Going Platinum
Her Majesty and her 70 year reign
Today, Queen Elizabeth overtook King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand to become the second longest reigning Monarch in history (70 years, 126 days)
Her majesty is, therefore, only behind King Louis XIV who ruled France for 72 years, 110 days from 1643
This makes her the longest serving British monarch, with only 4 others surpassing 50 years: Victoria (63), George III (59), Henry III (56) and Edward III (50)*
The Platinum Jubilee, the official celebrations for her 70 years on the throne, was held last weekend which included:
- 16,000 street parties with millions of people attending across the country
- Trooping the Colour - a parade involving 1,400 soldiers, 200 horses and 400 musicians
- The “Platinum Party” - a concert with performances by Elton John, Queen, Diana Ross and many more, which had 22,000 ticketholders and 13.4m people watching at home
Queen Elizabeth became the second longest reigning Monarch in history (70 years, 126 days), only behind King Louis XIV who ruled France for 72 years, 110 days from 1643
The majority of her ever-growing family were there in full support of Her Royal Highness, with her descendants including:
- 4 children: Charles (73 and next in line to the throne), Anne (71), Andrew (62) and Edward (58)
- 8 grandchildren: Peter Phillips (44), Zara Tindall (40), Prince William (39, third in line to the throne), Prince Harry (37), Princess Beatrice (33), Princess Eugenie (32), Lady Louise Windsor (18) and James, Viscount Severn (14)
- 12 great-grandchildren, including Prince William’s three kids (Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis) and Prince Harry’s two children (Archie and Lilibet)
And at 96 years old, she’s achieved a lot in her reign:
- worked alongside 14 different Prime Ministers, and given Royal Ascent to roughly 4,000 Acts of Parliament
- visited over 100 countries during 150+ official visits (she visited Canada 22 times, more than any country)
- hosted 112 incoming State visits, and met 4 popes and 13 US presidents (all except Lyndon Johnson)
- conferred c. 400,000 honours and awards (i.e. OBE, MBE, etc.)
- presided over 21,000 engagement (i.e. ribbon-cuttings)
- had over 200 official portraits painted, and has her portrait on the coinage of 35 countries
- received over 3 million letters and items of correspondence, and sent 300,000 telegrams to British citizens on their 100th birthdays
- owned 30 Corgis and Dorgis, almost all of whom descend from her first Corgi, Susan
Note: James VI ruled Scotland for 56 years, but only Britain for 12 years from 1603
Source: Economist; Independent; Sky News; Platinum Party; National Geographic; Yahoo News; Royal.UK 1; Royal.UK 2
