One Hundred Rubies and a Thousand Rooms: Everything You Didn't Know About the Life of Queen Elizabeth II

2023 Author: Avery Leman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-24 13:34

Queen Elizabeth II is one of the richest and most powerful women in the world. Her personal fortune is estimated by Forbes at $ 530 million, and the total assets of the royal family are at $ 88 billion. Here are the most interesting facts about Her Majesty.

Her house has 78 bathrooms

Elizabeth II reigns longer than any monarch, and she certainly has the opportunity to drive around in the most expensive cars, live in huge palaces and wear incredible jewelry. Her attendants sometimes have to deal with unexpected things like organizing a large collection of stamps or keeping an eye on swans in the Thames (the queen is technically their owner).

In Buckingham Palace, where the queen lives, there are 775 rooms and 78 bathrooms. Some premises can be accessed with a guided tour. One of the sights of the palace is a huge bronze staircase, and expensive paintings and clocks are hung on the walls. By the way, the watch is monitored by two separate watchmakers.

Meghan Markle and other stars who met when they were young

Few people know that Meghan Markle went to the same school with … Scarlett Johansson! The girls attended the Little Red School House. The school in which the girls studied was considered one of the most prestigious in New York. It was located in Manhattan and cost about $ 300 a month to study there. Interestingly, as a teenager, Megan took part in almost all school productions and was a fairly popular girl, but Scarlett Johansson never got the main roles.

There is a magnificent park around the palace, on the territory of which there is a pond. Outdoor events are held in the garden, with up to 30,000 guests a year.

And in the other - a thousand rooms

Buckingham Palace makes a lasting impression, but Windsor Castle is even bigger! It is one of six royal residences and the largest castle in use in the world. It has over a thousand rooms.

The British royal family has occupied it for about a thousand years, the queen herself lived in it for some time as a child and, along with Princess Margaret, was sent there during the Second World War.

Nowadays, Windsor Castle is also used for weddings: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle got married there, and a total of 18 celebrations took place there.

Hundred rubies in a tiara

The Queen has a huge collection of expensive jewelry, including dozens of tiaras. One of them, a Burmese ruby tiara, is adorned with 96 rubies sent as a wedding gift by a delegation from Burma. Until 1976, these stones lay idle, then the queen ordered a tiara, adding diamonds to the rubies.

By the way, there are over 2,000 diamonds in the crown of Elizabeth II! The jewelry is kept in top condition with a mixture of gin and water, according to the Queen's stylist Angela Kelly.

Traveling around the world

Being a queen also means visiting different countries for diplomatic purposes. Elizabeth's first trip to Kenya was in 1952, shortly after she was crowned. During the years of her reign, she has visited more than 120 countries, most often in Canada - 27 times. By the way, the queen still technically rules Canada!

However, Elizabeth II does not draw up a schedule of her trips; this is decided at the government level. She flies everywhere without a passport and visas: all passports in the UK are issued on her behalf, and she herself simply does not need it.

The Queen has a private jet, Voyager, which she flies most often. Other family members can use it too. Of course, flights are expensive and paid for out of taxpayers' pockets. An exception is travel to the countries of the British Commonwealth, when all costs are paid by the host country.

Once a year, the Queen travels by train to Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, where the family gathers for Christmas. A special train is served for them.

Favorite bags

Since the mid-50s, Elizabeth II has been giving preference to Launer bags. They were also loved by the Queen Mother, Margaret Thatcher, Princess Diana, and now they are worn with pleasure by Natalia Vodianova, Lena Perminova and other famous people.

The royal collection contains more than 200 bags for different outfits. Interestingly, with the help of a handbag, Elizabeth II gives a signal to assistants: if she moved the bag from her left hand to her right, then the audience is over.

Personal chefs

No wonder - a separate chef prepares for the Queen. For many years it was Darren McGrady, who said that the salary is not fantastic, but the job is very prestigious. The Queen, according to him, is quite conservative in food and is very fond of chocolate. The cook can live right in the palace and eat at the expense of the establishment.

The queen has horses and cars

Of course, she was rarely seen in the saddle during the reign, but she first sat on a pony at the age of three, and at four her parents gave her a personal pony. She now owns horses that compete and generate additional income for her. So, in 2017, she earned almost 8 million pounds from 450 won races. Her horse racing advisor John Warren is confident that if the queen were not queen, she would be an excellent trainer.

The Queen is rarely seen at the wheel, but her fleet includes a Range Rover, a Jaguar, and a Bentley limousine given to her on her 50th birthday in 2002.

She also bought the first off the assembly line Bentley Bentayga in 2015.