10 Empowering Facts About Queen Elizabeth II’s Reign That Will Be Remembered Forever

As a royal, Queen Elizabeth II was not only a monarch but an empowering woman. She broke the rules of how a queen should or should not behave, doing so elegantly. She touched so many people’s hearts, teaching them that it’s okay to step out and do whatever it is that makes you happy. And we couldn’t help but compile everything about Queen Elizabeth that truly inspired us.

Here at Bright Side, we like to sprinkle a bit of positivity into every sorrowful moment, and this one is no different.

1. Her coronation took place in 1953.

The coronation ceremony was held at Westminster Abbey. Not only was it the first coronation to be broadcast on television, but around 27 million people tuned in to watch it live. 11 million more chose to listen to it on the radio, and 3 million people went out in the streets to greet their new queen on her way to Buckingham Palace.

2. She once drove the crown prince of Saudi Arabia around.

Given that driving was not allowed for women in Saudi Arabia, the crown prince was somewhat taken aback when in the driver’s seat there was not only a woman but the Queen herself.

It turns out that the Queen was a fierce driver: “His nervousness only increased as the Queen accelerated the Land Rover along the narrow Scottish estate roads, talking all the time. Through his interpreter, the Crown Prince implored the Queen to slow down and concentrate on the road ahead.”

3. She didn’t have a driver’s license.

Speaking of the Queen driving, she actually didn’t need a driver’s license. Given that she had plenty of driving experience from her time serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service, there was no need for her to possess a license. In fact, she was the only person in the United Kingdom allowed to drive on public roads without one.

4. She has owned over 30 corgis in her lifetime.

It’s not hard to tell that the Queen’s favorite dog breed was a corgi. She owned over 30 corgis over the course of her life! Her first dog, Dookie, goes back to 1933.

The Queen showed her sense of humor when naming her dogs, clearly, and she didn’t stop at one. Among her companions were Socks, Mask, Pickles, and Geordie — some of them had the most humorous names.

5. She allowed for a documentary to be filmed about the royal family.

In 1968, Queen Elizabeth made the decision to allow a film crew to follow and film the Royal Family for more than 2 months in order to make a documentary titled Royal Family.

The documentary was meant to let people in on the lives of the royals and humanize them and show that the royal family was just as normal as your average family: they ate, joked around, and spent time together. The documentary was watched by over 30 million people, however, due to unknown reasons, the Queen decided to remove it from all platforms.

6. She was the Queen of England for 70 years.

Being the longest-serving British monarch, the Queen reigned for 7 decades. She worked with 15 prime ministers, being an instrument for keeping the monarchy alive and well in Great Britain all this time. She had plenty of supporters who, no doubt, are still inspired by her to this day.

7. She has traveled over 1 million miles.

Her firsts don’t end here, though. Queen Elizabeth traveled over 1,032,513 miles and visited 117 countries during her reign. This is equivalent to 42 journeys around the entire circumference of the Earth.

According to The Telegraph, “The Queen set the pace on her first tour, in the winter of 1953-4. During her 2 months in Australia, she traveled an average of 230 miles a day. The English equivalent would mean taking the train from London to Bournemouth before flying to Hull, then repeating that journey for 58 days.”

8. She never stopped supporting charities.

The Queen was also loyal to charities, doing more charity work than any other monarch in history. She supported more than 600 charities in Britain (the royal family, in general, supports nearly 3,000 charities around the world), giving close to $2 billion to support those in need.

9. Her birthday was celebrated on different dates.

You might not know this, but Queen Elizabeth was celebrated on 2 different dates. She was born on the twenty-first of April, 1926, and this was the date on which the royal family celebrated in a private manner, accompanied by the closest friends of the Queen. On the other hand, the official birthday that the public celebrated would take place on the second Saturday in June.

10. She was the first British royal to freely walk around a crowd.

During a royal tour of Australia and New Zealand with Philip and Princess Anne in 1970, Queen Elizabeth broke the royal rules by freely walking around a crowd rather than keeping her distance and waving. This act of closely walking around people came to be known as the “walkabout,” and it was the first of its kind. It was proposed by Sir William Heseltine, an Australian who served as the queen’s private secretary.

Do you have any other endearing facts about Her Majesty?