Listen and read along

When we learn about the Queen of the United Kingdom, we usually read personal details such as her name, her age,

her family relationships, her job and role, etc. but, apart from that, there are striking facts that not many people know

and that you will love to discover. Do not disregard the fact that, apart from ruling the UK, she is head of state of other

14 countries in the Commonwealth Realm as well, namely Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Antigua and Barbuda, The

Bahamas, Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea, Saint Lucia, Solomon Islands, St Kitts and Nevis, and St. Vincent

and the Grenadines.

Before starting, have you guessed what her name is? Yes, her name is Elisabeth II (read 'the second'). However, as you

probably know, royal names are sometimes neverending in all the royal houses throughout the world. Aristocrats

have, at least, three names according to the tradition, not only to honour their ancient family members  but also to

denote their high place in society, that is, their social status. They are, usually, some of the richest people. Thus, the

full name of the Queen is Elisabeth Alexandra Mary, being her last name (or surname) Windsor.

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Then, when a royal member is crowned king or queen, they add a Roman numeral to their name (II, in the case of

Queen Elisabeth) in order to differentiate that monarch from others with the same name while ruling the same realm.

If you want to address her you must never forget to include Y.M. (Your Majesty) before her name. It is part of the Royal

protocol!

There we go with 10 curious facts now :

1. Queen Elisabeth II is 96 years old at the moment. Almost one hundred, you read well! And she is gorgeous!

2.  She signs official documents writing "Elizabeth R." This final R is for Regina, which means "queen."

3. She is the only person who can drive in the United Kingdom without a driving license. And she still drives!

4. Her favourite food is not British but of American origin: Hamburger. Surprising, isn't it?

5. Her favourite film is 'Flash Gordon', from the 1980s and based on a comic strip. I guess this will shock you!

6. Not surprinsingly, her email is private but she receives letters from all over the world, and the curious thing is that she reads them! We will send her one, in fact.

7. She's got two birthdays a year! How is that possible? Well, this is a royal tradition started by King George II in 1748 consisting in celebrating privately his real birthday (Queen Elisabeth's is on 21^st April) and an official one celebrated publicly on the second Saturday of June, the day of the annual militar parade. This day the queen greets the crowd of people from the Buckingham Palace balcony with the rest of the royal family.

8. Her favourite hobbies are horse-riding, gardening, pigeon racing and collecting stamps.

9. She's passionate about Welsh Corgis dogs and she's got two of them, named Candy and Vulcan. She also has one dorgi and a new cocker spaniel as pets.

10. She doesn't usually wear the same clothes more than twice.

Share your thoughts: What fact impressed you the most?