7 Things You May Not Know About the Royal Family
The queen owns a famous stamp collection.
— -- The excitement over the birth of Prince William and Duchess Kate’s second baby is at a fever pitch, as the people of Great Britain and the rest of the world wait to find out all they can about the baby girl and latest addition to the royal family.
In the meantime, here are some lesser-known facts about the royal family.
1 – Queen Elizabeth II has been head of the monarchy for more than 60 years, since 1952. She would pass Queen Victoria in September as having the longest reign of any king or queen of the British monarchy. The queen is also the 40th monarch since William the Conqueror wore the crown. Her coronation was June 2, 1953.
2 – Buckingham Palace is the queen's official London residence, but St. James's Palace is the ceremonial residence, according to the official site of the British monarchy. Buckingham Palace has 775 rooms. These include 19 State rooms, 52 royal and guest bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices and 78 bathrooms.
3 – The Duchess of Cambridge’s parents both worked for British Airways before founding Party Pieces, a party supply store, in 1987.
“I came up with the idea for Party Pieces when I was looking for party paraphernalia for my own children’s parties,” Carole Middleton wrote in a blog for Party Pieces. “It was impossible to find anything easily in the shops and trying to find value for money party bag presents was a complete nightmare!”
4 – During her reign as queen, Elizabeth II has owned more than 30 Welsh corgis. According to the monarchy’s official website, “For her eighteenth birthday, The Queen was given a Corgi named Susan from whom numerous successive dogs were bred.”
5 – The queen not only owns Balmoral Castle, stud farms, a fruit farm, personal art and a fine collection of jewels, but she also own the Royal Philatelic Collection, one of the world’s largest stamp collections started in the 1800s, according to Forbes.
6 – Rowan Atkinson, David and Victoria Beckham, Sir Elton John, Guy Richie and singer Joss Stone attended William’s 2011 wedding to Kate.
7 – The queen has a long history with high fashion. Over her long, illustrious reign, Elizabeth II has had several designers, including Norman Hartnell, Hardy Amies, Ian Thomas, Maureen Rose and Karl Ludwig. Angela Kelly now works as the queen’s dresser and is one of her closest confidantes.