The Queen

Queen Elizabeth II
Queen Elizabeth II is the Queen of Britain and also the Queen of Canada. She lives in Buckingham Palace, which is in London. When she is at home you will see the Royal Standard flying.

This is the flag flown when The Queen is at home, on The Queen's car when she is on an official journey and on aircraft (when it's on the ground), and represents the Sovereign and the United Kingdom.

Queen Elizabeth II has several titles but she is really simply known as "The Queen".

The Queen's real name is "Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor", which is really quite a mouthful! She belongs to Britain's Royal House (Family) of Windsor. Her parents were King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, who died in March 2002.

She was born on April 21, 1926 in London. However, her birthday isn't official celebrated, in Britain, until the 3rd Saturday of June which is when she does all her honours and knighthoods. In Canada they celebrate her birthday on the Victoria Day holiday in May.

The Queen married Prince Philip, the son of Prince and Princess Andrew of Greece, on November 20 1947 and they have 3 sons and 1 daughter.

H.R.H. the Prince of Wales - known to everybody in Britain as "Prince Charles" - he was born on November 14, 1948.

H.R.H. The Duke of York - known to everybody as "Prince Andrew" - he was born on February 19, 1960.

H.R.H. The Prince Edward who was born on March 10, 1964.

H.R.H. The Princess Royal - known to everybody as Princess Anne - she was born on August 15, 1950

Her father died in 1952 and shortly after that she was crowned on June 2, 1953 in Westminster Abbey in London. That was quite a responsibility for a 27 year old.

The Queen and Prince Philip have 6 grandchildren altogether:

Prince William of Wales - Prince Charles' eldest son.

Prince Henry of Wales - well known as Prince Harry - Prince Charles' youngest son.

Princess Beatrice of York - Prince Andrew's eldest daughter.

Princess Eugenie of York - Prince Andrew's youngest daughter.

Peter Mark Andrew Philip - son of Princess Anne.

Zara Anne Elizabeth Philips - daughter of Princess Anne.

But why is Prince Philip not King Philip? This is because the husband of a female monarch doesn't get his wife's title. However, if you were to marry a male monarch then you would become his title. For example, the Queen Mother was the wife of King George VI!

Explanation of the Royal Standard

The Royal Standard is divided into four quarters - two for England (three lions passant), one for Scotland (a lion rampant) and one for Ireland (a harp). Wales is not represented in the Royal Standard, because the Royal Standard dates back to James I and at that time Wales was part of England, unlike Scotland and Ireland who were independent before the Union.