Your Queen questions answered, on the occasion of her Platinum Jubilee

Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary acceded to the throne in the early morning of Feb. 6, 1952, when her father, King George VI, drew his last breath at the Royal Family’s Sandringham estate. Elizabeth and her husband Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, were in Kenya at the time filling in for George on an extended royal tour. They returned to Britain and the princess, then 25 years old, was proclaimed “Queen Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of this Realm and all Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.”

She’s now the longest-serving British monarch and Sunday marks her 70th year on the throne. Her next big milestone comes on May 27, 2024, when she will overtake France’s Louis XIV as Europe’s longest-reigning monarch. He ruled for 72 years and 110 days, from 1643 to 1715.

What’s so special about a Jubilee?

The British Royal Family borrowed the idea from the Old Testament, which instructed Israelites to celebrate a year of jubilee every 50 years as a time of atonement. The Catholic Church has followed that tradition for 700 years, although it cut the timeframe to once every 25 years. The first Royal Jubilee was celebrated in 1809, when King George III marked 50 years on the throne with fireworks and a procession through London. The Queen’s Platinum will be celebrated in the U.K. with a national baking contest, a parade involving 1,200 soldiers, a big concert and 200,000 street parties.

How many times has the Queen been to Canada?

The Queen has made 22 royal visits to Canada, more than any other country. She’s also the first monarch to include Canada and other Commonwealth members in her coronation oath, which officially recognized her as Queen of Canada. Before 1953, the oath only referred to “British Dominions beyond the seas.”

How many countries has the Queen visited?

She’s travelled to more than 100 countries, but there are a few places the Queen hasn’t visited. One of the most notable is Israel. The British government is believed to have dissuaded the Queen from going to Israel for political reasons, although Prince William and Prince Charles have made official trips. The Queen has also never been to Greece, reportedly because Prince Philip never liked his birthplace. She’s also missed Cuba, Vietnam, Ukraine and the Philippines, among others. And she’s never been to Argentina, given the spat over the Falklands.

Where does she reign?

When she succeeded to the throne in 1952, Elizabeth II was the head of state of seven countries: Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan and Ceylon. Everything else was considered part of the British empire. Decolonization in the 1960s and 70s changed all that. She’s now head of state of 15 countries. During her reign, several nations have dropped the monarchy as head of state, including South Africa, Pakistan, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Mauritius, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica and, last year, Barbados.

Which Canadian Prime Ministers and U.S. Presidents has she met?

Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent attended the Queen’s coronation and she has met all but one prime minister ever since; Kim Campbell wasn’t in office long enough. She’s also met 12 U.S. presidents going back to Dwight Eisenhower, who played host during her first state visit to the United States as monarch. The Queen met Richard Nixon so many times that she’s rumoured to have tried to fix up his daughter, Tricia, with Prince Charles.

How many corgis has she had?

She’s adored Pembroke Welsh corgis ever since her parents bought one in 1933 and named it Dookie. She’s since had more than 30, including Monty, Emma, Linnet, Vulcan, Whisky, Sherry, Cider, and Spick and Span. Most were descendants of Susan, a corgi she received as an 18th birthday gift in 1944. The final corgi from Susan’s line was Willow, who died in 2018. Willow was featured with the Queen in a James Bond sketch played during the opening ceremonies of the 2012 Olympics. She currently has three dogs; a corgi named Muick (after Loch Muick on the Queen’s Balmoral estate in Scotland), a cocker spaniel called Lissy; and Candy, who is a dorgi – that’s a dachshund-corgi mix that the Queen first bred.

What about horses?

The Queen owns around 100 horses and her Sandringham estate is a top breeder of thoroughbreds. Her horses have won an estimated 1,600 races. The biggest victory came in 2013, when Estimate won the Ascot Gold Cup, marking the first time a reigning monarch had won in the race’s 207-year history.

Does she have a driver’s licence?

The Queen is the only person in Britain who doesn’t need a driver’s licence. She’s also the lone member of the Royal Family who doesn’t require a passport to travel. She’s a patron of more than 600 charities and serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the British Armed Forces and the Canadian Armed Forces, though the Governor-General carries out those duties on her behalf. She’s also Commissioner-in-Chief of the RCMP.

Does she have any hobbies?

Her main hobby is collecting stamps. The Queen has one of the largest private collections in the world and it has been valued at £100-million, or about $173-million, according to The Daily Telegraph. Among her most prized holdings is a Mauritius Post Office stamp from 1847, one of the first stamps issued by a colonial post office. It is believed to be worth £2-million, or $3.5-million.

How much is she worth?

Estimating the Queen’s wealth isn’t easy. The Sunday Times Rich List pegged her net worth at £365-million in 2021 or $630-million. She personally owns Sandringham and Balmoral, but most of her income is derived from the Crown Estate – a £14.4-billion property portfolio that includes the park around Windsor Castle, most of London’s Regent Street and the seabed around England, Wales and Northern Ireland. While the Queen owns the Crown Estate she doesn’t control it or receive direct income from its holdings. Instead, the company turns over its net profit to the government, which provides the Queen and other royals with an annual “sovereign grant” to cover their expenses. Last year, it was £85.9-million.

What kind of gifts does she get?

Not surprisingly, the Queen receives hundreds of gifts every year from all over the world. The most recent list of presents, from 2019, included a painting of a swimming pig, a silver cutlery set, a traditional Iraqi garment, a boxed bottle of gin and two glasses, and three wood carvings of pygmy hippos. She’s also been given a variety of animals, such as a Nile crocodile, a sloth, two black jaguars, an elephant – called Jumbo – and six red kangaroos. They are all housed at the London Zoo.

What about all those movies?

The Queen has been portrayed in roughly 200 films, documentaries and TV shows. Those who have played her include Oscar winners Olivia Colman (The Crown), Helen Mirren (The Queen), Emma Thompson (BBC’s Playhouse Presents: Walking the Dogs), Cate Blanchett (Family Guy) and Vanessa Redgrave (Cars 2). Fred Armisen also played the Queen several times on Saturday Night Live and who could forget Scott Thompson’s rendition of Elizabeth II on Kids In The Hall?

And songs?

She’s featured in four tunes by The Beatles – Her Majesty, Penny Lane, For You Blue and Mean Mr. Mustard. Billy Bragg portrayed her as a tragic figure in his Rule Nor Reason but The Smiths were more blunt in The Queen is Dead. The Manic Street Preachers sang unprintable things about the Queen in Repeat (Stars And Stripes) and perhaps the most notorious ode to Her Royal Highness came from the Sex Pistols, who released God Save the Queen during her Silver Jubilee in 1977. It was promptly banned by the BBC.

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