The Royal Sketchbook Ask the Royal Family Comic
On June xiii, 2020, Queen Elizabeth Ii will be feted as office of Trooping the Colour, an event that has marked the official altogether of the reigning British sovereign for more than 270 years. April 21, the Queen's actual birthday, is as well celebrated as such. Of class, having two birthdays is only one of the many perks that come with being the head of the regal family. From bats to Bentleys, here are 39 surprising things owned past Queen Elizabeth II.
ane. All the swans on the River Thames
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Though she's more of a Corgi lover, Queen Elizabeth II has quite the menagerie of pets—particularly if you consider the fact that she technically owns (or at least co-owns) all of the unclaimed mute swans on open h2o in England and Wales, though she "only exercises her ownership on sure stretches of the Thames and its surrounding tributaries." She shares ownership of the birds with the Worshipful Visitor of Vintners and the Worshipful Company of Dyers, an arrangement that dates back to the 15th century (back when the animals were considered a delicacy).
So only how many swans does the Queen accept? We'll know soon enough: each year, they're counted during a five-mean solar day event known every bit the Swan Upping. This yr's event will take place from July 13 to July 17 on the Thames between Sunbury and Abingdon, England.
2. A pair of Dorgis
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Speaking of Corgis: In April 2018, information technology was reported that Willow—the Queen's last Corgi—had passed away at the historic period of 14. It marked the cease of a canine era for Elizabeth, who has regularly been photographed surrounded by members of her honey breed over the past 75-plus years. (She and her sister, Princess Margaret, were gifted their first Corgi—whom they named Dookie—in 1933.) While Elizabeth confirmed in 2015 that there will exist no more than Corgis in her future (she doesn't want to leave any behind), she isn't dog-less. She nonetheless has two "dorgis"—a cross between a corgi and a dachshund—named Vulcan and Candy, who tin regularly be found at her side.
3. All the dolphins in the United kingdom
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Dolphins and sturgeons and whales, oh my. Much similar the aforementioned swans, the Queen'southward got a solid claim on many of the country'south aquatic creatures. A statute from 1324, which originated during the reign of King Edward II, stated that, "… The rex shall accept wreck of the body of water throughout the realm, whales and sturgeons taken in the ocean or elsewhere within the realm, except in certain places privileged by the male monarch." The law still stands today and covers not merely whales and sturgeons only dolphins and porpoises, besides, when they are captured within iii miles of the Great britain.
Until recently the Crown as well laid claim to the bulk of Scotland's wild crustaceans, but that now rests with Marine Scotland.
iv. Nearly all of London'due south Regent Street
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Located in the heart of London'southward West End, Regent Street is one of the earth's about famous roads. Measuring approximately 1.25 miles in length, the street runs through both Piccadilly Circus and Oxford Circus and attracts more than 7.five 1000000 visitors per year—and it's all office of the Crown Estate, meaning it legally belongs to Her Majesty. (Though she's not entitled to any of the royalties from the many storefronts that inhabit information technology.)
5. Half of the UK's shoreline
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Cityscapes aren't the only real manor in the Queen'southward portfolio. The Crown Estate also owns "just under half of the coastline around England, Wales, and Northern Ireland."
6. Six royal residences
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One affair the royal family unit is not lacking in is places to call home. While Buckingham Palace—and its 775 rooms—is the Queen's main abode, her portfolio of lavish properties as well includes Windsor Castle (the world's largest occupied castle); Holyrood Palace, a 12th-century monastery-turned-majestic palace in Edinburgh, Scotland; and Hillsborough Castle in Northern Republic of ireland, which sits on 100 acres. The Sandringham Estate, where the royal family spends Christmas, and Balmoral Castle, her favorite summer estate, are 2 of the Queen's personal possessions (she inherited them from her father).
7. More than than 200 Launer handbags
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The Queen is rarely seen without a purse, which she actually uses to send signals to her staff. But she doesn't behave just any former bag: She prefers purses from luxury London designer Launer—the Royale (appropriately) and Traviata styles are her favorites—and the brand's CEO estimates that she has about 200 of them. At approximately $2500 a pop, that's a mighty pricey purse collection.
8. A private ATM
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It'south doubtful that the Queen has much need to dig through her Launer purse in search of a tenner. But if the need for cash arose, in that location's a private money machine in the basement of Buckingham Palace, courtesy of Coutts bank, that'southward specifically for members of the royal family.
9. The best seat in the house at Wimbledon
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In 2010, Her Majesty stunned the oversupply at Wimbledon when she showed upwardly to watch Andy Murray play. Information technology was the first time she had attended the world-famous tennis tournament in more than 30 years. She may not be a regular spectator, simply she still commands the best seat in the house: the Majestic Box, which is tucked merely behind the court'southward south baseline.
"There is a view, among those who have attended the royal box, that information technology is one of the most special experiences in sport," Alexandra Willis, the caput of communications, content, and digital at The All England Backyard Tennis Guild, told The New York Times in 2017. "It'southward because of the fact that it's past invitation just—y'all can't just decide it's something you want to attend." Though the Queen may not exist the biggest fan, the Duchess of Cambridge is a frequent fixture in the Majestic Box.
x. The Belfry of London
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Her Majesty's Regal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London—meliorate known as only the Tower of London—is all the same another one of the Queen's possessions in right of the Crown. The property, which dates to the 11th century, has played an enormous role in purple history and is withal one of the urban center'south most visited tourist attractions. And it all belongs to Queen Elizabeth—including the Crown Jewels and, by extension, the Tower's famed flock of ravens.
xi. 150,000 works of art (many of them priceless)
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The Queen'south position puts her in accuse of The Royal Collection, one of the world'south largest and most impressive art collections (though she doesn't own it personally, it is held in trust by her). Of the million-plus pieces included in the drove are approximately 150,000 artworks from some of the groovy masters (call up Rembrandt, Rubens, and Raphael). While some of these pieces are displayed in museums or otherwise made available for public viewing, many of them hang in royal palaces and estates.
12. Queen Victoria's sketchbook
In improver to priceless works of fine art, The Royal Collection also features many personal artifacts from kings and queens past. Among the most impressive: Queen Victoria'southward sketchbook. (Elizabeth is Queen Victoria'southward cracking-great-granddaughter.)
13. A winning squad of race horses
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Horses have long been one of the Queen's great passions—though it goes across riding them. She's also a savvy investor when it comes to race horses, and is said to have approximately xxx horses in training. As of tardily 2017, according to Harper's Bazaar, her impressive roster of race horses take earned the Queen close to $9 meg over the past three decades with their 451 race wins. Her commencement victory came in 1949, when Monaveen—a equus caballus she co-owned with her mom—won at Fontwell Park.
14. A automobile collection worth more than $x 1000000
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Given that she served equally a truck commuter and mechanic during Earth War 2, perhaps it's unsurprising that the Queen is a bit of a gearhead. While she's nearly frequently seen tooling around in her beloved Land Rover Defender—she's owned almost 30 of them and then far—her collection of cars goes way beyond that and is estimated to exist worth about $10 one thousand thousand. Amongst some of the models in her collection: 3 Rolls-Royces, two Bentleys, and a custom Range Rover LWB Landaulet that features the royal flag and an open-air superlative (so that she tin wave to her adoring public).
xv. A tiara covered in 1333 diamonds
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Any Queen worth her castle has got a slap-up tiara, just Elizabeth has a lot of them. Amongst the many pieces of glittering headgear she inherited is the Diamond Diadem, which might be her well-nigh famous piece of jewelry. Information technology's ready with 1333 diamonds, including a four-carat yellow diamond in the center. While the Queen has worn information technology to every State Opening of Parliament since 1952, the piece was originally made for George Four to wear at his lavish 1821 coronation.
xvi. A massive Fabergé collection
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While you may be content to amass Beanie Babies or Precious Moments figurines, the Queen has a much more conforming collecting habit: Fabergé eggs and accessories. As well part of the Royal Collection, the collection was started by Queen Alexandra and Edward Seven around the plough of the century and is now estimated to include 600 pieces. Many of the pieces accept been put on display to the public, including a bluish cigarette case that was given to Edward VII by 1 of his many mistresses, Alice Keppel. Post-obit the male monarch'due south death, his widow, Queen Alexandra, returned the item to Keppel.
17. Westminster Abbey
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Westminster Abbey has played an integral part in some of the most important moments in majestic history. In add-on to being the setting for every coronation since 1066, it has hosted more than a dozen royal weddings and hundreds of royal funerals, memorial services, and across. Westminster Abbey is known a "royal peculiar," meaning that information technology belongs straight to the monarch, non a diocese.
18. Hyde Park
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With so many purple residences to choose from, the Queen is probably set in terms of dark-green infinite. Only if she e'er wanted to stretch her legs a bit and mingle with some commoners, she owns some of England's most famous wide-open spaces, including Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, The Regent's Park and Primrose Hill, and The Green Park.
xix. A gold record
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We may never know if the Queen'due south got vocal chops, but we know that HM is the recipient of at least ane golden tape. In 2002, the royal family marked Elizabeth's 50th twelvemonth on the throne with a Gilded Jubilee celebration, complete with a star-studded concert dubbed the "Party at the Palace."
EMI later released a CD of the concert, which sold 100,000 copies within its commencement calendar week in release. The Queen was sent a aureate record in honor of this achievement, making her the only fellow member of the royal family to earn that rock star honour.
20. A bat colony
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The Queen is obviously a devoted animal lover, which might explain why she doesn't mind sharing Balmoral Castle with the colony of bats that has taken up residence in the property'south main hall. She plain likes to grab them with a butterfly net as they dart effectually her summer home.
Nosotros'd rather larn about bats instead of ain them, simply to each her ain!
21. The globe'south largest clear-cut diamond
Weighing in at 530.2 carats, the Great Star of Africa—properly known equally Cullinan I (after South African mining magnate Sir Thomas Cullinan)—is the globe'southward largest clear-cutting diamond, worth somewhere in the region of $51 million. In 1910, it and several other stones cut from a gigantic diamond unearthed in Due south Africa 5 years before were presented to Mary of Teck (the consort of George V and Elizabeth II's grandmother).
Back in the UK, the diamond was incorporated into the Sovereign's Sceptre with Cross, the iii-foot-long staff held by the monarch during their coronation. As such the diamond is at present part of the Crown Jewels, which technically remain under the ownership of the Crown.
22. Three Crown dependencies
Sunrise at Isle of Man'due south Douglas Lighthouse.
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The Queen is the head of state of the United kingdom, of course, as well equally 14 overseas territories (including Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands) and the 16 then-chosen Commonwealth realms (including Canada, Australia, and New Zealand). But every bit the current reigning monarch, the Queen as well technically owns three British isle territories—namely, the Isle of Man, and the ii largest of the Channel Islands, Jersey and Guernsey—which together comprise her "Crown Dependencies."
The islands are all self-governing, so the Queen's function in each 1 is largely ceremonial. Nevertheless, the arrangements linking these islands to the British Crown are ancient ones—and then aboriginal, in fact, that their legislature has never been updated to make an allowance for a female monarch, and as a consequence the Queen technically holds the titles of Lord (not Lady) of Mann in the Isle of man, and Duke (non Duchess) of Normandy in Jersey and Guernsey.
23. An Aberdeen angus moo-cow
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While on an official visit to Canada in 2005, the Queen was presented with an Aberdeen Angus cow at the Calgary Stampede agricultural show. Sadly, she wasn't able to bring her new gift dorsum home to Buckingham Palace, so the cow remained in Calgary as the founding member of the Stampede's ain herd of cattle.
24. Two tortoises from the Republic of seychelles
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One gift the queen was able to bring abode with her from her foreign travels was a pair of native Aldabra behemothic tortoises, presented to her during an official visit to the Seychelles in 1972. Originally housed at London Zoo, the zoo has since rehomed the animals—which, given that they can reportedly live to more than 200 years old, will likely outlive the queen herself.
25. Her ain flag
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The queen has her own coat of artillery of grade, and various rules and regulations govern the use of the Britain'due south Matrimony Jack and the Royal Standard flag in her presence. Simply she also has her ain personal flag—depicting a crowned letter Eastward in a circle of roses, on a navy blueish background—which the royal household can opt to utilize on any building or vehicle in which the queen is staying or traveling. Reportedly, the flag was designed in 1960 at the queen's ain request to symbolize her as an private, split from her role as sovereign or head of land.
26. Four Guinness World records
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The Queen has been presented with and currently holds four Guinness World Tape titles: she is officially the world's longest reigning queen, the earth's oldest reigning monarch, the globe'south wealthiest queen, and appears on the money of more sovereign countries than any other person.
The Guinness World Tape book is created every year, and 2021 releases October 6th, 2020!
27. A gold Blue Peter badge
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In example you've never heard of it, Blue Peter is a long-running BBC children's tv set program that, unbelievably, has been broadcast practically every week in the UK since 1958. As such, information technology'southward now something of a cornerstone in British civilisation—non to mention the longest running children's tv set program in the entire world.
Every bit absolutely anyone from Great britain volition know, the testify awards badges (begetting its famous sailboat logo) for all sorts of achievements, ranging from viewer competitions to fundraising activities, sporting achievements and conservationism. But in 2002, the program awarded its highest accolade—a gold Blueish Peter badge—to Queen Elizabeth II to celebrate her l years on the throne. Other golden badge honorees include JK Rowling, Steven Spielberg, Sir David Attenborough, and both the Knuckles and Duchess of Cambridge, who were awarded their gilt badges in 2017 in recognition of their work raising sensation of children's mental wellness.
28. The British seabed
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Probably the weirdest thing on this list (and that'south saying something), the queen technically owns all of the UK's territorial seabed through the British Crown Manor, from the hateful low water mark out to a altitude of 12 nautical miles.
29. An offshore wind farm
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Because the queen owns the British seabed, she also owns an offshore current of air farm. Specifically: Thanet Offshore Wind Farm, which is located seven miles off the coast of Kent in the Due north Ocean and, upon its opening in 2010, was the largest offshore wind farm in the world. In fact, the Crown owns quite a few offshore green-energy projects, including Europe'southward largest tidal power establish, which is currently under structure in the Pentland Firth off the far northern tip of Scotland.
thirty. The Britain's continental shelf
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The 1964 Continental Shelf Deed decreed that the Crown, as an extension of its ownership of the seabed, could lay merits to the United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland's continental shelf, up to a distance of 200 nautical miles in some places. The queen ultimately bears rights to the subsoil and minerals that lie in the UK'due south marine shelf, while the government lays merits to the coal, oil, and gas deposits.
31. All of Scotland'southward gold mines
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The Queen also owns the rights to all of Scotland'due south gilt mining activities. Which is potentially very bad news for the bearding prospector who discovered Britain's biggest ever golden nugget—worth at least $65,000—in a Scottish river in 2018. It remains unclear whether he sought permission to remove the gold from the river in which he found it; without it, the gold should legally automatically laissez passer into the ownership of the Crown.
If you're going to practice some gold mining of your ain, you'll need some of this equipment.
32. 25,000 acres of forest
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The Crown Manor also owns effectually a quarter of a million acres of rural land across the UK, nearly of which is used or leased for agriculture and mineral extraction. Around 8 percent of the Crown's rural holdings are forested, nevertheless—meaning the queen owns and controls roughly 25000 acres (or 95 square miles) of British woodland.
33. Trafalgar Square
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Also as owning much of Regent Street, Trafalgar Square—home to Nelson'southward Column and the British National Gallery—is besides owned by the Crown. Why? The site at present occupied by 1 of London's most famous landmarks was originally the location of the imperial stables and falconry mews.
34. Queen Victoria's nuptials dress
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As a part of the Royal Drove, the Queen besides owns Queen Victoria'south wedding dress—a cream and white silk, satin, and lace ensemble that proved so popular information technology helped to constitute white as the customary colour of bride'southward gowns.
35. Henry VIII'southward armor
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Some other particular from the Royal Collection, the queen owns an impressive suit of armor produced one-time in the 1540s, and once owned by Henry VIII. To arrange the king's increasing waist size, the armor was at some betoken widened with a 2-inch department of plate metal, inserted and riveted into the back piece.
36. Queen Elizabeth Two'southward ain tartan
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Thank you to their Scottish roots, the British purple family as a whole has their own manner of tartan—named "Royal Stewart"—which has plain been the official tartan of members of the electric current British royal line since the late 11th century. Every bit the reigning monarch, however, the queen herself is the sole possessor of a grey, black, and ruby-red blueprint of tartan—named "Balmoral"—that was designed by her great-nifty-gramps Prince Albert in 1853. Fifty-fifty beau members of the royal family technically have to enquire the queen's permission to wear it.
37. Millions of square feet of retail space
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Through the British Crown's real estate empire, the queen owns or function owns 14 retail parks and three shopping centers—totaling some 4.3 1000000 foursquare anxiety of retail infinite.
38. A baptismal font
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In 1840, Queen Victoria commissioned a silver-gold font for the baptism of her first kid, Princess Victoria, the Princess Purple. The Lily Font, as information technology is known, is now part of the Imperial Collection, under the buying of the Queen, and has been used at the baptisms of virtually all members of the royal family always since.
39. A national collection of mulberries
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The site at present occupied by Buckingham Palace was once (partly) a vast mulberry grove planted past James I in the 17th century in a failed attempt to rear his own silkworms. King James might have been unsuccessful, but the palace's connectedness to these notoriously difficult-to-cultivate fruits lives on: in 2000, the Queen personally requested that the head gardener at Buckingham Palace plant a definitive collection of mulberry bushes—some 29 different species in total—that now comprise the establish's official British National collection.
Non many people tin claim to have an autograph from Queen Elizabeth, but yous can still become them at Ebay.
Source: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/546864/surprising-things-queen-elizabeth-owns
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