Discover 20 Fascinating Facts About The Royal Family That Will Leave You Astonished
Currently, six out of ten Britons favour the British Royal Family, and over the years more and more people have become obsessed with the Royal Family, and love to keep up to date with what they are doing. Of course, any news regarding the Royal Family hits our TVs and phones almost immediately, meaning that the media has made it effortless for the public to become invested in the lives of the Royal Family.
If you not only want to know what is currently going on in the lives of the Royal Family right now, and also want to know some fascinating facts which you can astonish your friends and family with, we’ve got you covered!
Facts About The Royal Family – A Must-Read for Every Coin Collector
As a numismatist, especially one who’s interests lie with royalty, it is important that you know the ins and outs of the Royal Family, and that you have as much information as possible that will resonate with your growing coin collecting. So, fasten up! Here are 20 fascinating facts about the Royal Family…
1) The monarch has not one, but two birthdays. As with us all, every monarch has an actual birthday, but since 1748, the monarch has had their birthday celebrated for a second time, with the annual Trooping of the Colour.
2) In 1878, Queen Victoria was the first to use a telephone, receiving a call from the telephone’s inventor, Alexander Graham-Bell.
3) Before her wedding to Prince Albert, it was tradition that a woman wore her “best dress”. White was considered boring, but Queen Victoria bucked the trend and chose white. Thus, a new tradition was born.
4) Commemorative coins were introduced in 1935, when the first ever commemorative crown was minted to mark King George V’s Silver Jubilee. This was a solid silver coin, featuring the famous depiction known as the ‘Rocking Horse’ crown.
5) Our King, Charles Philip Arthur George, was born on November 14th 1948 at Buckingham Palace, thus becoming the first royal to be born at this residence.
6) At the age of just 3, King Charles III became heir apparent when his mother, Elizabeth II, acceded to the throne in 1952. He currently holds the Guinness World Record for the longest heir apparent of 70 years and 214 days.
7) The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was the first one to be televised, and in total, 27 million people in the UK (out of a population of 36 million) tuned in to watch the crowning ceremony.
8) Queen Elizabeth II was the sixth Queen to be crowned at Westminster Abbey in her own right. The first was Queen Mary I, who was crowned in 1553.
9) Queen Elizabeth II is the only female royal family member to have joined the armed forces, and was the only living head of state to have served officially in World War II before her death in 2022.
10) Queen Elizabeth II and her sister Princess Margaret are known for creating a new breed; the Dorgi, when Margaret’s Dachshund and one of the Queen’s Corgis were left alone.
11) In 1976, Queen Elizabeth II sent her first ever email while at a research facility at a British Army base.
12) Diana gave birth to Prince William at the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital on 21st June 1982, making him the first future heir to the throne to be born in a hospital. Prince William’s wife Kate Middleton followed suit and gave birth to their three children at the same hospital.
13) On 9th April 2005, King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla, were married in a civil ceremony at Guildhall, Windsor. Her engagement ring belonged to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.
14) Prince Harry chose Diana’s engagement ring as a keepsake after her death, and Prince William chose her gold Cartier watch. When William was planning on proposing to Kate Middleton, he swapped keepsakes with his brother so that Kate would have the same engagement ring that his mother had.
15) On 29th April 2011, Prince William married Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey. Their wedding ceremony was watched by nearly 1.5 billion people worldwide, which is more than a sixth of the world’s population!
16) The birth of Prince George on 22nd July 2013 marked the second time that three generations in the line of succession have been alive simultaneously. The only other time that this has happened was during the reign of Queen Victoria.
17) When Prince Charles made a hospital visit to see his new grandson, it is believed to be the first time three direct male heirs to the throne have come together in more than 100 years.
18) In 2013, after the birth of Prince George, Prince William broke the royal tradition and drove his new family home from the hospital himself.
19) From Sir Winston Churchill to Lizz Truss, Queen Elizabeth II saw 15 Prime Ministers during her reign. If you also count the fact that Harold Wilson was Prime Minister not once but twice, she had seen 16 terms of office.
20) King Charles III is the oldest person in British history to ascend to the throne at the age of 73. Before that, King William IV was the oldest monarch at the time of ascension, who took to the throne at the age of 64.
Who was the oldest royal family member ever?
Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, holds the Guinness World Record for the oldest royal family member, reaching the age of 101 years and 269 days in 2003. She died the following year, at the age of 102 years and 309 days.
She is followed by The Queen Mother, who is the second longest-living royal family member, having lived for 101 years and 238 days. Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, holds third place, having lived for 99 years and 303 days.
In 2007 Queen Elizabeth II became the longest-lived British monarch, surpassing her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, and then became the longest-reigning British monarch and longest-reigning queen regnant and female head of state in the world in 2015.
Why do Kings & Queens face different ways on coins?
This is actually a tradition that dates back to the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 and the reign of our new king’s namesake, King Charles II. It became customary for a monarch to face in the opposite direction to their predecessor, for all coin portraiture.
It is thought that this was started because Charles II wanted to be seen as turning his back on the Commonwealth, but this is by no means certain and it may simply have been a new and stylistic way to differentiate each successive monarch.
Later, Edward VIII wanted to face left on his coins to show off his hair parting. This is also the reason no circulation portrait coins of Edward VIII were ever issued, as by the time the disagreement between him and the Mint was settled, he had decided to abdicate. Ironically, Edward VIII actually won his argument and The Royal Mint agreed that they would have in fact shown him on coins with a left-facing portrait.
Tradition was then maintained when George VI was shown with a left-facing portrait, to follow on from what would have been a right-facing Edward VIII.
This tradition has not been evident for the 70 years during which we had just one monarch – Queen Elizabeth II. This is why it may seem slightly unusual to see King Charles III facing in the opposite direction to his mother, but this is in fact upholding a centuries-old tradition – but for the first time in generations.
Know someone who loves the Royal Family and want to get them the perfect gift? We’ve got you covered with The Ultimate Royal Family Lovers Gift Guide.