We are used to seeing a calm and poised Queen Elizabeth II when she addresses masses in various ceremonies, meets with Popes and Presidents, and is followed by the Royal convoy but The Queen has this whole different side to herself that’s quirky and witty. Keeping her profession aside, Queen Liz is one hell of a person. And down below, you can see why.
1. Queen Liz has served in WWII
The Queen is the only female member of the British Royal family to have served in the WWII and she was just 18 (and a princess) when she joined the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service and learned how to drive a military truck, change a wheel, drive ambulances and other vehicles.
2. She is a trained mechanic
The Queen did more than just driving the military truck around during her stint in the military; she also learned a few engine-fixing skills and could change wheels and deconstruct and rebuild engines easily.
“One of her major joys was to get dirt under her nails and grease stains in her hands and display these signs of labor to her friends.”- COLLIER’S MAGAZINE, 1947
3. And boy can the Queen fire a gun
The moment when Queen Liz indulged in some target practice on the L85 battle rifle during a royal visit to Surrey’s National Shooting Centre, was captured in a picture and you simply can’t deny that it is one of the most badass pictures of all time.
4. Queen Liz doesn’t need a passport to travel internationally
Queen Elizabeth is a globetrotter- she has reportedly visited more than 115 countries but the surprising thing is she doesn’t hold a passport. Since all the British passports are issued in the queen’s name, she doesn’t need one to travel herself. However, the other Royal members do need to have a passport.
5. The Queen also doesn’t need a driver’s license
Queen Liz is the only person in the UK who doesn’t require to have a driver’s license or even a number plate to drive. How cool is that? License or not, Liz is fond of driving and has been known to drive around her various estates in her Range Rover.
6. She married Prince Philip anyway though she was expected to pick another suitor
Queen Liz, then the princess, married Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark in 1947, shortly after WWII. Both of them were distant cousins and Prince Philip didn’t have much money, due to which she was expected to pick another suitor but Elizabeth ignored the doubters and went on to marry Philip. She also used her WWII ration cards to purchase the material needed for her wedding dress.
7. Her love for Corgis: She has had over 30 Corgis
The Queen’s first dog was Susan which was given to her on her 18th birthday. And since then, she has owned over 30 corgis. Once she bred a corgi with a dachshund and created a new breed dorgi which she has continued to bred ever since. It’s also been known that she once demoted a footman for putting gin and whiskey in the water bowl of one of her corgis.
8. She celebrates her birthday twice a year
The Queen doesn’t celebrate her birthday once a year like normal people do, but twice a year- once in April, once in June. The reason for two birthday bashes is that sovereign birthdays are often celebrated twice when not naturally in the summer. April 21 is the day when she was born, but her “official” birthday is celebrated in early June on a Saturday, which means some pretty amazing presents.
9. The badass Liz, with a hoodie on, driving her range Rover
There was this one time when Elizabeth was photographed when she had been driving her Range Rover in a stealth mode, wearing a “hoodie” and that moment broke the internet. The endless ‘they see me rollin’, they hatin” memes were all over social media. And for good reason.
10. She featured with Daniel Craig in a phenomenal James Bond moment
This time, Queen Liz showed that its not all work but fun as well when she featured in a clip that was filmed for the opening ceremony of the London Olympics in 2012. In the clip, Daniel Craig escorted Her Majesty out of the Buckingham Palace into a helicopter. The pair then made a grand entrance into the ceremony when they skydived into the Olympic Stadium. The word is that Queen Liz’s stunt double was used to film the end sequence but considering her daredevil attitude, we might never know what did go down.
11. In the 1981 parade, she was shot at by a 17-year old boy
It was during her birthday celebration on June 13, 1981 when Queen Liz rode her horse in a parade near Buckingham Palace, Marcus Sarjeant fired six blank shots in her direction. This 17 year old boy who idolized the assassins of John Lennon and John F. Kennedy was caught by the police and then went on to spend three years in a psychiatric prison. Meanwhile, calm and composed as ever, Queen Liz simply calmed her shaken up horse and continued her procession. Now that’s ballsy.
12. The Royal photobomb: She also doesn’t mind photo bombing once in a while
At the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, The Queen photobombed two Australian hockey players who had been taking a selfie. The Aussie player Jayde Taylor tweeted an epic photo that showed the slightly blurred Queen Liz grinning in the background.
13. She visited Game of Thrones set during her trip to Belfast
On her trip to Belfast in June, Queen Liz dropped by the GoT sets where she met the cast members and also hung out near the Iron Throne. Later, she referred to the hit show during her Christmas message which revolved around reconciliation,
14. She is the first Monarch to send an email when we didn’t even know what Internet was
We might now use the internet like it’s always been there since the dawn of time but Queen Liz sent her first email from an Army base in 1976 when none of us even knew there was a thing such as an internet. Moreover, she is the first Monarch to do that.
15. She has weird pets
More often than not, Elizabeth gets gifted exotic animals like jaguars and she donates them to the London Zoo. She also owns swans, dolphins, and whales swimming in the UK’s waters. According to the official website of the British Monarchy, “The Crown retains the right to ownership of all unmarked mute swans in open water, but The Queen only exercises her ownership on certain stretches of the Thames and its surrounding tributaries”.
16. She once had a close call with a stalker in her room
In 1982, a psychiatric patient scaled a drainpipe in the Buckingham Palace and landed in her room. When Elizabeth woke up, the man was perched on the edge of the bed, dropping blood from his hand. Instead of freaking out when unable to get in touch with the police, Elizabeth chatted with the man for about ten minutes, where he talked about his personal problems and relationships with his children. Finally, a footman woke up and subdued the intruder.
If you had fun reading these facts about Queen Liz’s life, imagine how amazing she must be in person.