Who is Queen Elizabeth II?

Queen Elizabeth II was born at 2.40am on 21 April 1926 to parents the Duke and Duchess of York, who later became King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother). She was crowned Queen on 2 June 1953 and her coronation was watched by a TV audience of 20 million people. She is the longest reigning monarch ever in Britain, beating even Queen Victoria (her great-grandma!)

Her role as Queen

Princess Elizabeth made her first radio broadcast in October 1940, during the Second World War. As Queen, she has been served by 14 UK Prime Ministers, including Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher and more recently, Boris Johnson. Her role at work and at home is very different from monarchs in history as nowadays her reign is more symbolic (she is there as part of tradition) and she can’t actually say her opinion on how the country is run. This is called a constitutional monarchy. The Queen does a lot of charity work and attends many important events, both within the country and overseas. She also is responsible for giving honours (knighting people); she is the only person who has the right to give titles of honour to deserving people from all walks of life, in public recognition of their merit, service or bravery.

Fun facts about the Queen

Her favourite dogs are corgis. She even invented a new breed of dog when her corgi mated with a dachshund belonging to her sister, Princess Margaret, creating the “dorgi”. She’s the only person in the UK allowed to drive without a licence and she still drives to this day! The Queen has two birthdays; her actual birthday – 21 April – and her official birthday, which is held on a Saturday in June – when the weather’s better! 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’s an Arsenal supporter! Queen Elizabeth became a homeowner at just six years old when the people of Wales gifted her a house in the grounds of Windsor’s Royal Lodge. Named Y Bwthyn Bach (it means “little cottage). She owns an elephant, two giant turtles, a jaguar and a pair of sloths, which are presents from other countries, and all of which live in London Zoo. The queen is known for her sense of humour; on a recent low-key trip to Scotland, she met some American tourists while walking. Asked if she lived round here, she mentioned that she had a house nearby, and when asked if she’d ever met the Queen she simply pointed at her policeman and said, “No, but he has!”