thanks to her
huge list of 30 godchildren.
Holding her godson, Michael Knatchbull
133. The only time the sovereign has had to interrupt an overseas tour was in 1974 during a visit to Australia and Indonesia when she was called back to the UK when a snap general
election was called.
84
134. The Queen's official visits have ranged from the Cocos Islands, 5.4 square miles with a
population of 596 to China, 3.7 million square miles with a population of 1.34 billion.
Cocos Islands
Great Wall of China
135. In May 2011, the Queen became the first British monarch to visit the
Republic of Ireland since Irish independence.
85
136. The Queen has laid her wreath at the Cenotaph on Remembrance
Sunday every year of her reign, except in 1959, 1961, 1963, 1968, 1983 and
1999 when she was either pregnant or overseas on official visits.
At the Cenotaph
Some Diamond Jubilee facts
The Queen is the second longest serving monarch
As at 1 January 2012:
Only five other kings and queens
in British history have reigned for 50 years or more. They are:
86
Victoria (63 years)
George III (59 years)
Henry III (56 years)
Edward III (50 years)
87
James VI of Scotland (James I of England) (58 years)
Prime Ministers
Over the reign, Her Majesty has given regular audiences to 12 Prime Ministers. They are:
Winston Churchill 1951-55
Sir Anthony Eden 1955-57
88
Harold Macmillan 1957-63
Sir Alec Douglas-Home 1963-64
Harold Wilson 1964-70 and 1974-76
89
Edward Heath 1970-74
James Callaghan 1976-79
Margaret Thatcher 1979-90
90
John Major 1990-97
Tony Blair 1997-2007
Gordon Brown 2007-2010
91
David Cameron 2010 - present
Tony Blair was the first Prime Minister to have been born during The Queen's reign. He
was born in early May, 1953 - a month before the Coronation
Parliament
The Queen has attended every opening of Parliament except those in 1959 and 1963,
when she was expecting Prince Andrew and Prince Edward respectively.
92 Popes Visits
The Queen has received two Popes on visits to the UK (Pope John Paul II in 1982 and
Pope Benedict XVI in 2010). Pope John Paul I I’s visit in 1982 was the first Papal visit to the
United Kingdom for over 450 years.
Pope John Paul II
Pope Benedict XVI
Her Majesty has officially visited the Vatican three times in her
reign in 1961 visiting Pope John XXIII
93
At the Vatican
and in 1980 and 2000
Visiting Pope John Paul II.
Honours and Awards.
Since 1952, The Queen has conferred over 404,500 honours and awards.
Gary Barlow OBE
94
Lord Alan Sugar
Sir Richard Branson
Sir Alex Ferguson
95
Dame Julie Andrews
Kate Winslet CBE
Jeremy Beadle MBE
96 Investitures.
The Queen has personally held over 610 Investitures.
The first Investiture of the Queen's reign took place at Buckingham Palace on 27th February
1952. The first person to be presented was Private William Speakman, of The King's Own
Scottish Borderers, who received the Victoria Cross for his actions during the Korean War.
Private William Speakman
Correspondence
The Queen has answered around three and a half million items of correspondence.
The Queen has sent over 175,000 telegrams to centenarians in
the UK and the Commonwealth.
The Queen has sent almost 540,000 telegrams to couples
in the UK and the Commonwealth celebrating their
diamond wedding (60 years) anniversary.
97
Christmas puddings
The Queen has given out approximately 90,00
Christmas puddings to staff continuing the custom of King George V and King George VI
Christmas Puddings
Official overseas visits
In 60 years, The Queen has undertaken 261 official
overseas visits, including 96 State Visits, to 116
different countries.
98
Royal Yacht Britannia
Many of The Queen's official tours were undertaken on the Royal Yacht Britannia.
The Elegant Drawing Room on the Royal Yacht Britannia.
It was launched by Her Majesty on 16th April 1953 and was commissioned for
service on 7th January 1954.
The Gallery
During this time,
Britannia travelled more than a million miles on Royal and official duties.
99
The Royal Yacht Britannia was first used by The Queen when
Her Majesty embarked with the Duke of Edinburgh on the 1st
May 1954 at Tobruk for the final stage of their
Commonwealth Tour returning to the Pool of London. The last time The Queen was on board Britannia for an official visit was
on the 9th August 1997 for a visit to Arran in Scotland.
It was de-commissioned in December, 1997.
The Queen was visibly upset
Unusual live gifts
100 Unusual live gifts given to The Queen on foreign tours include:
two tortoises given to The Queen in the Seychelles in 1972;
A seven-year-old bull elephant called "Jumbo" given to Her Majesty
by the President of Cameroon in 1972 to mark The Queen's Silver Wedding,
and two
black beavers given to The Queen after a Royal visit to Canada.
Commonwealth Tours
Her Majesty’s first Commonwealth tour, as Queen, began on 24 November 1953,
and included visits to Canada, Bermuda, Jamaica, Panama, Fiji, Tonga, New
Zealand, Australia,
101 the Cocos Islands, Ceylon, Aden, Uganda, Libya, Malta and Gibraltar.
The total distance covered was 43,618 miles.
Ceylon
Tonga
Bermuda
102 Fiji
Canada
Australia
New Zealand
Jamaica
103
Libya
Aden
Gibraltar
Cocos Islands
104
Coming home
Ireland
The Queen made an historic visit to the Republic of Ireland in May 2011, the first visit by a British
Monarch since Irish independence (King George V’s had visited in 1911).
In Ireland
King George and Queen Mary
105 State Visits
There have been 102 inward State Visits from 1952 to the end of 2011 (up to and
including Turkey in November 2011)
President Gul of Turkey
With President Nelson Mandela of South Africa
Qatar State visit
Royal Maundy services
The Queen has attended 56 Royal Maundy services in 43 Cathedrals during her reign. A
106
total of 6,710 people have received Maundy Money in recognition of their
service to the Church and their communities.
The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service
Since it was launched to mark The Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 2002, The
Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service has been awarded to over 750 voluntary
organisations across all four countries in the UK. Winners of the award have included local scout groups, community radio stations, groups who care for the
elderly and environmental charities.
In 1969 the first television film about the family life of the Royal
Family was made, and shown on the eve of the Investiture of
Prince Charles as Prince of Wales.
107
The Investiture of Prince Charles
An important innovation during The Queen's reign was the opening in 1962 of a new gallery at Buckingham Palace to display items from the Royal Collection. The brainchild
of The Duke of Edinburgh, the new Queen's Gallery occupied the space of the Palace's
bomb-damaged private chapel. It was the first time that parts of the Palace had been
opened to the general public.
The new Queen's Gallery was redeveloped and re-opened in 2002 for
the Golden Jubilee.
108 Christmas Broadcasts
In 1953, The Queen made the first Christmas Broadcast from overseas, (rather
than from the UK), broadcasting live from New Zealand.
The first televised broadcast was in 1957,
made live. The first pre-recorded broadcast took place in 1960 to allow transmission
around the world. In 2006 the Christmas Broadcast was first made available to download
as a podcast.
Social media
The Queen launched the British Monarchy’s official website in 1997. In 2007 the official
British Monarchy You Tube channel was unveiled, swiftly followed by a Royal Twitter site
(2009), Flickr page (2010) and Facebook page (also 2010).
109
The Queen hosts "theme days" and Receptions to promote and celebrate aspects of British
culture. Recent examples from 2011 include a reception for Young People and the
Performing Arts and for Explorers.
Other themes have included Publishing, Broadcasting, Tourism,
Emergency Services, Maritime Day, Music, Young Achievers, British Design, and Pioneers
110
Banquets, lunches, dinners,
In an average year The Queen will host more than 50,000 people at banquets,
lunches, dinners, receptions and Garden Parties at Buckingham Palace.
Buckingham Palace
The Queen also hosts more than 8,000 people each year at garden parties and investitures at
Holyrood house, during Holyrood Week.
Holyrood House
The Silver Jubilee year
During the Silver Jubilee year, The Queen toured 36 counties in the UK and
Northern Ireland, starting in Glasgow on the 17th May. During her Golden Jubilee
year The Queen toured 35 counties beginning in Cornwall on 1st May.
111
112
113
51. The Queen's first foreign tour of the Silver Jubilee year was a visit to Western
Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia and Papua New Guinea. The first foreign
tour of The Queen's Golden Jubilee year was to Jamaica, New Zealand and Australia.
The Queen also introduced a new breed of dog known as the "dorgi" when one of Her Majesty's corgis was
mated with a dachshund named Pipkin which belonged to Princess Margaret. There have been 11 dorgis -
Tinker, Pickles, Chipper, Piper, Harris, Brandy, Berry, Cider, Candy and Vulcan.
114
The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh have been married for 64 years. They were married on 20th
November, 1947 in Westminster Abbey. The Queen's wedding dress was designed by Norman
Hartnell and was woven at Winterthur Silks Limited, Dunfermline, in the Canmore factory, using silk
that had come from Chinese silkworms at Lullingstone Castle.
56. The Queen's wedding ring was made from a nugget of Welsh gold which came from the Clogau
St David's mine near Dolgellau.
115
The official wedding cake was made by McVitie and
Price Ltd, using ingredients given as a wedding gift by Australian Girl Guides.
The wedding of The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh was the first and so far the only
time in British history that the heir presumptive to the throne had been married
116
Queen Victoria was the last and to date the only British Monarch to celebrate a Diamond Jubilee.
The Queen, who was aged 85 on Accession Day in 2012, is the oldest monarch to celebrate a
Diamond Jubilee. Queen Victoria was 77 when she celebrated hers in 1897.
Queen Victoria
There have been only three Diamond Jubilees of Heads of State celebrated throughout the world during The
Queen’s reign.
King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand celebrated 60 years on the throne in 2006;
117
King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand
The former Sultan of Johor (now a part of Malaysia) celebrated his in 1955;
The former Sultan of Johor
And the late Emperor Hirohito of Japan celebrated his in 1986.
The late Emperor Hirohito of Japan
Amazing facts from the 50th Anniversary
On the 25th May 2003 on the 50th anniversary of Her Majesty The Queen's Coronation
118 this was the statement issued from the Queens press secretary at Buckingham Palace
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Her Majesty The Queen's Coronation in June
1953. Below is a list of facts concerning the day itself, as well as some information on
previous Coronations.
For centuries, Kings and Queens have been crowned in ceremonies to formalise
their position as Sovereign.
At the Coronation
Since Queen Elizabeth II's accession on February 6 a year earlier,
this day had been planned in great detail.
In the Mall
King George VI had been the last monarch to be crowned on 12 May, 1937.
119
King George V1 Coronation with Queen Elizabeth centre
Sixteen years later, people gathered together to watch the Coronation of his eldest daughter,
Elizabeth, as she prepared to take part in the very ceremony she herself had watched
as an 11-year-old girl.
On 2 June 2003 a church service will be held at Westminster Abbey to
commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Coronation.
With Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Philip
This will be followed by a children's tea party at Buckingham Palace for
underprivileged children.
120
1. The crowning of the Sovereign is an ancient ceremony, rich in religious significance,
historic associations and pageantry. For the last 900 years, it has taken place at
Westminster Abbey as the royal church for the Palace of Westminster.
Westminster Abbey
Before the Abbey was built,
Coronations were carried out wherever was convenient, for example at Bath,
Edgar Coronation window inside Bath Abbey.
121
Oxford
and Canterbury.
Canterbury,the first Gothic cathedral to be built in Britain
2. Queen Elizabeth II was crowned on 2 June, 1953 in Westminster
Abbey. Her Majesty was the thirty-ninth Sovereign to be crowned at
Westminster Abbey.
3. Queen Elizabeth II is the sixth Queen to have been crowned in
Westminster Abbey in her own right. The first was Queen Mary I, who was
crowned on 1 October, 1553.
122
4. The Queen succeeded to the Throne on the 6th February, 1952 on
the death of King George VI. She was in Kenya at the time and
became the first Sovereign in over 200 years to accede while abroad.
In Kenya
5. The Queen's grandmother, Queen Mary, aged 81 was the first Queen to see a grandchild ascend to the throne. However, she died before the Coronation took place.
Queen Mary
123
6. The Coronation service used for Queen Elizabeth II descends directly from that of King Edgar at
Bath in 973. The original fourteenth-century order of service was written in Latin and was used until
the Coronation of Elizabeth I.
7. The Earl Marshal is responsible for organising the Coronation. Since 1386 the position of Earl
Marshal has been undertaken by The Duke of Norfolk. It was the sixteenth Duke of Norfolk who was
responsible for The Queen's Coronation (1953).
th The 16 Duke of Norfolk
He was also responsible for
the State funerals of Sir Winston Churchill (1965),
124
as well as the investiture of The Prince of Wales (1969).
The Investiture of the Prince of Wales
8. The Queen, with The Duke of Edinburgh, was driven from Buckingham Palace to
Westminster Abbey in the Gold State Coach, which was pulled by eight grey geldings:
Cunningham, Tovey, Noah, Tedder, Eisenhower, Snow White, Tipperary and McCreery.
Coming out of Buckingham Palace
The Gold State Coach has been used by The Queen twice since her
Coronation - at the Silver and Golden Jubilees.
125
Silver Jubilee
Golden Jubilee
9. The Coronation Bouquet was presented to The Queen by the Worshipful Company of
Gardeners to take with her on the drive to Westminster Abbey. The all-white bouquet
The Coronation Bouquet comprised orchids and lilies-of-the-valley from England, stephanotis from Scotland, and
126 carnations from Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man, with additional orchids from Wales.
10. The Duke of Edinburgh wore full-dress Naval uniform for the journey to and from the Abbey.
While in the Abbey, he wore a coronet and his Duke's robe over his uniform. The Duke's page
was Mr Nigel Rees, a Royal Navy Midshipman, who wore a uniform of Edinburgh green.
11. The Queen's Coronation dress was made by Mr Norman Hartnell. The dress was made of white
satin embroidered with the emblems of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. It had short
sleeves with a full, flaring skirt, slightly trained, while the neckline of the fitted bodice was cut
square over the shoulders, before curving into a heart-shaped centre. The dress's exquisite
embroidery in gold and silver thread and pastel-coloured silks was encrusted with seed pearls and
crystals to create a lattice-work effect.
127
12. Since the Coronation, The Queen has worn the
Coronation dress six times:
Reception at Buckingham Palace
Reception at the Palace of Holyrood house
Opening of Parliament in New Zealand (1954)
Opening of Parliament in Australia (1954)
128
Opening of Parliament in Ceylon (1954)
Opening of Parliament in Canada (1957)
13. Buckingham Palace housemaids, chefs and gardeners gathered inside the Grand
Hall at Buckingham Palace to see The Queen leave for Westminster Abbey.
129 The Grand Hall
14. The Queen's Coronation service began at 11.15 am and lasted almost three hours,
concluding at 2.00 pm.
15. On her way to the Coronation, Her Majesty wore the George IV State
Diadem - the one she is depicted wearing on stamps. It was made in 1820 for
George IV's Coronation. The Diadem incorporates national symbols: roses,
shamrocks and thistles and features 1,333 diamonds and 169 pearls. It is on
display at The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace.
Wearing the George IV State Diadem
16. The Sovereign's procession, as it entered the Abbey, was some 250 strong with traditional
representatives from Crown, Church and State. It included Church leaders, Commonwealth
Prime Ministers, members of the Royal Household, civil and military leaders and the Yeoman
of the Guard.
130
Yeoman of the Guard.
17. The Queen's Coronation service was taken by the Archbishop of Canterbury, whose duty this has usually been since the Conquest in 1066. For the first time at the
1953 Coronation, a representative of another Church, the Moderator of the Church
of Scotland, also took part in the service.
With the Archbishop
18. The Coronation service fell into six basic parts: the recognition, the oath, the anointing, and the investiture, which includes the crowning, the enthronement and
the homage.
131
19. The anointing has the deepest significance during the ceremony. The recipe for the
Anointing Oil contains oils of orange, roses, cinnamon, musk and ambergris. Usually a batch
is made to last a few Coronations. In May 1941, a bomb hit the Deanery destroying the phial
containing the anointing oil so a new batch had to be made up. The pharmacy that had mixed
the last anointing oil had gone out of business but the recipe was found and the oil made.
The Anointing
20.One of the more notable installations for the Coronation was the annexe at the west end of
Westminster Abbey. This provided the necessary space in which the processions could form
and disperse unseen by the crowds.
132
21. During the investiture, The Queen first put on the newly-made Colobium Sindonis - a loose
linen-lawn garment,
Colobium Sindoni
and then a robe of cloth of gold - the Dalmatic or Supertunica, which was used by
King George VI.
The Dalmatic or Supertunica
The Lord Great Chamberlain presented the golden spurs,
133 the symbol of chivalry,
The golden spurs after which the Archbishop of Canterbury presented a jeweled sword,
The jewelled sword
and then the armills, the golden
bracelets of sincerity and wisdom.
134 The armills
Finally,
The Queen put on stole and cloth of gold Robe Royal (Imperial Mantle)
and received the orb,
The orb
The coronation ring
135 The glove, which was newly made and presented by the
Worshipful Company of Glovers, and the sceptre.
The glove
The Sceptre
The Sceptre dating from 1661
22. Prince Charles created history when he became the first child to witness his mother's
136 coronation as Sovereign. Princess Anne did not attend the ceremony as she was considered too young.
Prince Charles
23. Prince Charles received a special hand-painted children's invitation to his mother's Coronation.
The invitation is on display at Windsor Castle until September, 2003.
Prince Charles ' invitation
24. A total of 8,251 guests attended The Queen's Coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey.
25. One hundred and twenty-nine nations and territories were officially represented at the
Coronation service.
137
26. There were some people in the Abbey who were witnessing their fourth Coronation, for
example, Her Highness Princess Marie Louise (granddaughter of Queen Victoria).
HRH Princess Marie Louise
The four coronations were:
King Edward VII (1902),
138
King George V (1911),
King George VI (1937)
and Queen Elizabeth II (1953)
27. The Chairs of Estate in which The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh were seated during the first
part of the Coronation ceremony, are now on the dais in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace.
139
The Chairs of Estate
The Chair of Homage used during the service was newly designed for
The Queen's coronation and is now kept in the Garter Throne Room at Windsor Castle.
The Chairs of Homage
The Queen was crowned in St Edward's Chair, made in 1300 for Edward I and used at every
Coronation since that time. It is permanently kept in Westminster Abbey.
140
St Edward's Chair
28. The St. Edward's Crown, made in 1661, was the crown placed on the head of The Queen during
the Coronation service. It weighs 4 pounds and 12 ounces and is made of solid gold. The crown in
its current form was first used by Charles II as it had to be redesigned after the Restoration.
It was refurbished from an old crown and there is speculation that the lower part might be from Edward
the Confessor's crown.
St. Edward's Crown, made in 1661
29. After the crown, the orb, also made in 1661, was the most important piece of regalia. It is a globe of
gold surrounded by a cross girdled by a band of diamonds, emeralds, rubies, sapphire and pearls with a
large amethyst at the summit.
141
30. The Coronation ring, often referred to as 'The Wedding Ring of England' was worn by The Queen
on the fourth finger of her right hand in accordance with tradition. The ring was made
for the Coronation of King William IV in 1831
King William IV
and takes the form of a sapphire surmounted by a cross in rubies surrounded by diamonds. It was
made at a cost of £157 and has been worn at every coronation since then with the exception of
Queen Victoria. Her fingers were so small that the ring could not be reduced far enough in size, so
a special Coronation ring had to be worn. Unfortunately during the service, the ring was forced
onto the wrong finger, causing Queen Victoria to be in 'great pain.'
142
31. The 1953 Coronation service was the first service to be televised (the 1937 procession was
broadcast) - and for most people it was the first time they had watched an event on television.
A 9 or 12 or 14 inch television was popular in 1953
The televising of the Coronation by the BBC was a breakthrough in the history of outside
broadcasting.
Commentator with the BBC
143
In black and white only
Capturing the procession
32. An estimated 27 million people in Britain watched the ceremony on TV and 11 million listened on the radio. The Queen agreed that the Coronation be televised so that as many people as possible
could observe the ceremony. (The population of Britain at the time was just over 36 million.)
Millions listened on the radio
144
A smiling Queen
33. There were more than 2,000 journalists and 500 photographers from 92 nations on the Coronation
route. Thirty cameramen were chosen for the service in the Abbey for their slightness of build,
particularly for above the organ loft.
The organ loft.
34. Among the many foreign journalists in London to report on the Coronation was Jacqueline
Bouvier (who later became the First Lady of the United States of America, Jackie Kennedy). She
was working for the Washington Times-Herald at the time.
145
Jacqueline Bouvier
Jacqueline who later became Mrs Kennedy. Here with the President
35. The return route taken to Buckingham Palace had been designed so that The Queen and her
procession could be seen by as many people in London as possible. The 7.2 kilometer route took the
16,000 participants two hours to complete. The procession itself stretched for three kilometers. Those
on foot marched 10 abreast while those on horseback were six abreast.
146
Back to the Palace
36. People camped in The Mall to catch a glimpse of the procession, including an
Australian family who had sailed all the way from Australia in a ketch for the
occasion. Many people were so keen to see the Coronation procession that they
camped for two days along the route.
Camping in the Mall
Thousands more celebrated throughout the country and the
Commonwealth with street parties.
147
A street party
37. The Ministry of Food granted 82 applications for people to roast oxen, if they could
prove that by tradition, an ox had been roasted at previous Coronations - a welcome
concession in a country where the meat ration was two shillings a week.
Roasting Oxen
38. The Imperial State Crown, which was worn by The Queen
during her return to Buckingham Palace, contained four pearls
traditionally believed to have been Queen Elizabeth I's earrings.
148 The Imperial State Crown
39. During the procession back to Buckingham Palace after the Coronation, The
Queen wore the newly-made Purple Robe of Estate. The velvet robe was edged with ermine and heavily embroidered around the border in gold. The embroidered cipher of
The Queen and border of wheat ears and olive branches, took a total of 3,500 hours to
complete by a team of 12 seamstresses from the Royal School of Needlework. The
silk for the embroidery came from a silk farm in Lullingstone, Kent.
The Purple Robe of Estate
40.The officers and men taking part in the procession or lining the route totalled
29,200: 3600 from the Royal Navy,
149
From the Royal Navy
16,100 from the Army and 7,000 from the RAF, 2,000 from the
Commonwealth and 500 from the 'Colonies'.
The Armed forces
There were 6,700 reserve and administrative troops, while 1,000 officers and men of the Royal military police were bought in to assist
the Metropolitan police. A further 7,000 police were drawn from 75 provincial forces.
150
41. The smiling Queen Salote of Tonga won the hearts and acclaim of the waiting crowds as she remained undaunted by the rain throughout the long procession and refused to raise
the roof of her carriage for protection.
Queen Salote of Tonga
42. The principal decorations for the processional route were in The Mall where there
were four twin-spanned arches of tubular steel that were illuminated at night. The arches
were lifted into place by giant mobile cranes. Linking the arches down the route were the
long lines of standards mounted with golden crowns and each hung with four scarlet
banners bearing the Royal Monogram.
151
The Mall during the day
43. The Queen appeared with her family on the balcony of the palace still
wearing the Imperial State Crown and the Royal Robes to greet the
cheering crowds.
On the balcony
The Queen appeared again on the balcony at Buckingham Palace at 9.45 pm to turn
on the 'lights of London'.
Lights cascaded down the Mall from the Palace, lighting the huge cipher on
Admiralty Arch and turning the fountains in Trafalgar Square into liquid silver, until
all the floodlights from the National Gallery to the Tower of London had been
illuminated.
152
Lights cascaded down the Mall from the Palace
44. Coronation Chicken was invented for the foreign guests who were to be
entertained after the Coronation. The food had to be prepared in advance, and
Constance Spry, who also helped with floral arrangements on the day, proposed a
recipe of cold chicken in a curry cream sauce with a well-seasoned dressed salad
of rice, green peas and mixed herbs. Constance Spry's recipe won the approval of
the Minister of Works and has since been known as Coronation Chicken.
Coronation Chicken. 45. Numerous official photographs were taken in Buckingham Palace after the
Coronation, but the most memorable are those taken by Cecil Beaton. For his defining image he posed The Queen in front of a backdrop depicting Henry VII's
Chapel in Westminster Abbey.
153
Taken by Cecil Beaton
46. The official artist for the Coronation was Polish artist Feliks Topolski who was
commissioned to produce a permanent record of the occasion for a specific location
- the Lower Corridor in Buckingham Palace. The painting was made in 14 sections,
each well over a metre high, measuring nearly 30 metres in total. The frieze will be
on public display for the first time during the Summer Opening of the State Rooms
at Buckingham Palace this year.
by Polish artist Feliks Topolski
47. In Coronation year, The Queen's Lord Lieutenants commissioned artist Terence
Cuneo to paint the Coronation ceremony. The following year, James Gunn painted a
State Portrait of The Queen in Coronation robes with Regalia, wearing the Diadem.
154
by Terence Cuneo
by James Gunn
48. On 2nd June, 1953 it was learned that Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay had reached the summit of Mount Everest. The Queen had the idea of presenting the fourteen members of the expedition with special edition Coronation medals,
which contained the extra wording 'Mount Everest Expedition'.
Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay
155
Special edition Coronation medal
49. The first overseas tour The Queen undertook after the Coronation was to
Bermuda, Jamaica, Panama, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand starting in November
1953. Her Majesty returned in1954 visiting Australia, Ceylon, Aden and Uganda -
going home in Britannia from Aden via Malta and Gibraltar.
50. On 24th June 1953, the Honours of Scotland (the crown, the sceptre and the
sword) were carried before The Queen in a procession from the Palace of Holyrood
house to St Giles Cathedral.
The Honours of Scotland
156 More amazing facts
Many people sent the then-Princess Elizabeth clothing coupons for her wedding dress during post-war rationing in 1947. She returned the coupons as it was illegal to give them away.
Clothing coupons
The Queen signals to staff with her handbag. If she wants to leave a dinner in five
minutes, she puts her bag on the table. She moves it from arm to arm to tell aides she is
tired of talking to someone.
The Queen signals to staff with her handbag
157
Her robes were so heavy at her Coronation that she asked the Archbishop of Canterbury to
give her a push, saying: “Get me started.”
The Robes
Her Majesty went behind the bar of the Queen Vic on a tour
of the EastEnders (TV Sitcom) set in 2001.
Behind the bar on set of East Enders
The Queen carries good luck charms from her children in her bag including miniature dogs and horses and family photos. One picture of Andrew was taken after his safe return
from the Falklands.
158
Prince Andrew
One of the few times the Queen has wept in public was while meeting relatives of
the 144 victims of the 1966 Aberfan mine landslide disaster.
The tears began to flow after she read a message from three-year-old Karen Jones which read:
“From the remaining children of Aberfan”.
From the air after the disaster
159
Frantic relatives immediately after the disaster
The Queen put on a mining outfit and went 500ft underground at Rothes Colliery in 1958.
Underground at Rothes Colliery
She was a big fan of 70s cop show Kojak, which starred Telly Savalas.
Kojak
Where the Queen was born at 17 Bruton Street, London, is now a Chinese restaurant.
160
Now a Chinese restaurant.
A security guard denied her entry to a private stand at the Royal Windsor Horse
Show in 1991. He later said: “I thought she was some old dear who had got lost.”
Royal Windsor Horse Show
The Queen and Prince Philip joined the 93,000 spectators at Wembley
Stadium to watch England win the 1966 World Cup Final.
at Wembley
161
Winners of the 1966 World Cup Final
An avid reader, she loves crime thrillers by PD James, Agatha Christie and Dick Francis.
PD James./ A Favourite crime thriller writer
Agatha Christie was born Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller
162
Dick Francis
She visited the council house of Billy and Lucy Llewellyn in Newton Aycliffe, Co
Durham, in 1960 and ate homemade fruit cake with them. Lucy said later: “I was thinking
‘such a weight on such a small pair of shoulders’.”
The house of Billy and Lucy Llewellyn
The Queen’s collections of art, furniture, jewels and horses are thought to be worth around £70million.
Irishman Michael Fagan broke into her bedroom at Buckingham
Palace in 1982 and sat on her bed for 10 minutes as she engaged
him in conversation. Help arrived when he asked for a cigarette
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Buckingham Palace
The Queen banks with Coutts & Co and there is a Coutts cash machine at Buckingham Palace.
When she was positioned behind a high lectern at the White House in 1991, a TV man was
heard shouting: “All I’ve got is a talking hat!”
All I’ve got is a talking hat!
Balmoral, its castle and 50,000 acres of woods, moors and lochs, and
Sandringham Estate – with dozens of houses, 60 acres of gardens and
20,000 acres of forest – are all owned by The Queen and are worth
around £95million.
Balmoral
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Sandringham
When the Queen and Prince Philip were reunited in Portugal in 1957 after a four-month separation because of official duties, he wore a tie with hearts on.
She laughed when she shook hands with shot-put champion Geoff Capes at the
Braemar Highland Games in 1982 and their hands stuck together because of the
resin he used for his grip.
Blame the resin
When IRA bombs exploded in Hyde Park and Regents Park in July 1982
– murdering eight soldiers, injuring 50, and killing seven horses – she was
to heard to say: “The poor horses, my poor soldiers.”
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The Carnage
The Memorial
Her childhood nickname was Lilibet, because she couldn’t pronounce Elizabeth properly.
As a young child
After a Royal Command performance comedian Tommy Cooper asked her: “Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?” “No,” replied the Queen, “but I might not be able to give
you a full answer.” “Do you like football?” asked Cooper. “Well, not really,” said the
166 Queen. “In that case,” said Cooper, “do you mind if I have your Cup Final tickets?’”
With Tommy Cooper
“She has an air of authority and reflectiveness astonishing in an infant,” remarked
Winston Churchill, when Elizabeth was just two.
Aged two
Her Majesty visited the Daily Mirror offices in Holborn, Central London, in 1979
where she was shown around the newsroom and told how the paper worked.
At the Daily Mirror office
In November 1944, at Clydebank HMS Vanguard became the first of
23 ships she has launched.
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HMS Vanguard
After signing up to the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service, Princess Elizabeth worked as a mechanic and truck driver during the Second World War.
With the WATS
Prince Philip’s pet names for his wife are said to include “cabbage” and “sausage”.
With Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Charles
As a young girl, the Queen acted in wartime pantomimes at Windsor
Castle, playing the part of Prince Florizel in Cinderella in 1941.
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In Cinderella
When she was four she was given her first horse, a Shetland pony called
Peggy, by her grandfather King George V.
On Peggy
In her message of congratulations to astronauts after the first moon landing in 1969, she said: “On behalf of the British people I salute the skill and courage which have brought
Man to the moon. May this increase the knowledge and well-being of mankind.”
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The first moon landing
When her father unexpectedly became King, Princess Margaret, then six, said to her:
“Does that mean you’re going to be queen? Poor you.”
With Princess Margaret
The young princess was a Girl Guide and Sea Ranger.
As a Girl Guide
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As a Sea Ranger.
Every morning, she starts the day with a cup of tea. At 7.30am the “morning tray” is brought into her bedroom laden with a silver teapot, a water jug and milk
The Queens Breakfast table
... as well as a plate of biscuits for her dogs.
The Queen giving biscuits to her dogs
When a nanny asked a teenage Elizabeth if it was wise to display a photograph of Philip
171 as people would gossip, she replaced it with one of him with a beard and said: “I defy
anyone to recognise who that is!”
Prince Philip with beard
Jaguars which were gifts from Brazil were given to London Zoo.
Jaguar
According to former royal chef Darren McGrady, who worked for the Queen for 11
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years, her beloved corgis are fed “wonderful” food including steak, poached chicken and rabbit.
Poached chicken
Rabbit for the corgis
She performed her first official solo engagement at the age of 17 and was so nervous one of her mother’s ladies-in-waiting gave her a barley sugar sweet from her handbag to calm her.
First official solo engagement
Elizabeth and Princess Margaret were taken on their first journey on the London
Underground railway system by governess Marion Crawford in 1939.
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With Princess Margaret on London's Underground
In 1954, Her Majesty became the first monarch to circumnavigate the globe while on a six-month tour. She was also the first to visit Australia, New Zealand and Fiji.
Fiji.1954
Income from the £350million Duchy of Lancaster is used to
cover her official and private expenditure.
Flag of the Duchy of Lancaster
At the beginning of her reign the Queen requested that her husband, rather than
her sister, act as regent for a young Prince Charles in the event of her death.
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Prince Philip
When she met artist Tracey Emin at the Turner Contemporary art centre in Kent
last year she asked her: “Do you show internationally as well as in Margate?”
Tracey Emin
The Queen’s favourite Blue Peter presenter was John Noakes and she personally requested he attend the BBC children’s dhow’s 50th birthday party.
John Noakes
There is said to be a Billy Bass singing fish on top of the grand piano at Balmoral.
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Billy Bass singing fish
Diamond Jubilee:
The Queen and Kate Middleton’s precious relationship
The deafening cheers greeting the newlyweds as they stepped on to the balcony at
Buckingham Palace spoke far louder than words.
Nothing could have told the Queen more clearly how important Kate
Middleton was going to be to the Royal Family.
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It was clear that the wedding of commoner Kate to her grandson Prince William had inspired the
nation – and beyond, as two billion people watched worldwide.
The royals were enjoying levels of popularity not seen since Princess Diana.
The Queen, her smile as bright as her Angela Kelly primrose dress, looked on approvingly
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as Kate and William sealed their future with two kisses, to roars of approval from the
delighted throng below.
The kiss on the balcony
One courtier recalls: “The Queen was so happy on the wedding day, she was practically
skipping.
A Happy Queen
Seeing her family full of joy but also seeing the public support and excitement
touched her greatly.
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“She was very supportive of William and Kate leading up to the wedding and nothing could have reaffirmed more that they have the potential to achieve great things for the monarchy.
The whole of Britain seemed to have turned up to wish them well.”
If the Queen was wary about William marrying a young woman with no
experience of the pressures of royal life, she had good reason.
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She had seen the fairytale marriage of Charles and Diana crumble
with devastating consequences, culminating in them both
separately admitting adultery on national TV.
Their separation in 1992, divorce in 1996, and Diana’s death in a Paris car crash in 1997, rocked the Royal Family to its core, and the Queen felt the impact deeply.
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A Sad Queen
A source says: “There is a definite feeling of wanting to give Kate time to get used to
her royal life rather than thrust her in at the deep end and say, ‘OK, off you go’. The
Queen supports the idea she should be allowed to take things at her own pace.”
Talking about Kate and her family, William has also said: “I want to make sure they have
the best guidance and the chance to see what life is like in the family...
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Kate ,William Harry on Golden Jubilee Day in London
At a Football Match
“I wanted to give her a chance to see in and to back out if she needed to before it all got
too much.”
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The new Duchess of Cambridge,
After getting engaged Kate, 30, said: “It’s nerve-racking because I don’t
know the ropes really... But I’m willing to learn quickly and work hard.”
From the start the Queen has monitored Kate’s progress, particularly on her 10- day tour of Canada and the US last July.
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Kate was given weeks of tutoring by the Palace on etiquette, French language, local politics and the Canadian Constitution. And on a personal note, the Queen loaned Kate her diamond
maple leaf brooch – the very one she wore on her first visit to Canada in 1951.
A source says: “Canada is extremely important to the Queen and everyone was watching
and wondering how Kate would do. Anyone entering the Royal Family has to work to
build up trust and prove that they are committed and up to the job.
“So far, Kate has shown herself to be more than willing and more than capable.
“She is humble and keen to learn and the Queen likes that. She has grown very
fond of her and recognises the impact she is having on the public.”
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The Queen has also done her best to get to know Kate’s family. She invited Carole and
Michael Middleton to lunch a few days before the wedding and they were also her
guests at Ascot last June.
A source says: “Charles and Camilla have met the Middleton’s loads of times, but the fact that the Queen has gone out of her way to make the effort with them is a huge vote
of confidence in Kate.”
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Kate and William have started their married life under the radar in Anglesey, where William
is a Search and Rescue pilot – just like the newlywed Princess Elizabeth who retreated to
Malta when Philip’s duties with the Navy took him there between 1949 and 1951. She
“loved” being a Navy wife.
In the Radio Times, BBC presenter Andrew Marr, says of the Queen: “Even her family find her a little enigmatic.
“Prince William put it well: ‘I think she doesn’t care for celebrity… and she really minds about having privacy in general.
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"And I think it’s very important to be able to retreat inside and be able to collect
one’s thoughts and collect your ideas… and then to move forwards.
"It was a very tricky line to draw between private and public duty. She’s carved her
own way completely. She’s not had a blueprint.’”
The Queen celebrated her Diamond Jubilee aged 85, she knows it will soon
be time to make way for a new generation of royals.
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A source says: “The Queen has worked tirelessly to keep the monarchy relevant. She made royal visits less formal, creating the walkabout in 1970 in Australia.
And it is clear her husband is still her rock. Marr refers to an interview Prince Harry
gave just before the Duke of Edinburgh’s heart scare at Christmas, in which Harry
referred to her ability to turn up, still smiling, at places she might not want to be.
she’s carrying on and doing them.
"Regardless of whether my grandfather seems to be doing his own thing, sort
of wandering off like a fish down the river, the fact that he’s there – I don’t
think that she could do it without him.’
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When William fell in love with fellow student Kate, the Queen told the world she was
“absolutely delighted”. Ever since she has been keen for them to forge their own way.
William said: “It’s very much the case that she won’t necessarily force advice on
you. She’ll let you work it out for yourself... you have to make it work. You have to
do what you think is right.”
An Intimate moment
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Prince William showing the Queen around
Deep affection !
How the Queen loves her Grandson
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Like any other Family
Prince William showing his caring side
A tender moment
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So far the couple have taken things slowly, carrying out a few select public engagements
each month.
Their first public outing
Kate has become Patron of just four charities – Action on Addiction, East Anglia’s Children’s
Hospices, the Art Room and the National Portrait Gallery – and also agreed to volunteer with the Scouts.
A source says: “There is a feeling that Kate and William are doing the right thing in the
Queen’s eyes by not taking on too much so they can be fully involved with
the charities they are committed to
192 Do support.
“And she is impressed by Kate’s clear sense of direction about what kind of causes she is
interested in.”
Kate’s hands-on approach was demonstrated when she spearheaded the display of her wedding
dress for Buckingham Palace’s summer opening.
Viewing last year’s exhibition with Kate, the Queen described the ghost-like display as
“horrid”, commenting how it was made to look very “creepy”.
Kate confidently laughed it off and the pair joked again when the Queen
looked at the reconstructed wedding cake and quipped: “We did eat this?”
193
Wedding cake close up
It may seem as if they have little in common. One was born into a life of privilege and duty while the other is the great-great-granddaughter of a miner.
But both are shaping Britain’s history.
194 The Queen was only 25 when her father King George VI died in his sleep and
she inherited the crown.
Stepping off the plane, returning from Kenya after her father had died
Kate’s big moment came in happier circumstances on April 29, 2011,
when she married Prince William.
But that day as the two women stood on the Palace balcony, they shared in the magic of
knowing they were both responsible for the cheering scenes below.
On the balcony after the Wedding
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Wife, mother, monarch - the Queen's secret world behind the Palace doors
At the Diamond Jubilee we look at how Queen Elizabeth II spends her days
Queen Elizabeth II became only the second monarch in Britain’s history to celebrate a
Diamond Jubilee.
On the Royal barge on Jubilee day
Prince Harry, Prince William Kate
196 But on the day of the Jubilee ,when her reign now equals that of Queen Victoria’s,
it started like any other – waking up as her chambermaid opens the curtains in the
grand bedroom on her 20,000-acre Sandringham estate.
Sandringham
As Her Majesty sips a cup of Earl Grey tea while listening to Radio 4, her
thoughts no doubt turned to the day her beloved “Papa”, King George VI,
passed away in his sleep and she ascended the throne.
On February 6, 1952 the heavy responsibility of the crown fell on the slight
shoulders of the fresh-faced 25-year-old mum-of-two.
With Prince Charles
Now she is approaching 90, and while the nation she inherited is almost unrecognisable – after 12 Prime Ministers,
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four recessions and a technological revolution – she has remained a constant figure at its helm.
As the head of a Commonwealth of two billion people in 54 countries, and with a staff of 800
in her opulent main home of Buckingham Palace alone, she is surrounded by luxury.
Inside Buckingham Palace
But despite being worth an estimated £250million, the Queen enjoys life’s simple
pleasures – playing with her corgis, riding, walking and catching up with her friends.
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With her corgis
Out riding
Relaxing
One of those close companions is Margaret Rhodes, a niece of the Queen Mum. They
grew up together and cousin Margaret, who lives at Windsor, is always near at hand.
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Margaret Rhodes with the Queen Mum
Margaret, 86, reveals: “At home the Queen drops in on me sometimes on Sunday after Matins in our little chapel, and we exchange the latest news.
“One talks about family and life in the country and what’s going on in the world –
almost anything.”
Margaret tells of her life growing up in royal circles and paints a picture of a Queen who loves the outdoors and who faces life’s challenges uncomplainingly and with a
staunch sense of practicality and duty.
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Margaret says: “When she’s supposedly on holiday she relaxes by going on picnics, g oing for long walks, just leading a country life.
“I shared family holidays in Scotland with Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret from a young age. I had the chance to realise what a special person she was.
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“Throughout her life, she’s always had a strong sense of service and a deep concern for her subjects.
“Funnily enough, I don’t think I’ve ever heard her moan very much. She has a very lucky facility, sort of a compartmentalized brain. If she has a worry she can shut the door
on that particular compartment and show a happy and smiling face to the world.”
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When Elizabeth succeeded to the throne she told the nation: “My heart is too full for me to
say more to you today than I shall always work, as my father did throughout his reign, to
advance the happiness and prosperity of my peoples, spread as they are all the world over.”
And she has worked tirelessly to make good that vow, attending thousands of engagements
both at home and abroad – including 370 last year alone.
“You are an anchor for our age,” UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon once told her.
A regular day for the Queen starts with reading the newspapers over breakfast, a copy of her favourite Racing Post is top of the pile. She usually has toast with marmalade – feeding the
odd crust to her corgis – while Prince Philip tucks into a cooked breakfast.
203 They will listen to a small battery-operated radio and chat about the day ahead. After
breakfast the Queen will look at some of the 300 letters the public has sent her, then
tell staff how to answer them.
Mornings are spent at her desk reading the red box of Government papers.
Then at 6.30pm a report of the day’s parliamentary proceedings arrives, too.
In between, at around 4.30pm, it’s time for an afternoon tea of home-baked treats including
biscuits, cakes and warm scones – which often go the corgis. Every Wednesday at 6.30pm
the Queen meets with the Prime Minister in her private sitting room at Buckingham Palace.
With David Cameron
Tony Blair has said: “In the many meetings that I have had with Her Majesty since 1997, I
204 have, time and again, as have my predecessors, had reason to be grateful
to her for her wisdom, good sense and experience, which she always
brings to the issues of the day.”
With Tony Blair
If the Queen’s daily routine seems well regulated, that is nothing compared with her year.
Events are meticulously mapped out in advance, from Christmas stays at Sandringham to
summers in Balmoral with her family.
Yet, despite her constant presence in the public eye, barely a handful of people really know the woman who wears the British crown. Very few of her hundreds of servants and courtiers
observe her at truly close quarters, and even fewer regularly exchange words.
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The Queen has just two members of staff to attend to her direct needs – a page and a senior footman.
The only record of remarks she makes are from pre-prepared speeches, snatches of
conversations overheard at public events or, very occasionally,
accounts of meetings by those who know her well.
Friends and relatives speak of her softer side – of a woman who puts duty first but one who also knows when a more personal approach is needed.
206
With their four children
She insisted that Prince William wear his Irish Guards colonel uniform when he
married Kate because it’s the uniform of his most senior military appointment.
But when it came to the guest list, she told her grandson: “Start with your
friends first and then go from there.”
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David & Victoria Beckham were on the guest list
So on her instruction, William binned the list of 777 dignitaries that palace officials had given to him.
Many were eventually invited – but only after William had made room for his nearest and dearest.
Since the death of the Queen Mum in March 2002, she has also begun to modernise the monarchy
in ways which would have been abhorrent to her very traditional mother
Queen Mum
such as
by allowing William and Kate to live together before their wedding.
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Margaret Rhodes has seen a lot of the Queen’s thoughtfulness. When she and writer husband
Denys, who was seriously ill with lung cancer, needed to move nearer to family and friends
the Queen came to the rescue.
“I was out riding with the Queen on the Balmoral estate and she suddenly turned in
the saddle and said, ‘Could you bear to live in suburbia?’” recalls Margaret. “It
transpired she was offering us a house in the Great Park at Windsor... I am
everlastingly grateful to the Queen for enabling it to happen.”
Great Park Windsor
Despite having spent a lifetime meeting strangers, the Queen still cares about the
impression she makes.
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Royal party planner Lady Elizabeth Anson reveals: “People might think she wouldn’t have time to worry about menus, tastings and how things look, but she is
the most meticulous hostess.
A State Banquet
“She is really interested in what people are going to eat or when they will get drinks.”
In Intimate gathering with the Obama's
Neither is she immune to life’s more frivolous pleasures.
She enjoys a glass of gin and Du-bonnet,
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Enjoying a glass of gin and Du-bonnet in Ireland
The Queen also has been known to browse the Clarin's make-up
counter at airports, and always carries a lipstick – to discreetly reapply it during official
visits. She has even been known to go nightclubbing – she was spotted at Annabel’s in
Mayfair at the 70th birthday of a senior lady-in-waiting, the Countess of Airlie.
Annabel's
Yet those closest to her tell how, at heart, she and Prince Philip prefer long, peaceful walks
at Sandringham or Windsor to jetting off on foreign holidays.
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The Long Walk, Windsor
And it is in these quiet moments, when she is alone with Philip, that the Queen is at her
most relaxed.
The Queen has described her husband of 64 years as being her “strength and stay” and, despite being surrounded by servants or in the public eye, they have a very normal marriage.
As her former private secretary Lord Charteris once noted: “Prince Philip is the only man in the world who treats the Queen simply as another human being.
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“He’s the only man who can. Strange as it may seem, I believe she values that.
“And, of course, it’s not unknown for the Queen to tell Prince Philip to shut up.
Because she is Queen, that’s not something she can easily say to anybody else.
Thank you for buying this book I do hope so much that you have enjoyed it
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Carol A Smith E mail harvestmeadtlworld.com
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Contact Details Carol A Smith RGN RHV 14 ,Harvest Mead Hatfield Herts AL10 0JD UK e mail [email protected]
Good health and prosperity to you and your family!
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