Queen Elizabeth II is not only the longest-reigning person in Britain, but also holds the record for being the oldest head of state in the world.
Queen Elizabeth II came to power in 1952, after the death of his father, King George VI. To date, she has ruled the United Kingdom for 70 years and almost four months, longer than any other monarch in the country’s history.
The previous record was held by Queen Victoria, who reigned for 63 years, seven months and two days before her death in 1901, aged 81.
At the age of 96, Queen Elizabeth II is also the world’s oldest monarch and head of state.
There are only two kings in the world who have reigned longer than her. King Louis XIV of France ruled for 72 years, while King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand reigned for 70 years and 4 months, before his death in October 2016.
Queen Elizabeth II attends an event outside Buckingham Palace in London on October 7, 2021. Image: Reuters.
Queen Eliazbeth II also holds another world travel record. She has visited more than 100 countries around the world since 1952, as well as making more than 150 visits to countries in the Commonwealth.
Canada is the most visited destination of the Queen’s career, with 22 visits. In Europe, France is the country she visited the most with 13 times, and the Queen is also fluent in French. Telegraph estimated the total length of the Queen’s trips equivalent to 42 times around the world.
Her longest overseas trip lasted 168 days from November 1953 to May 1954, to a total of 13 countries. In November 2015, at the age of 89, she stopped traveling abroad.
She is also considered one of the busiest people in the world. As a 21-year-old princess, she pledged to dedicate her life to serving the Commonwealth. As Queen, she has conducted about 21,000 meetings, passed 4,000 laws and hosted 112 state visits by foreign heads of state.
Among those she received were Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia in 1954, Emperor Hirohito in 1971, Polish president Lech Walesa in 1991 and US president Barack Obama in 2011.
Her Buckingham Palace hosted more than 180 parties, receiving more than 1.5 million attendees.
In politics, she has also witnessed the most changes in the British government, with 14 prime ministers serving under her. The first was Prime Minister Winston Churchill (from 1952 to 1955) and the most recent was Prime Minister Boris Johnson, since 2019.
The Queen also regularly holds private meetings with the British Prime Minister at Buckingham Palace every week.
Queen Elizabeth II has met 13 of the last 14 US presidents, with the exception of Lyndon B. Johnson. The most recent White House leader she hosted was the President Joe Bidenwho is visiting in 2021.
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip in Hampshire in 2007. Photo: AFP.
Her marriage lasted 73 years, a record for the head of the British royal family. Her husband is Prince Philip, who died last April at the age of 99.
In 1996, Queen Elizabeth II became the first member of the British royal family to visit China. She was also the first person to speak in the US House of Representatives in Washington.
The UK is celebrating the 70th anniversary of her reign as Platinum, with grand parades and street parties. This is likely to be Britain’s first and only Platinum Celebration, and possibly the last major celebration of the Queen’s reign.
Thanh Tam (Follow AFP)
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