12 things you may not know about Queen Elizabeth II

Most people think they’ve heard everything about Queen Elizabeth II. You know the stuff, like corgis & hats, as well as waving from balconies. But there were quite a few interesting details about her life story that rarely make the rounds. Here are things you probably didn’t know about Queen Elizabeth II. Which one do you think is the most interesting?

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She opened the UK’s early internet link in 1976

During a time when computers were the size of fridges and they didn’t have fancy screens, Queen Elizabeth II actually launched Britain’s ARPANET node. This was a very early internet link for the UK. Her ceremonial “login” was tied to the same network, which eventually turned into the internet.

Her goodwill message is literally on the Moon

There’s a tiny silicon disk sitting near the Apollo 11 landing site that is engraved with messages from dozens of leaders. This includes Elizabeth II. Of course, the Queen herself never went to the Moon, but her words made the trip with the astronauts & were left behind on the lunar surface for good.

She was the first reigning monarch to visit Australia

It might sound strange, but in 1954, Queen Elizabeth II became the first reigning monarch to ever visit Australia. Other members of the royal family had visited before her, but never a reigning King or Queen. She traveled around the country meeting crowds & millions turned out, with the visit becoming a massive national event that people still remember now.

She carried only cash on Sundays for church

Normally, Queen Elizabeth II didn’t bother with money at all. But Sundays were different. She used to keep a bill in her handbag so she could drop it into the collection plate at church, and it was either a £5 or £10 note, depending on the week. It was part of her weekly routine.

Her birthplace is now a Cantonese restaurant

The London townhouse where the Queen was born was at 17 Bruton Street in Mayfair. Except now, it doesn’t look regal anymore because it is home to a fancy Cantonese restaurant. That’s right. People eat dim sum where a future queen once lived because London doesn’t waste prime real estate.

She owned all dolphins, sturgeons & whales in the UK

The old rules about monarchs in the UK meant that any unmarked dolphins, whales, or sturgeons found in British waters technically belonged to her. In fact, they even had a name for them, which was “fishes royal.” But she didn’t exactly go around tagging sea creatures, although they legally were hers.

She used a single nail polish color for decades

For more than thirty years, the Queen’s nails stayed the same shade of pale pink, which was called “Ballet Slippers” by the nail brand Essie. She wasn’t someone who went for trendy colors. Instead, she went for that same bottle again & again, with her staff actually restocking before it ran out.

She could do a dead-on Concorde jet impression

The Queen apparently had a weird party trick. She could mimic the sound of a Concorde jet landing, and it wasn’t a delicate hum either, but rather a complete & accurate impression. It was something that she mostly did in private, of course.

She never held a passport

As a head of state, the Queen never needed a passport, and she didn’t require paperwork to travel abroad. The Queen was essentially the issuing authority for passports in the UK. It was the same deal for driver’s licenses, as she legally didn’t have to carry one. Her car didn’t even need license plates.

She once partied incognito on V-Day

The Queen slipped out of the palace with Princess Margaret at the end of World War II, simply to join the massive street celebrations. They blended into the crowd & danced the conga with them, while also roaming through London all night. Hardly anyone realized the future queen was in the middle of it all. She claimed it was “one of the most memorable nights of my life.”

Her wedding tiara snapped on the big day

Right before her wedding ceremony, the diamond tiara she planned to wear suddenly broke. It completely snapped. As such, palace officials rushed Garrard’s jewellers in to fix it on the spot & they managed to repair it just in time. She walked down the aisle wearing it like nothing happened.

She had a personal bagpiper as a morning alarm

There was an official role called the Piper to the Sovereign. On mornings when she was in residence, the piper played for 15 minutes at 9 AM under her window, with the position dating back to Queen Victoria & continuing through Elizabeth II’s reign. Pipe Major Paul Burns was the last person to play for her, and he also played at her funeral.

The following sources were consulted in the preparation of this article: