Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, died on 8 September aged 96. According to an official statement from Buckingham Palace, the Queen died peacefully at her estate in Balmoral, Scotland. Elizabeth II acceded to the throne at the age of 25 after the death of her father, George VI in 1952. The UK celebrated the platinum jubilee (70th anniversary) of Elizabeth II’s accession to the throne earlier this year.
Following the Queen’s death, her 73-year-old son Prince Charles III has become the King of the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles III’s wife, Camilla--the Duchess of Cornwall - will now be addressed as Queen Consort. Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton, who were called the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, have now received the title of Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge.
Here’s looking back at the eventful life of one of the most popular people in the world.
Lesser-known facts about Queen Elizabeth II
The first child of the Duke and Duchess of York, who went on to become King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, Princess Elizabeth was not born in a palace. She was born on April 21, 1962, in a townhouse in London which belonged to her Scottish maternal grandparents, the Earl and Countess of Strathmore.
Queen Elizabeth and her only sibling, Princess Margaret, were home-schooled under the supervision of their mother and their governess. The two sisters were primarily taught language, history, literature, and music.
During World War II, Elizabeth and her sister Margaret were sent to Windsor Castle, while their parents continued to stay at Buckingham Palace. In 1945, when the war was nearing its end and Princess Elizabeth turned 18, she expressed her wish to join the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS), the women’s branch of the British Army. Soon after joining, she was promoted to the post of Junior Commander. Princess Elizabeth became the first female member of the royal family to join the services. Till the time of her death, Queen Elizabeth was the colonel-in-chief of 16 British Army regiments.
Elizabeth's coronation, which was the last British coronation of the 20th century, became the first and only British coronation to be fully televised. Cameras were not allowed during her parents' coronation in 1937. The coronation at the Westminster Abbey was attended by 8,000 guests from across the Commonwealth Nations. Interestingly, guests were able to purchase the stool on which they sat during the coronation ceremony, and the profits from that went to the costs incurred to organise the coronation.
The Queen was the only person in the United Kingdom who could drive without a licence or number plate. The princess learnt driving during her training at the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service. The Queen was a gearhead who would often drive the Jaguar or Range Rover. In 1998, she famously drove King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia around the royal Balmoral estate in Scotland.
The Queen did not have a passport, because the British passport was issued in her name. The royal family’s official website explained: “As a British passport is issued in the name of Her Majesty, it is unnecessary for The Queen to possess one.” The Queen travelled frequently and visited over 100 countries during her reign.
In November 1947, two years after the end of World War II, Elizabeth Windsor married Philip Mountbatten at Westminster Abbey wearing a beautiful white gown, the material for which she bought with war ration coupons. For starters, a ration coupon is a card issued by a government to allow citizens to buy food or other commodities that are in short supply during wartime. Designed by Norman Hartnell, the silk fitted gown was stitched by 350 women over the course of two months. For Elizabeth to be able to afford the uber-expensive gown, the British government gave her 200 extra ration coupons.
Our anti-royalist views can – and should – co-exist with our grief.
At 9 AM every morning, the royal bagpiper would play for 15 minutes near the Queen’s window, serving as an alarm. The tradition was started by the departed Queen’s great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, in 1843. The royal bagpiper’s official title is Bagpiper to the Sovereign.
The Queen loved animals, especially Corgis. Elizabeth II owned more than 30 corgis during her lifetime and even personally supervised their daily meal. So dear were the Corgis to the Queen that they were given a role in the James Bond clip filmed with Elizabeth II for the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics.
The Queen had a private ATM in the basement of Buckingham Palace, which was set up by Coutts bank. However, whether the Queen ever needed to withdraw cash from the machine still remains a mystery. Along with an ATM, you’ll also find a post office in the basement of the royal palace.
Article originally appeared in GQ India.
Though they will still go by William and Catherine.
