08/09/2022
Six (6) things to know about Queen of England, Elizabeth ii.
1. Elizabeth was born on 21 April 1926, during the reign of her paternal grandfather, King George V. Her father, the Duke of York (later King George VI), was the second son of the King.
2. She didn’t go to school like a regular kid: Heirs apparent don’t just show up to primary school like normal kids. Instead, Elizabeth was tutored at home during sessions by different teachers like Henry Marten, vice-provost of Eton College (which is still for boys only), and was also given private religion lessons by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
3. She served in World War II: Elizabeth who was trained as a truck driver and mechanic in 1945, when she was 18 years old was the only female Royal Family member to have entered the armed forces, and until her death, was the only living head of state who officially served in World War II.
4. She married her cousin: Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and Queen Elizabeth were third cousins; both share the same great-great-grandparents: Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
5. She chose her own surname: Technically, the Queen’s last name was “Windsor,” which was first chosen by George V in 1917 after the Royal Family wanted to distance themselves from “Saxe-Coburg-Gotha”—the dynasty to which they belonged—for sounding too Germanic during World War I. But as a way to distinguish themselves from the rest of the Royal Family, in 1960 Elizabeth and Philip adopted the official surname Windsor-Mountbatten.
Like most British monarchs, Elizabeth got to celebrate her birthday twice, and the reason why boils down to seasonably appropriate pomp and circumstance.
6. She had two birthdays: As stated earlier, she was born on April 21, 1926, but April was deemed too cold and liable to fall during inclement weather. So instead, her official state-recognized birthday occurred on a Saturday in late May,or more typically June,so that the celebration could be held during the warmer months.
