25 Odd and Little Known Facts About Queen Elizabeth II
PocketEpiphany
Published
09/28/2022
in
wtf
After a historically-long reign, Queen Elizabeth passed away, and the world has spent weeks mourning her death.
In the wake of that death, it's worth asking: do you know who the Queen REALLY was? Here are a few royal facts> that are sure to shock you!
In the wake of that death, it's worth asking: do you know who the Queen REALLY was? Here are a few royal facts> that are sure to shock you!
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1.
Fewer than 100,000 British people are older than Queen Elizabeth (96). She is the only monarch 85% of her subjects have ever known before Charles. -u/Glandrid -
2.
Prince Philip's 'affectionate' nickname for queen Elizabeth was 'cabbage.' -u/je97 -
3.
The British Monarch has 'The Royal Prerogative of Mercy' which allows them to grant pardons to convicted people. Queen Elizabeth II has pardoned a few people, the most famous of whom was a posthumous pardon for Alan Turing, convicted for 'Homosexual Acts' as was illegal in 1952. -u/ChronosBlitz -
4.
C. J. Lewis tried to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II in 1981 and two years later he tried to escape from psych ward to kill Prince Charles. -u/horigen -
5.
Queen Elizabeth had an official shoe-wearer who breaks in her shoes so they don't give her blisters. -u/katymae123 -
6.
Before she died, Queen Elizabeth II was the only currently active military commander who also served in World War II. She was the Supreme Military Commander for various militaries including UK and Canada. While she had full power to direct the military, she normally delegated. -deleted user -
7.
Queen Elizabeth II reigned longer than her father, uncle, grandfather and great-grandfather combined. -u/soratoumiga -
8.
Queen Elizabeth II was the official monarch of Jamaica since 1962. -u/BlueDragonizNotCool -
9.
In 1975, upon gaining independence, Papua New Guinea extended an invitation to Queen Elizabeth II - known there as 'Missis Kwin' - to become their head of state, making her an elected Monarch of sorts. -u/saad1121 -
10.
Queen Elizabeth II ordered the guest rooms of her palace to be stripped of valuables before the President of Romania visited in 1978 because she feared he and his wife would steal from her. -u/ChickenTikkaMasala69 -
11.
Queen Elizabeth II owned the largest clear-cut diamond in the world. Known as 'The Great Star of Africa' the 530 carats gem was mined in South Africa back in 1905 and has an estimated worth of $400 million. -u/Altruistic_Astronaut -
12.
While postboxes in England, N. Ireland and Wales are engraved with "EIIR" -the royal cipher of Queen Elizabeth II, those in Scotland bear only a Crown; as there was no Elizabeth I of Scotland. The controversial use of "EIIR" on Scottish postboxes lead to the "Pillar Box War" in the 1950s. -u/saad1121 -
13.
While Queen Elizabeth II was the titular head of the Commonwealth, and her designated successor was her son Charles, Prince of Wales, the title is not strictly speaking a hereditary one. -u/RexSueciae -
14.
Queen Elizabeth once hid in a bush with her corgis to avoid talking to Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife. -u/Fun_Wonder_4114 -
15.
The BBC rehearsed Queen Elizabeth’s death at least once a year. -u/MyWifeIsCute -
16.
In 1953, the televised Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was interrupted by a commercial starring the then mascot of NBC's tonight show, a monkey named J. Fred Muggs. -u/BradyBales -
17.
Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the former Tsar of Bulgaria would have been a longer-reigning monarch than Queen Elizabeth II if the Bulgarian Monarchy was never abolished, having the longest verifiable reign of a monarch in human history. -u/LodleLive -
18.
Queen Elizabeth II specifically asked to be in a James Bond skit with Daniel Craig for the Olympics, breaking royal protocol. When asked if she would like to say something she said, "Of course I must say something. After all, he is coming to rescue me." -u/blairsimons -
19.
Queen Elizabeth II had a body double, Ella Stack, who took her place during all rehearsals. She was, however, not allowed to sit on the throne at the House of the Lords during the rehearsals. She never accepted payment for her services, describing it as a "pleasure and an honour." -deleted user -
20.
Charlie Chaplin was knighted by Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace. -u/irnbrusker -
21.
When Germany surrendered at the end of WWII, huge celebrations broke out on the streets of London. Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) and her sister secretly left Buckingham Palace to join the crowds outside, with Elizabeth describing it as "one of the most memorable nights of my life." -u/ugotamesij -
22.
Queen Elizabeth met 12 US presidents during her reign. Which is over a quarter of all presidents since the United States' inception. -u/nuktl -
23.
Queen Elizabeth once went for a walk near her Balmoral estate with one of her protection officers and met some American tourists who didn’t recognize her. They asked her if she’d ever met the Queen and she said “No”, then pointed to her officer and said “he has”. They didn’t connect the dots. -u/Tokyono -
24.
After all the local swans were eaten by Alligators a Florida woman wrote to Queen Elizabeth for assistance. The Queen provided two royal Swans. The Swans alive in Lakeland today are their direct descendants. -u/Macismyname -
25.
When Julie Andrews received her damehood in 2000, Queen Elizabeth said to her that she’d ‘been waiting for this for a very long time.’ One of Julie Andrews’ earliest performances was at age 13, singing “God Save the King” before a then Princess Elizabeth. -u/MorriePoppins
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