Seventy years of reign for a 96-year-old monarch who has circled the earth 42 times: Queen Elizabeth II, whose Britons are regarding to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee, is a regular record holder.
KEYSTONE/AP Photo/Chris Harris
Longevity
Elizabeth II reigns for 70 years and almost 4 months. In the United Kingdom, the previous record was held by his great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria, who reigned 63 years, 7 months and 2 days (from June 20, 1837 to her death on January 22, 1901).
At 96, Queen Elizabeth is also the oldest sitting monarch in the world.
Only two kings have reigned longer than her: King Louis XIV (over 72 years between 1643 and 1715) and King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand (70 years and 4 months, from June 9, 1946 to October 13, 2016).
– Globetrotter
She has visited more than 100 countries as Queen – another record for a British sovereign – and made more than 150 visits to Commonwealth countries. She has been to Canada 22 times – more than to any other country – and 13 times to France, whose language she speaks, more than to any other European country.
The Daily Telegraph calculated that she circled the earth the equivalent of 42 times before stopping overseas travel in November 2015 aged 89.
Her longest tour abroad had lasted 168 days (November 1953-May 1954), she had visited 13 countries.
Very busy
“I declare before you that all my life, whether long or short, will be devoted to your service,” declared Elizabeth, still a princess, on her 21st birthday.
During her reign, she carried out some 21,000 engagements, approved by “royal assent” some 4,000 bills, and received a large number of dignitaries as part of 112 state visits. Among them Emperor Haile Selassie (Ethiopia, 1954), Japanese Emperor Hirohito (1971), Polish President Lech Walesa (1991) and US President Barack Obama (2011).
Over 180 garden parties have been held at Buckingham Palace, attended by over 1.5 million people.
14 prime ministers
She has known 14 prime ministers, from Winston Churchill (1952-1955) to Boris Johnson, who during hearings, in principle weekly, kept her informed of the main developments of the moment.
Queen Elizabeth has also met 13 of the 14 American presidents, from Harry Truman (1945-1953) to Joe Biden. Lyndon Johnson (1963-1969) is the only one missing.
The Queen, head of the Anglican Church, very religious and practicing, met four popes on official visits: John XXIII (1961), John Paul II (1980, 1982 and 2000), Benedict XVI (2010) and Pope Francis (2014).
A million congratulations cards
She sent some 300,000 congratulatory cards to centenarians and more than 900,000 to couples celebrating their diamond wedding anniversary (60 years). She herself remained married for more than 73 years to Prince Philip, who died in April 2021, another record for a British monarch.
More than 200 portraits
She posed for over 200 portraits, including the first when she was 7 years old.
Sometimes pioneer
Queen Elizabeth was the first British monarch to visit China, in 1996, and to address the House of Representatives in Washington on May 16, 1991.
The queen had sent her first email on March 26, 1976, during a visit to a research center of the Ministry of Defense.
In 1997, she launched the first official website for Buckingham Palace.
In 2014 she sent her first tweet, and in 2019 her first Instagram post.
Video with James Bond
She is the only monarch to have (almost) parachuted with James Bond: in a video made for the opening of the 2012 Olympics in London, we see her receiving the spy then played by Daniel Craig at Buckingham Palace before both pretend to board a helicopter, fly over London and parachute over the Olympic stadium where the (real) arrival of the queen had been greeted with an ovation.
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