Rare Queen Elizabeth II Facts You Should Know About

Queen Elizabeth II has outlived her forerunners and is currently the longest-reigning British monarch. The public knew Queen Elizabeth II as a woman of manners and is responsible for strict royal protocols that the new royal generation must strictly follow. To celebrate the Queen, who shows no sign of slowing down or abdicating her throne anytime soon, let’s get to know her more with some simple facts about her:

1. Queen Elizabeth II was born not as the heiress apparent to the British throne. Her uncle and his father’s brother, Edward VIII, was the heir apparent and became king for less than a year. Edward VIII abdicated the throne to marry an American divorcee, Wallis Simpson. The throne was passed down to Edward VIII’s younger brother, King George VI, then later on to Elizabeth.

2. When Queen Elizabeth II was just 14 years old, the young Queen wanted to go to war with his father. She was not allowed to go yet, but she created a radio broadcast to lift the spirits of the children during the war.

3. Queen Elizabeth II finally served the war when she joined the women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service when she was 18. She trained as a truck driver and mechanic, the first female and living royal family member to have served in World War II.

4. Queen Elizabeth II is married to her third cousin, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. They have the same great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria. Marrying a distant cousin is usual for the royal family.

5. In 1952, the 25-year-old Queen Elizabeth II was coronated Queen after his father died. The to-be-crowned Queen was against broadcasting the coronation ceremony but was eventually convinced upon the condition that no close-ups should be taken.

6. Due to her fame and title, Queen Elizabeth II had attracted all kinds of people, including the bad ones. Her Majesty survived an assassination attempt in 1981 during the procession of Trooping the Colour. An assassination-obsessed Marcus Sarjeant fired blanks at the Queen. In another occasion, Queen Elizabeth survived another incident involving an intruder who managed to get inside her bedroom.