Skip to main content

Happy Sapphire Jubilee to Queen Elizabeth II

By


Hello & welcome to this fortnight’s GK Nugget. On this edition I’m sharing some lesser known facts about the longest reigning monarch in the world – Queen Elizabeth II.

On February 6th 1952, at the young age of 25, Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary became Queen Elizabeth II. While we know that she is the longest serving monarch, here are some lesser known interesting facts about her and her reign.

The Queen doesn’t have a passport. (Imagine the trouble she must get into at Immigration) But on a serious note, British passports are issued in the name of the Queen and so she can’t have one in her own name. She also doesn’t require a driver’s license.

She was born on April 21, 1926. However, each Commonwealth country traditionally celebrates her birthday on a designated day in May or June.

The Queen is the only member of the British Royal Family to have joined the Armed Forces. In 1944, she joined the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service. Known as Second Subaltern Elizabeth Windsor, she donned a pair of coveralls and trained in London as a mechanic and military truck driver.

She sent an email even before the modern Internet appeared. On March 26, 1976, Queen Elizabeth sent her first email while taking part in a network technology demonstration at the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment. The message was transmitted over ARPANET, the forerunner of the modern Internet. She is considered the first head of state to have used electronic mail.

Queen Elizabeth carries cash in her purse only on Sundays; she donates money to her church on that day.

There have been 13 U.S. presidents since she first began her reign. The Queen has also seen 13 different Prime Ministers during her reign – from Sir Winston Churchill through to Theresa May.

In 2017, she became the 1st British monarch to celebrate a Sapphire Jubilee (65 years).

She speaks fluent French and often uses the language for audiences and state visits. She does not require an interpreter.

Elizabeth introduced a new breed of dog known as the dorgi when one of her corgis was mated with a dachshund named Pipkin that belonged to Princess Margaret. Elizabeth currently has four dorgis: Cider, Berry, Candy and Vulcan.

The Queen joined Facebook in November 2010, with a page called the British Monarchy, which features royal news, photos, videos and speeches. However, it is not possible to poke the royal family. She joined Twitter in July 2009, with teams at Buckingham Palace tweeting daily updates. None of the royals themselves tweet. The page follows only one other Twitter account: Clarence House, the royal home of the Prince of Wales.


That’s all this fortnight. See you next time with some more trivia. 
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Remembering JFK on his 100th Birthday

By
Hello & welcome to another edition of the GK Nugget. This weekend we’re talking about one of my favourite politicians (yes, there are some likeable ones too), who passed away too young. He was the leader of one of the superpowers of the world and 29 th May 2017 was his 100 th birth anniversary. I’m talking about John Fitzgerald Kennedy , famously known as JFK . JFK was the 35 th President of the USA from January 1961 up until 22 nd November 1963 , when he was assassinated. He was the youngest president of the country and also the youngest to die . JFK’s inaugural address had him reach out to all Americans – “ Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country ” – a line that is till date quoted in essays written by school and college going children. JFK led the US at the height of the Arms Race with Russia and also during the critical Cuban missile crisis . (In October 1962, U.S. spy planes discovered that Soviet missile bases had ...
Read more

12 Must have Apps for Expats In India

By
So you’re an expat and a guest in our country? Welcome and I hope you have an enjoyable time. But let’s face it, this country of 1.3 billion people isn’t the easiest to navigate and takes some getting used to. Let technology come to your rescue and help you get what you want quickly, easily & cheaply (in most cases). So here’s a list of 12 must have Apps for Expats that makes life easier for them here in India. (I’ve given links to their websites – depending on the phone that you are using you can either download the apps by searching in the App Store or Google Play or be redirected from their websites.) 1)   Ola / Uber      Need to hail a cab? Conveniently log onto the Uber app or the Ola app. Both apps allow you to pay using credit cards though Ola also lets you pay cash (I’ve been told that Uber also accepts cash in India). Both apps also accept payment via mobile wallets like PayTM & MobiKwik (digital wallets – details below). ...
Read more

Why is Pluto a "Dwarf Planet" & other Celestial trivia

By
The week gone by saw the world celebrate the 25 th birthday of the internet on 23 rd August. On this day in 1991 , the public gained access for the first time to the World Wide Web, which had been designed & deployed by computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee at CERN in Switzerland. But today’s GK Nugget is about something else. On 24 th Aug 2006 the International Astronomical Union clarified the definition of a “ planet ”. It said that a celestial body must meet the following criteria in order to qualify as a planet: 1) It must be round. 2) It must orbit the sun. 3) It must have “cleared the neighbourhood" of its orbit. This means that as a planet travels, its gravity sweeps and clears the space around it of other objects. Unfortunately, Pluto (which was discovered on Feb 18 th , 1930 ) doesn’t meet criteria #3 & therefore it was classified as a Dwarf Planet . For the common man, this was a shock, but amongst the circle of astronomers it wasn’t so surprisin...
Read more