The Queen collects pepper grinders, is woken by a personal bagpiper plus 17 more things you never knew about Her Majesty
As the Queen celebrates her official birthday this weekend, we unearth some fascinating facts
THE Queen has sat on the throne for 67 years and is the longest reigning monarch in British history.
Over the decades she’s welcomed a string of Prime Ministers and become a grandmother, and a great-grandmother.
But despite being one of the most recognised figureheads in the world, the 93-year-old still has some secrets.
From a pepper grinder collection to a bagpiper for an alarm clock, here’s 17 things you never knew about Her Majesty.
1. Although her parents and sister Margaret called her “Lilibet”, Prince Philip’s pet name for her is “Cabbage”.
2. She collects pepper grinders.
3. Since the civil list was abolished in 2010, her income is set at 15 per cent of the profits from the Crown Estates – about £42.7 million annually.
4. The Queen prefers Earl Grey tea and enjoys a gin and Dubonnet at the end of the day.
5. When Prince Philip and the Queen were courting, People Will Say We’re in Love, from the musical Oklahoma, was their song.
6. The Queen is woken by her personal bagpiper every morning and can tell if her usual piper is not playing.
7. Every morning, the Royal breakfast table is laid out with cornflakes and other cereals in Tupperware containers, yoghurt and two kinds of marmalade – light and dark.
8. When she crossed a Corgi with a Dachshund to create the Dorgi, the Queen perhaps unwittingly began the craze for designer cross-breeds.
9. Although she famously loves horse racing, she never places a bet.
10. While on the Royal Train, she eats a breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon prepared by chef Martin Carter and there is a no-bumpy-track policy while she takes her 7:30am bath.
11. The Queen doesn’t have a passport as all UK passports are issued in her name.
12. While staying in Balmoral the family play games, including the Post-It game - when they stick the name of a famous person on their heads and have to guess who they are.
13. Before entertaining VIPs at Buckingham Palace, the Queen personally inspects the horseshoe-shaped banquet table in the ballroom.
14. She was once caught on camera throwing tennis shoes and a racquet at Prince Philip during a row in Australia. The footage was given to the Palace and never broadcast.
15. Although she's most often seen in a chauffeur-driven car, the monarch passed her driving tests in 1945 and has been known to take a spin around her own estates.
16. She owns more than 200 Launer handbags and carries a hook so she can discreetly hang it under the table when she sits down.
17. The Queen sent her first email in 1976 from an army base - demonstrating the technology in its infancy.
18. Although she rarely carries cash, she has a “precisely folded” £5 or £10 note tucked into her bag on Sundays to donate to the church collection.
19. A message of the Queen's congratulations to Apollo 11 astronauts was deposited on the moon during the first landing.
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