On 6th February Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her platinum jubilee of her ascension to the throne in 1952. She celebrated her historic 70th anniversary, five years after she became the first British monarch to celebrate a Sapphire Jubilee (65th anniversary).
Longest-reigning queen
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born on 21 April 1926, third in the line of succession to the British throne, which belonged then to her grandfather, King George V.
Elizabeth’s ascension to the throne was an unexpected one. After the abdication of the then King Edward VIII, his younger brother was crowned King George VI in December, and 10-year-old Elizabeth was suddenly the heir presumptive.
At the age of 25, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II succeeded her father, following his death on 6 February 1952. Her official coronation took place a year later, on 2 June 1953.
In 2015 she became the longest-reigning queen ever, taking the record from her great, great grandmother Queen Victoria (1819-1901), who reigned for 63 years 216 days (20 June 1837-22 January 1901).
Queen Elizabeth II is not just the longest-reigning queen living, but also the longest-reigning monarch living.
The longest-reigning monarch ever was King Louis XIV, who presided over France for 72 years 110 days (14 May 1643- 1 September 1715).
Oldest Queen
At the age of 95 years 287 days, Queen Elizabeth II is both the oldest reigning queen and the oldest queen ever. Again, the previous record holder was Queen Victoria, who lived to be 81 years 244 days old.
Unsurprisingly, Elizabeth II is also the oldest current monarch.
Wealthiest Queen
The 2021 Sunday Times Rich List estimated the net worth of Queen Elizabeth II at £365 million ($495 million).
Her wealth has increased by £15 million ($20 million) since 2020. This was primarily due to the £10 million estate left behind by her late husband Prince Philip, the longest-serving consort of the British monarch (69 years 62 days).
As Head of the Commonwealth, Queen Elizabeth II’s face appears on the coinage of at least 33 different countries, which is the most currencies featuring the same individual.
The current richest monarch overall is King Maha Vajiralongkorn (Rama X) of Thailand with an estimated personal wealth of at least £22.4 billion ($30 billion).
Most Summer Olympic Games opened by an individual
Queen Elizabeth II is the only individual to have officially opened the Summer Olympic Games more than once.She opened the 1976 Montreal Games, and 36 years later opened the 2012 London Olympics.
Queen Elizabeth II has presented over 100 knighthoods and damehoods to sportspeople during the course of her reign. She would also be the longest-reigning monarch ever, a title that she could claim much earlier, on 28 May 2024.
When Queen Elizabeth ascended the throne, Josef Stalin, Mao Zedong and Harry Truman were running the Soviet Union, China and the United States, respectively, while Winston Churchill was British prime minister.
The Queen passed a milestone never reached by any of her predecessors in nearly 1,000 years of a line that traces its origin back to Norman King William I and his 1066 conquest of England.
Prince Charles on Sunday thanked his mother Queen Elizabeth for publicly stating her desire that his wife Camilla becomes Queen Consort when he becomes king, acknowledging the honour on the 70th anniversary of her accession to the British throne.
-Guinness World Records/Reuters