Queen Elizabeth II, Head of the Commonwealth and Queen of 12 countries, is the longest reigning head of state in the world with 66 years on the throne. Here's some fascinating facts you may not have known about Her Royal Majesty!
22. She's at your service!
She is a trained truck mechanic, having served in the auxiliary territorial service during World War II.
21. Extreme Couponer.
She collected coupons to pay for her wedding dress in 1947 because of post-war rationing.
20. En franais s'il vous plat.
She is a fluent French speaker and often uses the language in her public life.
19. Ruler of the roads.
She is the only person in the U.K who does not need to drive with a license or a license plate.
18. No need for that!
She is not required to have a passport, as passports are issued in her name.
17. Who let the dorgies out?
The Queen and her sister Princess Margaret created a new breed of dog called a dorgi after Elizabeth's corgi mated with Margaret's dachshund.
16. Clean and clear and under control.
During her birthday celebrations in 1981, a man fired six blank shots at her. The man was quickly subdued by guards and the Queen's horse was startled, yet she was able to calm the horse quickly and carry on with the parade.
15. I never thought about it.
Her full name is Elizabeth Alexandra Mary.
14. Not how most people would handle the situation.
When an intruder scaled the walls of Buckingham Palace and entered the Queen's bedroom in 1982, she awoke to him at the end of her bed bleeding from his cut hand. She engaged him in conversation for ten minutes calmly before a footman overheard, as she was not able to call for help.
13. This is a thing and also the Queen loves it.
She is a fan of pigeon racing, and a patron of the Royal Pigeon Racing Association.
12. She banks!
She has a bank account with Coutts, one of the oldest banks in the world, and there is a Coutts cash machine inside Buckingham Palace.
11. Awww.
Her grandson Prince William called her "Gary" and his son Prince George calls her "Gan-Gan."
10. What does she keep in there anyway?
The Queen only carries cash in her purse on Sunday morning, in order to give to the church collection plate.
9. Swan whisperer.
GiphyShe technically owns all the swans in open water, but "exercises" that only along a stretch of the River Thames. This tradition is observed through the annual "Swan Upping" ceremony.
8. Excuses to party.
The Queen gets to celebrate two birthdays! Her real birthday is April 21st, but public celebrations around her "official" birthday are in June.
7. "I SEE HER!! IT'S THE QUEEN!!"
There is a practical reason for all her brightly coloured, monochromatic outfits; she has to be spotted in a crowd from far away.
6. Elizabeth II: The golden age...of television.
She is a fan of Downton Abbey, and loves to "Pick out the mistakes."
4. Something in common with the paparazzi.
She takes pleasure in photography as a hobby.
3. Can she live that long please?
The oldest person the Queen ever wrote a letter to was a 116 year old Canadian man in 1986. He would have been born during the reign of Elizabeth's great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria!
2. A person of many titles.
She is called "Lilibet" by close members of her family.
1. Part of your world.
During the celebrations in the streets of London on VE (Victory in Europe) Day in 1945, Elizabeth and Princess Margaret snuck into the crowds in disguise and were able to wave at their father on the Buckingham Palace balcony from below.
Editor's Note
A previous version of this story stated that Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, is the Head of the Commonwealth and queen of 12 nations. It's 16 not 12. They are as follows: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, and the United Kingdom.
Redditor enginearz was eager to hear about historical figures people were surprised to learn were still alive, leading them to ask:
"What famous person from history is still alive?"
Forever Leaving His Name In Science
"Yuri Oganessian."
"He's the only currently living man with an element on the periodic table named after him."- snowflake247
Quite The Story To Tell
"Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha."
"Last human to hold the title of Tsar, as leader of the Kingdom of Bulgaria."
"He was exiled along with his family when the Soviets invaded Bulgaria in 1944."
"In 1990, after the fall of the Soviet Union, Simeon returned from exile to Bulgaria and July 2001, was democratically elected prime minister."
"The private citizen is now 85."- DirectionNew5328
Making Nature Cool For Decades
"Jane Goodall."
"David Attenborough."- random_username_96
You Can Do It Uoftartsci GIF by U of T Faculty of Arts & ScienceGiphyThe Fought For Freedom And Justice
"John Hemingway."
"The last surviving airman of the battle of Britain."
"He is 103 years old."
"Ivan Martynushkin."
"He helped with the liberation of Auschwitz."
"He is 99 years old."
"Benjamin Ferencz."
"He was a prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials."
"He is 102 years old."- Ashtar-the-Squid
"Traute Lafrenz."
"The last living member of the german anti-nazi resistance group 'White Rose".
"Most well-known members were the sibling Sophie and Hans Scholl, who were executed by the Nazis when they were identified."- ChrisTinnef
The One Who Made One Giant Leap For Mankind
"Buzz Aldrin, and I’m not even American."- mukaltin
State Of The Union Salute GIF by MSNBCGiphyOpening Doors For So Many Others
"Ruby Bridges."
"She was one of the first black kids to go to an all-white school."
"There is a famous picture of that first day."- mumwifealcoholic
He Continues To Surprise Us
"Ozzy Osbourne."- CaptinDerpI
Admirably Defying So Many Odds
"Jimmy Carter."
"98 years old."- Back2Bach
Jimmy Carter Drilling GIF by GIPHY NewsGiphyWe've Still Got Two Out Of Four
"Paul and Ringo"- HMKingHenryIX
Inching Close To The Big One Double Oh...
"Kissinger."- LucyVialli
julie andrews snap GIFWho Could Forget About Dick Van Dyke ?!?!?!?!
"Everyone just forgetting about Dick Van Dyke, he's like 97 and still going."
"If you've never heard of him, he played in Marry Poppins, along with a bunch more movies"- Longjumping_Drag2752
And Still Stunning
"Sophia Loren is still kicking."- The_REAL_McWeasel
Continuing To Go Where No Man Has Gone Before
"William Shatner doesn't look it but that dude is in his 90s wtf."- flubberF*ck
William Shatner Fun GIF by Shark WeekGiphyPerhaps what's most admirable, is that even when these astonishing people do eventually pass, they will continue to live on and change the world with the remarkable work they did.
Redditor BungOnMimosas was curious to hear what people considered to be the most overhyped fast food chains around, leading them to ask:
"What do you think are the most overrated fast-food chains? Why?"
"Food As It Should Be"... Or Not...
"I know it's not technically 'fast food', but Panera Bread pisses me off."
"Insanely expensive for extremely average food." - Reddit
"Panera."
"Their quality has decreased so much in the past few years and they’ve added weird sh*t to their menu like pizza and chicken sandwiches."
"Massive identity crisis and crap food."- asm233
Things Ain't What They Used To Be...
"All of them, now that they charge real restaurant prices."- P00pf4rt5
Golden Arches
"As much as I hate to say it, McDonald's is the only place that I can think of that the quality hasn't changed much."
"I mean, that's a pretty low bar, but it is what it is."- gnatman66
happy ronald mcdonald GIF by McDonald's CZ/SKGiphy"The majority of them, especially the really big ones (McDonald's, Wendy's, BK, Pizza Hut, etc)."
"The prices are no longer fast food prices and the quality is not there like it used to be."
"Far better local options that cost roughly the same at the end of the day."- senorita_diablo
Consistency Is Key...
"Dunkin."
"You can go to the same location three separate times, have the food made by the same staff, and receive 3 wildly different results."- AndrewLampart
Not So Popular Anywhere, It seems...
"KFC in France became so bad."- SterBout
fried chicken animation GIF by octavioterolLikely Won't Go National...
"Idk how wide spread they are, but in the Buffalo NY area there is a chain called Mighty Taco."
"They were even voted best tacos a few years ago."
"It is absolutely terrible food."
"I’ve tried to like it and given them 3 chances."
"Each time I couldn’t eat more than a couple bites."
"Absolutely terrible and I’m disgusted even thinking about their sour vomit in a tortilla."- aa-2020
"Eat Fresh"...
"I think I’ve answered this question before but definitely for me, it’s Subway."
"Nothing but a giant hunk of bread."
"I’m editing this to add that part of my anger about Subway is how good it used to be."
"I can remember the days of nearly a whole can of tuna salad delicious sub."
"And a Veggie sub with Swiss cheese and piles of yummy veggies and the sweet Vidalia onion sauce."
"It’s all gone to sh*t."
"I would’ve been perfectly OK with increasing price but the big drop in quality pissed me off."
"Oh woe is me with my first world problems."- Mysterious-Region640
football ok GIF by Subway ColombiaGiphyQuantity Doesn't Guarantee Quality...
"Starbucks is a scam."- cmkeller62
Tasty, But Not Worth It...
"I’m going to say Five Guys."
"Not because the food isn’t good, but because I’m not paying $20 for a burger meal."- 2PacTookMyLunchMoney
"Dairy queen grill and Chill for sure."
"I worked at one for a lil' while and 1 burger combo is $14.56 CAD."- lolidk13
Ice Cream Miracle Treat Day GIF by Children's Miracle Network HospitalsGiphyAnd Not In A Good Way...
Big Kahuna Burger, it kills you."-Darklock2022
No two people have the same taste in food.
Some people know to avoid crappy food, while others eat literally nothing else.