30 Things You Never Knew About Queen Elizabeth II
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1Her nicknames include "Lilibet" and "Cabbage."
She got the nickname "Lilibet" when she was young and couldn't pronounce her name. King George VI used to talk about his daughters, saying "Lilibet is my pride. Margaret is my joy."
It has also been reported that Prince Philip lovingly refers to his wife as "Cabbage."
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2She studied constitutional history and law.
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3She served in WWII.
QEII joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service in 1945, where she trained to be a mechanic. She was the first female member of the Royal Family to join the Armed Services as a full-time active member.
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4She met Prince Philip when she was 8-years-old.
Although they attended many of the same events as young children, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip met officially in 1934 at the wedding of Princess Marina of Greece and Prince George, Duke of Kent.
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5She had eight bridesmaids.
The Queen had a rather large bridal party. The eight bridesmaids that she chose were Princess Margaret, Princess Alexandra of Kent, Lady Caroline Montagu-Douglas-Scott, Lady Mary Cambridge, Pamela Mountbatten, Margaret Elphinstone, and Diana Bowes-Lyon.
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6She learned how to drive in 1945.
The Queen learned how to drive during her time in the army, and if often spotted out taking herself for joy rides in her Range Rover or Jaguar.
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7She has made five official visits to the United States during her reign.
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8She has owned over 30 Corgis.
The Queen has famously loved Welsh Corgis ever since she was young. She has owned over 30 of the dogs and even bred them herself.
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9Prince George calls her "Gan-Gan."
Kate Middleton says that her eldest son, Prince George, calls his great grandmother 'Gan Gan.'
According to PopSugar, "Gan-Gan" is a "designation that generations of royals have used to describe their great-grandmothers."
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10She speaks fluent French.
Queen Elizabeth II learned to speak French at a young age from French and Belgian governesses. She often speaks in the country's language when visiting, and even shocked many when she delivered an address at the State Banquet in 2014 speaking French.
According to the official royal website, "It is a skill which has stood The Queen in good stead, as she often has cause to use it when speaking to ambassadors and heads of state from French-speaking countries, and when visiting French-speaking areas of Canada."
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11Norman Hartnell designed her wedding and coronation gowns.
British designer Norman Hartnell designed some of The Queen's most iconic dresses, including her coronation dress and wedding gown. Hartnell was officially appointed dressmaker to the royal family in 1938. He is acknowledged for creating a stylistic royal image that remains today.
Hartnell also designed Princess Margaret's wedding dress and much of The Queen Mother's wardrobe.
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12She doesn't need a driver's license, a license plate, or a passport.
Since all British passports are issued in the queen’s name, she herself doesn’t need or have one. She also doesn’t require a driver’s license to drive, or a license plate on her car.
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13She receives around 70,000 letters a year.
The Queen receives about 200-300 letters a day. She chooses a few to read herself, and then has members of her staff respond.
The official Royal website says that "The Queen is shown almost all of her correspondence on a daily basis by one of her Private Secretaries, and she takes a keen interest in the letters she receives."
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14She celebrates two birthdays.
Although she was born on April 21, 1926, Queen Elizabeth II has two recognized birthdays. The first is the actual anniversary of the day she was born (April 21) and a separate day that is labeled her "official" birthday, when the weather is better, for the Trooping the Colour parade. The tradition was started in 1748 with King George II.
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15Her crown snapped on her wedding day.
The tiara that Queen Elizabeth II wore on her wedding day was made in 1919 for her grandmother, Queen Mary.
On the day of her wedding, as a hairdresser was securing the veil with the tiara, the antique metal frame snapped. The Queen Mother reportedly told her daughter, "we have two hours and there are other tiaras."
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16She paid for her wedding dress in coupons from war.
The Queen used her rationing coupons and received a gift of 200 coupons from the British government in order to buy the material needed to create her beautiful wedding dress. The iconic dress featured a 13-foot-long train and over 10,000 seed pearls imported from the US.
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17Prince Philip is her third cousin.
The Queen and her husband, Prince Philip, are technically third cousins related through Queen Victoria. Elizabeth and Philip are third cousins through Queen Victoria of Britain, as she was both of their great-great-grandmother. Prince Philip is related to Victoria through his maternal side, and Queen Elizabeth through her paternal side.
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18She owns all of the swans and dolphins in the U.K. waters.
As if her flock of Corgi's weren't enough pets, all of the swans and dolphins in the U.K. waters technically belong to the Queen. “As early as the twelfth century, the Crown claimed ownership of all mute swans in the country because the birds were highly valued as a delicacy at banquets and feasts," says Reader's Digest.
The Queen also owns all of the whales and dolphins in the waters around the United Kingdom. A statute from 1324 states, "Also the King shall have whales and sturgeons taken in the sea or elsewhere within the realm." This statute is still valid today, and whales and dolphins are recognized as "fishes royal."
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19She wears Essie 'Ballet Slippers' nail polish.
The Queen reportedly exclusively wears Essie famous pale pink shade 'Ballet Slippers.'
In 1989, Queen Elizabeth’s hairdresser wrote a letter requesting a bottle of the polish be sent to Buckingham Palace, and the Queen has been wearing it ever since.
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20She owns an apartment in NYC.
It has been reported the Her Majesty purchased an $8 million, 3,000-square-foot modern penthouse in United Nations Plaza in New York City in 2015. The building is designed by architect Norman Foster, who was knighted by the Queen herself in 1990.
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