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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 75 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Elizabeth II
Balmoral Castle. Sandringham House in Norfolk is one of the Queen's private residences and is where the Royal Family spend their Christmas holidays. The Island of Mustique in the Caribbean was a favourite holiday venue of the late Princess Margaret. Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, is another of the Queen's private homes and to which the Royal Family retreat every year in August-September. Windsor Castle is an official residence of the Queen just outside of London and is where she spends Easter.
George and Elizabeth. Edward VIII was her uncle who abdicated in order to marry Wallis Simpson. George V and Mary were her paternal grandparents. Edward VII and Alexandra were her paternal great-grandparents.
1953, Westminster Abbey. Elizabeth became Queen on her father's death in 1952 but was only crowned in 1953 in Westminster Abbey, the site of all coronations since 1066. (In modern times it has been standard practice to wait till the year after the death of the last monarch before the coronation). St Paul's Cathedral is where Charles and Diana married in 1981 and Westminster Cathedral is a Catholic cathedral.
Great-great-granddaughter. The genealogy is Queen Victoria, Edward VII, George V, George VI, Elizabeth II.
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Charles, Andrew and Edward are her sons.
40th. Victoria was the 35th monarch, Edward VII was 36th, and Prince Charles as heir apparent will become the 41st monarch on the death of his mother.
Margaret Rose. As a child, Elizabeth called her sister 'Bud' because she said Margaret wasn't a fully grown rose yet. Anne is the Queen's daughter, Alexandra is her cousin and Sarah is her niece (Margaret's daughter).
17 Bruton Street, Mayfair, London. 17 Bruton Street was her parents' home until they moved to 145 Piccadilly shortly after her birth. Windsor Castle is the monarch's country home just outside London. Buckingham Palace is the monarch's official London residence.
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary. She was named after her mother (Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother), her paternal great-grandmother (Queen Alexandra) and her paternal grandmother (Queen Mary).
| What two tragic things happened in 2002, the year of the Queen's Golden Jubilee? | Elizabeth II
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The deaths of Princess Margaret and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. Both Princess Margaret, the Queen's sister, and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother died in 2002. They died within weeks of one another.
4. They are Prince Charles, Princess Anne the Princess Royal, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward.
| What is the exact date of Elizabeth's coronation? | Elizabeth II
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June 2, 1953. The coronation was set on this day so that it wouldn't disrupt the 'political diary'. It was the earliest date that they could use without causing disruption.
(In modern times in Britain it has been customary to leave a year between the death of the former reigning monarch and the coronation of his or her successor).
| When was Prince Charles, the Queen's eldest son, born? | Elizabeth II
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November 14, 1948. When Prince Charles was born, Elizabeth sent everyone a gift basket who had had a baby on November 14, 1948. Her family was against her naming him Charles because of the past monarchs that had been named Charles.
| What did Prince Philip have to give up in order to become a British citizen and marry Elizabeth? | Elizabeth II
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His title of Prince of Greece. Before Prince Philip could marry Elizabeth he had to be a British subject (citizen) and this involved giving up his title of Prince of Greece. After he had done this and become a British subject (citizen) the government found out that he had not in fact needed to do that. Because he was a direct desendant of Queen Victoria he was already a British subject. A law passed during Queen Victoria's reign said that any direct descendant of hers would be born a British subject no matter where they are born or raised.
Queen Victoria. Queen Mary was Elizabeth's grandmother, Queen Alexandra her great-grandmother, and Queen Juliana was Queen of the Netherlands. Queen Victoria reigned from 1839-1901. She was christened Alexandrina Victoria but ruled using the name Victoria. She became Queen upon the death of her uncle William IV.
| What is the exact date when Elizabeth became Queen? | Elizabeth II
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February 06, 1952. Elizabeth was in Kenya when she learned that she had become Queen of the United Kingdom. Her husband Prince Philip was told first and then it was up to him to tell her that she had become Queen. Before leaving for England, Elizabeth made sure that every person that worked in the hotel where she was staying in had an autographed photograph of her.
The date of her coronation was 2nd June 1953, but in a hereditary monarchy the new monarch succeeds immediately on the death of his or her predecessor.
25. Elizabeth became Queen in February of 1952. She turned 26 that same year on April 26. The first Queen Elizabeth was also 25 when she became Queen!
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor. Elizabeth was named after her mother, great-grandmother Queen Alexandra the wife of Edward VII and her grandmother Queen Mary the wife of George V. Elizabeth was the first child of her parents, the future Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother) and George VI. (At the time of her birth, they were the Duke and Duchess of York and had no reason to expect that there would be any crisis on the death of Kind George V).
| In what year did Her Majesty help the United States celebrate its Bicentennial? | Elizabeth II
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1976. In 1976, Her Majesty made a state visit to the U.S.A. to celebrate its Bicentennial. Don't get 1976 confussed with 1776, like President Bush did during the Queen's state visit in May of 2006.
| In what year was a public gallery opened at Buckingham Palace to display items from the Royal Collection? | Elizabeth II
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1962. The second decade of the Queen's reign saw the introduction of a number of innovations to make the work of the monarchy accessible to an even wider range of people.
In 1962 a public gallery was opened at Buckingham Palace to display items from the Royal Collection. The brainchild of the Duke of Edinburgh, the new Queen's Gallery proved very popular.
| Where did Her Majesty go on her first regional tour? | Elizabeth II
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Northern Ireland. The Queen took her role as Queen of the whole of the United Kingdom seriously. She began a wide-ranging programme of visits throughout every part of the country.
Her first regional tour was a three-day visit to Northern Ireland. In the same decade The Queen travelled north, south, east and west, from Shetland to the Isles of Scilly, and from Swansea to Holy Island.
Winston Churchill. From the earliest days, the Queen took up her new role with energetic commitment.
Political duties began immediately, from the State Opening of Parliament to weekly audiences with the prime minister. The first prime minister of The Queen's reign was Winston Churchill, who had begun his second term as prime minister in November 1951.
During the decade the Queen had occasion to exercise her Royal prerogative, appointing Harold Macmillan as prime minister in 1957. At that time, the Conservative Party did not have any electoral machinery for choosing a new leader, and the Queen acted on the advice of government ministers, and above all, of the outgoing prime minister.
| Where was Her Majesty when she learned that she had become Queen of Great Britain? | Elizabeth II
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Kenya. After her marriage in 1947, Princess Elizabeth paid formal visits with the Duke of Edinburgh to France and Greece, and in autumn 1951 they toured Canada.
Princess Elizabeth also visited Malta four times while Prince Philip was stationed there on naval duties, and enjoyed the life of a naval wife and young mother.
This way of life was not to last long, as her father's health was deteriorating. In 1952, King George VI's illness forced him to abandon his proposed visit to Australia and New Zealand. The Princess, accompanied by Prince Philip, took his place.
On Wednesday, 6 February 1952, Princess Elizabeth received the news of her father's death and her own accession to the throne, while staying in a remote part of Kenya.
The tour had to be abandoned, and the young Princess flew back to Britain as Queen. She was greeted by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and other officials at the airport.
| What year was Princess Elizabeth created a Lady of the Garter at a private investiture by the king? | Elizabeth II
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1947. Her first official overseas visit took place in 1947, when she accompanied her parents and sister on a tour of South Africa.
During this tour she celebrated her twenty-first birthday, and gave a broadcast address dedicating herself to the service of the Commonwealth - a dedication she repeated five years later on her accession to the throne.
In November 1947, Princess Elizabeth was created a Lady of the Garter at a private investiture by the King.
In a broadcast on her 21st birthday, Princess Elizabeth made a vow dedicating herself to service of the Commonwealth:
"I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong."
Colonel-in-Chief of the Grenadier Guards. In early 1942 Princess Elizabeth was appointed Colonel-in-Chief of the Grenadier Guards, and on her sixteenth birthday she carried out her first public engagement, when she inspected the regiment.
In April 1943, Princess Elizabeth carried out her first solo public engagement, when she spent a day with a Grenadier Guards tank battalion in Southern Command.
From that time onwards, her official duties increased. She was particularly involved with organisations connected with young people. She was President of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for Children in Hackney, London, and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.
| Where were Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret Rose moved to during the height of the blitz in 1940? | Elizabeth II
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Windsor Castle. 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.
It was a time of austerity and anxiety for the whole country, including the Royal Family. But at Christmas time there was a period of light relief when the young princesses put on pantomimes with the children of members of staff for the enjoyment of her family and employees of the Royal Household.
Duke and Duchess of York. The Queen was born at 2.40am on 21 April 1926 at 17 Bruton Street in Mayfair, London W1.
She was the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York, who later became King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.
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.
| Her Majesty is what number monarch since William the Conqueror? | Elizabeth II
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40th. The Queen is Head of State of the UK and 15 other Commonwealth realms.
The elder daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth and was born in 1926. She became Queen at the age of 25, and has reigned through more than five decades of enormous social change and development.
The Queen is married to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and has four children and eight grandchildren.
Her Majesty is 38th in direct line of descent from Egbert (c. 775-839), King of Wessex from 802 and of England 827 to 839.
She is the fortieth monarch since William I (William the Conqueror), and also the great-great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria.
| At the outbreak of World War II the King and Queen let it be known that they were going to remain at Buckingham Palace for the duration of the war. It was also announced that their two daughters had been evacuated to a "house in the country". To which house were they evacuated? | Early Life of Queen Elizabeth II
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Windsor Castle. The two princesses remained at Windsor for the entire war. The crown jewels were stored there, wrapped in newspaper and in large crates! Buckingham Palace had been bombed nine times during the blitz. As all their windows were broken, the palace was too dangerous for them for them to sleep there.
She was 13 and met him at Dartmouth Naval College. The King and Queen accompanied by the two princesses were on an official visit to Royal Dartmouth Naval College. Philip was invited to lunch and Lilibet was very taken with him. She never wanted any other man but Philip. They celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary (60 years) in 2007.
| In 1936 King Edward VIII abdicated his throne to marry Wallis Simpson. At what exact moment did Princess Elizabeth's father become King George VI? | Early Life of Queen Elizabeth II
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The moment Edward VIII signed the Instrument of Abdication. With the stroke of his pen King Edward VIII gave up his position and his brother became King. The family then moved out of their beautiful London home and into Buckingham Palace.
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