In"Queen and Country: The Fifty-year Reign of Elizabeth II," biographer William Shawcross wrote that the monarch made for "a surprisingly playful figure" who loved to play games with his first female grandchild. British politician Winston Churchill also reportedly described her as "a character."
Shawcross wrote in "Queen and Country: The Fifty-year Reign of Elizabeth II" that her grandfather coined "Lilibet." The family nickname also may have arisen from the way Queen Elizabeth II pronounced her own name as a small child.
Town and Country reported that the queen's husband Prince Philip also may affectionately refer to her as "cabbage" — possibly a twist on the popular French pet name "mon petit chou," which means both "my little cabbage" and "my little pastry puff."
The 13-year-old called her parents King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, who were touring Canada at the time, according to"I Never Knew That About Royal Britain"
"Fifty Years the Queen: A Tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on Her Golden Jubilee" biographers Arthur Bousfield and Garry Toffoli mark the summer of 1939 as the beginning of her romantic interest; the then-18-year-old Royal Navy midshipman escorted Elizabeth and her sister Margaret on a tour of the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth.
Biographer Robert Lacey wrote in "Monarch: The Life and Reign of Elizabeth II" that the dress featured the English rose, the Scottish thistle, the Irish shamrock, the Welsh leek, the Australian wattle, the Canadian maple leaf, the New Zealander silver fern, the South African protea, the Indian and Ceylonese lotus flowers, and the Pakistani jute.
On the night of July 9, 1982, she awoke to discover Michael Fagan in her bedroom, the BBC reported. Fagan had reportedly managed to dodge guards and electronic alarms, according to UPI. A security alarm that the queen pressed didn't go off, as it wasn't properly set up. A footman who had been out walking the queen's corgis subsequently returned and subdued Fagan, according BBC.
She helped to kick off the 1976 Montreal Games, according to the Montreal Gazette. The queen also made a splashy appearance in the 2012 Summer Games, starring with James Bond actor Daniel Craig in an action-packed short film run during the opening games, Business Insider reported.
The leak revealed that millions of dollars from The Duchy of Lancaster and The Duchy of Cornwall — private estates belonging to the royals — had been invested offshore. Spokespeople from both duchies denied wrongdoing and pointed to the fact both royals voluntarily pay taxes on their incomes, Business Insider previously reported.
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