On September 8, 2022, Queen Elizabeth II passed away. Her funeral was on September 19, eleven days later. Her passing has caused grief and joy, but who was Queen Elizabeth II?
Queen Elizabeth II was born April 21, 1926. Her father was Prince Albert and her mother was Elizabeth, the Duke, and Duchess of York. Her sister, Princess Margret, was born in 1930.
She and her husband, Prince Phillip, announced their engagement on July 9, 1947, and they were married on November 20, 1947.
Queen Elizabeth II had four children; Prince Charles, born November 14, 1948; Princess Ann, born August 15, 1950; Prince Andrew, born February 19, 1960; and Prince Edward, born March 10, 1964.
Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation was on June 2, 1953. She was the second longest-lived British monarch, the longest reigning sovereign in Britain, and the second longest reigning monarch in the world. She was queen for 70 years and 214 days.
Some trivia about Queen Elizabeth II:
– She loved animals, corgis in particular, and owned more than 30 of them.
– She received over 2,500 wedding gifts when she married.
– Since 1989, she has only worn one shade of nail polish: Ballet Slippers by Essie. She loved this shade so much that she requested that the other female members of the family wore it as well and several photos have shown Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle wearing it.
– She was the only female member of the British family to have served in the military. She was 19 when she began and she served for six years. Queen Elizabeth II joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service and she trained as a driver and mechanic with the rank of Second Subaltern.
– She visited at least 117 countries including Saint Lucia, Belize, Tuvalu, Ghana, the Solomon Islands, Sierra Leone, Bermuda, and the Gambia. This made her the most-traveled monarch in British history.
– She did not have a passport or driver’s license. Since all British passports and licenses are issued in her name, she does not need one herself.
– Her coronation was the first to ever be televised. More than 20 million people watched it. It was one of the first times that television viewers outnumbered radio listeners.
Queen Elizabeth’s death caused many different reactions. She is succeeded by her son, now King Charles. He was the longest-serving heir apparent in British history. King Charles ascended to the throne after she passed and, at age 73, he is now the oldest person to assume the British throne.