Queen Elizabeth II: 9 facts about her life and reign

• 1:11 am September 9, 2022
• suhas

Queen Elizabeth II made history in 2022 when she became the first British monarch to rule for seventy years. Many people were unaware of the lady who wore the crown or even what her daily responsibilities were, despite the fact that the world's longest-reigning living monarch had been the subject of millions of words. Here are some interesting facts about this 96-year-old royal hero who passed away on September 8, 2022.

She got to choose her own surname.

The Royal Family desired to separate themselves from "Saxe-Coburg-Gotha," the dynasty to which they belonged, because it sounded too Germanic during World War I, therefore George V initially chose "Windsor" as the Queen's last name in 1917.

But Elizabeth and Philip officially took the surname Windsor-Mountbatten in 1960 to set themselves apart from the rest of the Royal Family. (Fans will no doubt recall that The Crown on Netflix briefly touched on the surname drama.)

She wasn’t born an heir apparent to the throne.

Princess Elizabeth's standing was similar to that of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie of York today throughout the first ten years of her life, but all changed after the death of her grandpa, King George V, in 1936.

The next monarch in line was Elizabeth's uncle Edward VIII, who gave up the monarchy less than a year after ascending to it in order to wed Wallis Simpson, an American socialite. Since Edward was childless at the time, Elizabeth's father, Albert, who assumed the throne under the name George VI, made the then-10-year-old Elizabeth the first in line to succeed to the throne.

Queen Elizabeth II’s younger sister gave her a family nickname.

Elizabeth and Margaret were the only children of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and King George VI, who said of his daughters: “Lilibet is my pride, Margaret my joy.” Naturally, Lilibet is Elizabeth, who acquired her nickname as a result of Margaret, who the family affectionately referred to as Margot, consistently pronouncing her older sister's name incorrectly.

She didn’t go to school like a regular kid.

Heirs apparent do not simply enroll in elementary school like other students. Instead, Elizabeth had private religious instruction from the Archbishop of Canterbury while receiving tutoring at home from several professors, including Henry Marten, vice-provost of Eton College (which is currently exclusively for boys).

Queen Elizabeth II had two birthdays.

Like most British monarchs, Elizabeth got to celebrate her birthday twice, and the reason why boils down to seasonably appropriate pomp and circumstance.

She was born on April 21, 1926, but April was rejected because it was too chilly and prone to bad weather. So that the celebration could take place during the warmer months, her officially state-recognized birthday really fell on a Saturday in late May, or more typically June. In the UK, the precise date fluctuated from year to year but typically fell during Trooping the Color, the nation's yearly military pageant.

Elizabeth wanted to go to war, but was too young.

Elizabeth, who was only a teenager in 1939 when World War II began, implored her father to help in some way. She began by producing radio programs geared toward raising the morale of British children. During one of the broadcasts, the 14-year-old princess reassured listeners, “I can truthfully say to you all that we children at home are full of cheerfulness and courage. We are trying to do all we can to help our gallant sailors, soldiers, and airmen and we are trying too to bear our own share of the danger and sadness of war.”