Sovereign’s states

When she died, Elizabeth II was Queen of 14 nations other than the UK: Antigua and Barbuda; Australia; the Bahamas; Belize; Canada; Grenada; Jamaica; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; St Kitts and Nevis; St Lucia; St Vincent and the Grenadines; the Solomon Islands; Tuvalu.

– There are a further 18 countries of which she was Queen at some point in her reign: Ceylon (now Sri Lanka); Fiji; The Gambia; Ghana; Guyana; Kenya; Malawi; Malta; Mauritius; Nigeria; Pakistan; Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe); Sierra Leone; South Africa; Tanganyika (now Tanzania); Trinidad and Tobago; Uganda; Barbados (the last country to opt out of being a Commonwealth realm, in November 2021).

First and second

Did Elizabeth II have anything in common with Elizabeth I?

– Both came to the throne at the same age, 25. Elizabeth I acceded at 25 years and 71 days, Elizabeth II at 25 years and 291 days.

– Both were born, notionally, third in line to the throne: Elizabeth I behind her younger half-brother and older half-sister, Elizabeth II behind her uncle and father.

– Both had marriage proposals from a Philip, but Elizabeth I rejected the offer from Philip II of Spain in 1559.

– Both emerged victorious from a sea war with a Spanish-speaking country when they had been 30 years on the throne.

The way we were

What was life like on 6 February 1952, the day Elizabeth II became Queen?

– The UK’s population was 50.4m, with 5.6m over the age of 65. That year, 300 people were aged 100 or over.

– 5% of children were born out of wedlock.

– Men earned an average weekly wage of £9, women £5.

– The latest in entertainment was Sooty, the puppet who had his first show on BBC television three weeks earlier.

Royal relations

Who was the Queen’s closest overseas royal relative? Aside from those of her late husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, Elizabeth II’s closest relative to occupy a foreign throne was King Harald V of Norway, whose paternal grandmother was Princess Maud of Wales, daughter of King Edward VII. The thrones of Norway and the UK are unlikely to be combined, however: following the birth of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s daughter Lilibet last year, Harald was demoted to 86th in line to the throne of the United Kingdom.