50 Facts About The Queen's Reign

1. The Queen became the fifth longest serving monarch on 21 June 2002. Only five other kings and queens in British history have reigned for 50 years or more. These are:
• Victoria (63 years)
• George III (59 years)
• Henry III (56 years)
• Edward III (50 years)
• James VI of Scotland (James I of England) (58 years)

2. Queen Elizabeth II is the fortieth monarch since William the Conqueror obtained the crown of England.

3. Since 1952, The Queen has conferred 380,630 honours and awards.

4. The Queen has personally held 459 Investitures.

5. The first Investiture of the Queen's reign took place at Buckingham Palace on 27th February 1952. The first person to be presented was Private William Speakman, of The King's Own Scottish Borderers, who received the Victoria Cross for his actions during the Korean War.

6. The Queen has received around 3 million items of correspondence.

7. Over the course of the reign, well over a million people have attended garden parties at Buckingham Palace or the Palace of Holyroodhouse (The Queen ended Presentation Parties in 1958).

8. Since 1952, The Queen has given Royal Assent to 3135 Acts of Parliament.

9. During her reign, Her Majesty has given regular Tuesday evening audiences to 10 Prime Ministers. They are:
• Winston Churchill 1951-55
• Sir Anthony Eden 1955-57
• Harold Macmillan 1957-63
• Sir Alec Douglas-Home 1963-64
• Harold Wilson 1964-70 and 1974-76
• Edward Heath 1970-74
• James Callaghan 1976-79
• Margaret Thatcher 1979-90
• John Major 1990-97
• Tony Blair 1997-present
10. Born in early May 1953, a month before the Coronation, Tony Blair became the first Prime Minister to have been born during The Queens reign.

11. At the present The Queen is patron of 620 charities and organisations. Since 1952 she has held 433.

12. The Queen has made 251 official overseas visits to 128 different countries, in 50 years.

13. Some of The Queen's official tours were taken on the Royal Yacht Britannia. Launched on 16th April 1953 by Her Majesty and was commissioned for service 7th January 1954. It was de-commissioned in December, 1997. Britannia has travelled over a million miles on Royal and official visits.
14. On 1st May 1954 at Tobruk, The Royal Yacht Britannia was first used by The Queen with the Duke of Edinburgh when she embarked on their final stage of the Commonwealth Tour returning to the Pool of London. The last time The Queen was on board Britannia for an official visit was on the 9th August 1997 for a visit to Arran.

15. By the end of 2002, The Queen will have visited Australia 14 times, Canada 20 times, Jamaica 6 times and New Zealand 10 times.

16. The Queen's official visits have ranged from the Cocos Islands, 5.4 square miles with a population of 655, to The Peoples' Republic of China, 3.7 million square miles with a population of 1.25 billion.

17. When The Queen makes her foreign tours, Her Majesty receives unusual live gifts, that include: two tortoises given to The Queen in the Seychelles in 1972; a seven-year-old bull elephant called "Jumbo" given to Her Majesty by the President of Cameroon in 1972 to mark The Queen's Silver Wedding, and a canary given to The Queen after the State visit to Germany in 1965.

18. In the UK and in the Commonwealth The Queen has sent almost 100,000 telegrams to centenarians.

19. To couples in the UK and in the Commonwealth The Queen sent more than 280,000 telegrams to couples who celebrated their diamond wedding (60 years) anniversary.

20. The Queen's real birthday is on April 21, but it is celebrated officially in June.

21. The Queen has attended 31 Royal Variety performances during her reign.

22. Over her reign The Queen has given 88 State banquets.

23. During her reign The Queen has launched 17 ships.

24. Over the Queen’s reign The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh have sent about 37,500 Christmas cards.

25. To continue the custom of King George V and King George VI The Queen has given out about 75,000 Christmas puddings to staff.

26. In 1945 The Queen learnt to drive.

27. The Queen was born on 21st April 1926 at 17 Bruton St, London W1, in the Private Chapel at Buckingham Palace was christened on the 29th May 1926 and at Windsor Castle on 28th May 1942 she was confirmed.

28. The Queen with the birth of Prince Andrew in 1960 became the first reigning Sovereign to have a child since Queen Victoria, who had her youngest child, Princess Beatrice, in 1857.

29. The Queen has 30 godchildren.

30. The 1953 FA Cup Final was the first football match The Queen attended.

31. Since her reign began The Queen has been at the saluting base of her troops in every Trooping the Colour ceremony. But with exception of 1995 when a rail strike caused the parade to cancel.

32. Over her reign The Queen has sat for over 120 portraits. The most recent was painted by Lucian Freud in 2001.

33. During a visit to Australia and New Zealand in 1970 saw the first 'Royal walkabout' The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh. This was introduced to allow them to meet as many people as possible, not simply officials and dignitaries.

34. A television film about the life of the Royal Family was made in 1969. The film was shown on the eve of the Investiture of Prince Charles as Prince of Wales.

35. During The Queen’s reign an important modification in 1969 with the opening of a new gallery at Buckingham Palace that would house items from the Royal Collection. The brainchild of The Duke of Edinburgh, the new Queen's Gallery occupied the space of the Palace's bomb-damaged private chapel. It was the first time that parts of the Palace had been opened to the general public. Currently under redevelopment the new Queen's Gallery and will open in time for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee in May 2002.

36. The Queen has only once been interrupted during a tour. This was in 1974 when The Queen an overseas doing a touring Australia and Indonesia, The Queen had to be called back from Australia when a general election was called suddenly. The Duke of Edinburgh continued the programme in Australia, and The Queen re-joined the tour in Indonesia.

37. The Queen has opened Parliament every year except 1959 and 1963, when she was expecting Prince Andrew and Prince Edward respectively.

38. On the 24th November 1953 saw The Queen's first Commonwealth tour, which included visits to Canada, Bermuda, Jamaica, Panama, Fiji, Tonga, New Zealand, Australia, the Cocos Islands, Ceylon, Aden, Uganda, Libya, Malta and Gibraltar. With a total distance covered of 43,618 miles.

39. Every year of her reign The Queen has made a Christmas Broadcast to the Commonwealth except 1969. When a repeat of the film 'Royal Family' was shown The Queen issued a written message.

40. In 1953 saw The Queen for the first time make Christmas Broadcast from overseas rather than from the UK. It was broadcasted live from New Zealand. The first televised broadcast was in 1957, made live. The first pre-recorded broadcast took place in 1960 to allow transmission around the world.

41. In 1982 saw history in the making when Pope John Paul II visited Britain. He was the first Pope to do so for 450 years. The Queen, Titular Head of the Church of England, received him at Buckingham Palace.

42. During her reign The Queen has attended 46 Royal Maundy services in 35 cathedrals. In recognition to their services to the Church and their communities 5,100 people have received Maundy Money.

43. Starting in Glasgow on the 17th May The Queen has toured thirty six counties in the UK and Northern Ireland during the Silver Jubilee year.

44. For the Silver Jubilee year The Queen's first foreign tour was a visit to Western Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia and Papua New Guinea. For The Queen’s Golden Jubilee year the first foreign tour is a visit to Jamaica, New Zealand and Australia.

45. Over The Queen’s reign, Her Majesty has owned over 30 corgis, her first was a present for her 18th birthday in 1944 called Susan. Many of them have been direct descendants from Susan. Her Majesty currently has four corgis - Pharos, Swift, Emma and Linnet.

46. When one of The Queen’s corgis mated with a dachshund, which belonged to Princess Margaret, called Pipkin the Queen introduced a new breed of dog known as the "dorgi". There have been 8 dorgis - Tinker, Pickles, Chipper, Piper, Harris, Brandy, Cider and Berry.

47. The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh have been married for 54 years. They married on November 20, 1947 in Westminster Abbey. The wedding dress for The Queen was designed by Norman Hartnell and was woven at Winterthur Silks Limited, Dunfermline, in the Canmore factory. The dress was made at Lullingstone Castle from the silk from Chinese silkworms.

48. The wedding ring for The Queen was made from a nugget of Welsh gold which came from the Clogau St David's mine near Dolgellau. Made from the ingredients given as a present by the Australian Girl Guides the official wedding cake was made by McVitie and Price Ltd.

49. On Remembrance Sunday The Queen has laid her wreath at the Cenotaph every year of her reign, except in 1959, 1961, 1963, 1968, 1983 and 1999 when she was either pregnant or overseas on an official visit.

50. During the Queen’s reign, there has been five Archbishops of Canterbury. Archbishops Geoffrey Fisher, Michael Ramsey, Donald Coggan, Robert Runcie and George Carey.