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1. HOME SCHOOLED BY DADDY … Princess Elizabeth was educated at home by tutors, including her father, King George VI.
2. ON PARLE FRANÇAIS … The Queen became fluent in French as a girl.
3. GRANDPA GEORGE … As a child, Princess Elizabeth called her grandfather, King George V, “Grandpa England”.
4. SUPERFISH … Young Elizabeth was a strong swimmer. She won the Children’s Challenge Shield when she was just 13.
5. GIRL POWER … Princess Elizabeth enrolled as a Girl Guide when she was 11 and later became a Sea Ranger.
6. CATCHING THE TUBE … Princess Elizabeth travelled on the London Underground for the first time in May 1939.
7. EVACUATION … During World War II, Elizabeth and her sister Margaret were moved to Windsor Castle for their protection.
8. PANTO PRINCESS … At Christmas during the war, Elizabeth put on pantomimes with the children of staff members.
9. ON-AIR DEBUT … Elizabeth made her first public radio speech in October 1940, when she was 14.
10. FINDING HER PRINCE … Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip first met in 1934 at the wedding of Prince Philip’s cousin.
11. HIGH FLYER … The Princess’ first trip in an airplane was in July 1945, on a visit to Northern Ireland.
12. DUTY CALLS … In early 1945, Princess Elizabeth was made a subaltern in the Auxiliary Territorial Service.
13. BEHIND THE WHEEL … Princess Elizabeth learned to drive in 1945, when she joined the army.
14. BUDGET NUPTIALS … Like any other bride in post-war Britain, Princess Elizabeth collected clothing coupons for her wedding dress.
15. RINGING THE CHANGES … Elizabeth’s engagement ring used diamonds from a tiara belonging to Philip’s mother.
16. BUCKS NIGHT X 2 … Prince Philip had two bucks parties the night before the wedding – the first at The Dorchester hotel for the press and the second with his closest friends at the Belfry Club.
17. SOMETHING OLD … The bride’s bouquet included a sprig of myrtle from the bush grown for Queen Victoria’s wedding bouquet.
18. GRAVE MATTERS … The day after her wedding, Elizabeth followed the example of her mother and sent her bouquet back to Westminster Abbey to be laid on the Grave of the Unknown Soldier.
19. ROYAL RATION TIPS … The two Royal kneelers used during the service were covered in silk and made from orange boxes.
20. SOMETHING BORROWED … Princess Elizabeth’s wedding tiara was made for Queen Mary, who gave it to her daughter-in-law, Queen Elizabeth, who then lent it to her daughter for her wedding.
21. SOMETHING NEW… The bride’s wedding ring was made from a nugget of Welsh gold.
22. WORLD GIFTS … The royal couple received 2500 wedding gifts, including some crocheted lace made from yarn spun by Mahatma Gandhi.
23. FAMILY PRESENTS … Among their wedding presents were salt cellars from Queen Elizabeth, a bookcase from Queen Mary and a picnic case from Princess Margaret.
24. LET THEM EAT CAKE … With post-war food rationing still in place, ingredients for their wedding cake were sent as gifts.
25. HONEYMOON POOCH … The couple departed Waterloo station with the Princess’ corgi, Susan, for their honeymoon.
26. HOME SWEET HOME … Early in 1948, Elizabeth and Philip leased their first marital home, Windlesham Moor, in Surrey.
27. AN OFFICER … After marrying, the Duke of Edinburgh continued his naval career, reaching the rank of commander.
28. ONE’S WATTLE … In 1954, the Queen was given a diamond wattle and tea- tree brooch (pictured above) by Australia, which she wore to Flemington racecourse, Melbourne.
29. YOUR LIEGE … Prince Philip was the first subject to pay homage to his wife, 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.”
30. REIGNING MUM … With the birth of Prince Andrew in 1960, the Queen became the first reigning sovereign to give birth to a child since Queen Victoria.
31. WALKABOUT … During their visit to Australia in 1970, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh initiated a new practice – the “walkabout” – to allow them to meet as many people as possible.
32. SNAIL MAIL … The Queen’s day starts at her desk answering letters. Every day, 200-300 letters from the public arrive.
33. BREAKFAST … Each morning, the Queen’s breakfast is laid out with cornflakes and porridge oats, yogurt and two types of marmalade – light and dark.
34. ALL IN A DAY’S WORK … Every day of every year, wherever she is, them Queen receives and reads government papers.
35. MEET AND GREET … The Queen carries out around 430 engagements a year – often more than one a day.
36. QUEEN OF FROCKS … Angela Kelly is Senior Dresser to the Queen. Her role includes designing dresses.
37. HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY … The Queen celebrates two birthdays each year: her actual birthday on April 21 and her official birthday on a Saturday in June.
38. CURTSY CAPERS …To greet the Queen, a neck bow (from the head only) for men and, for women, a small curtsy.
39. HOW DO YOU DO … On presentation to the Queen, the correct formal address is “Your Majesty” and subsequently “Ma’am”, pronounced as in “jam”.
40. DANCING QUEEN … One of the Queen’s lesser-known interests is Scottish country dancing.
41. RACING DEMON …The Queen is a breeder of thoroughbred horses. Her racing colours are purple body with gold braid, scarlet sleeves and black velvet cap with gold fringe.
42. ELECTION CHAOS … The only time the Queen has had to interrupt an overseas tour was in 1974, when she was called back from Australia when a general election was called suddenly in the UK.
43. TROOPING THE COLOUR … The Queen has taken the salute in every Trooping the Colour ceremony during her reign, except 1955, when a national rail strike forced the cancellation of the parade.
44. SITTING PRETTY … The Queen has sat for 129 official portraits to date.
45. HER MAJESTY’S HOLOGRAM …The Queen sat for her first hologram portrait in 2003.
46. ROYAL BUSTS … There have been 11 sculptures of the Queen.
47. ART PATRON … The Royal Collection of approximately 150,000 paintings, by artists including Rubens, Rembrandt, Titian and Raphael, is held in trust by the Queen for the nation.
48. MOONLIGHTING … The Queen sent a message of congratulations to the Apollo 11 astronauts for the first moon landing in 1969. The message was micro-filmed and put on the moon in a metal container.
49. ONE’S EMAIL … The Queen sent her first email in 1976 from an army base.
50. IN ONE’S DOG HOUSE … The Queen has owned more than 30 corgis during her reign, starting with Susan, which was a present for her 18th birthday in 1944.
51. MEET THE DORGI … The Queen introduced a new breed of dog known as the “dorgi”, when one of her corgis was mated with a dachshund named Pipkin, which belonged to Princess Margaret.
52. ROCKIN’ WITH THE ROYALS … The Queen is the first member of the royal family to be awarded a gold disc, for the CD Party at the Palace.
53. SWAN UPPING … Around 5300 breeding pairs of mute swans in Britain are officially owned by the Queen. Each year, the swans are counted in the Swan Upping census. This historic ceremony dates from the 12th century.
54. RULER OF THE SEAS … A statute from 1324 states that, “Also the King shall have … whales and sturgeons taken in the sea or elsewhere within the realm.” This statute is still valid today.
55. CHARITY WORK … The Queen is patron of more than 600 charities and organisations.
56. SPLITSVILLE … The Queen is the first monarch to have seen three of her children divorce.
57. ONE’S WORTH … The Queen is thought to be worth around £300 million (A$472 million), putting her in the top 300 richest people in the UK.
58. ONE’S COST … Last year, the Queen cost the public purse a little more than £32 million (A$50 million).
59. ONE’S TAX … In 1992, the Queen volunteered to pay income tax.
60. DIAMONDS ARE A GIRL’S … Queen Victoria was the last and only British monarch to celebrate a Diamond Jubilee … until now.
WATCH: The crowning of Queen Elizabeth II:
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