--- title: Queen Elizabeth II 90th Birthday: See Surprising Facts description: As Queen Elizabeth II turns 90, some of the most surprising, unusual facts about her personality and her reign canonical: https://time.com/4297754/queen-elizabeth-ii-surprising-facts/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-04-20T21:36:59.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-06-24T06:57:07.665Z og:title: 12 Surprising Facts About Queen Elizabeth II og:description: For her 90th birthday og:url: https://time.com/4297754/queen-elizabeth-ii-surprising-facts/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5ee2a708f77176da/698862b4f887dc4026e9240f/queen-elizabeth1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: <> on September 9, 2015 in Tweedbank, Scotland. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 12 Surprising Facts About Queen Elizabeth II twitter:description: For her 90th birthday twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5ee2a708f77176da/698862b4f887dc4026e9240f/queen-elizabeth1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 12 Surprising Facts About Queen Elizabeth II > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=a3000eba-8456-443a-a13e-66787fa04774&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Daily | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Richard Hall, Editor | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The informed consumer. A scaled audience of readers who turn to TIME to stay informed and make sense of the world, with meaningful reach across education and research, nonprofits and civic life, media and communications, government and public institutions, and business and professional services. ### TIME The Brief: key statements * The Brief is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * The Brief is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=a3000eba-8456-443a-a13e-66787fa04774&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/subscribe?i=a3000eba-8456-443a-a13e-66787fa04774&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's daily news newsletter? The Brief is TIME's daily newsletter, edited by Richard Hall. It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=a3000eba-8456-443a-a13e-66787fa04774&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: This Video Is No Longer Available [Watch (HLS stream): This Video Is No Longer Available](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/fKodeUO6.m3u8) (0:10)  _Published 2026-06-23. For her 90th birthday_  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Apr 20, 2016 9:36 PM UTC  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Apr 20, 2016 9:36 PM UTC In honor of Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday, TIME has rounded up some of the most surprising facts about the personality of [Britain’s longest-reigning monarch](http://time.com/4024855/queen-elizabeth-longest-monarch/) and her reign in general: • She became the first reigning Sovereign to have a child since Queen Victoria when she gave birth to Prince Andrew in 1960. • She created a new dog breed—the “dorgi”—when Princess Margaret’s dachshund Pipkin mated with one of her corgis, according to the British Royal Family’s [website](https://www.royal.uk/50-facts-about-queens-reign): “There have been 8 dorgis—Tinker, Pickles, Chipper, Piper, Harris, Brandy, Cider and Berry.” • [Photography](https://twitter.com/BritishMonarchy/status/717709295060697088) is one of her hobbies. • Some of the most unusual gifts she has received during her reign include: two live tortoises and a 7-year-old bull elephant named “Jumbo.” • She [has](https://books.google.com/books?id=Q4zQCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT93&lpg=PT93&dq=%22queen+elizabeth%22+and+%22show+tunes%22&source=bl&ots=Mnb%5FlKwXWb&sig=WtYXGwRUxTkAvnF3yYQDJAke0TU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj-2NbL2pvMAhUIXD4KHUR8CBsQ6AEIQjAJ#v=onepage&q=%22queen%20elizabeth%22%20and%20%22show%20tunes%22&f=false) about 200 racing pigeons. • A 116-year-old Canadian man was the oldest person she has ever written a letter to, and that was in December 1984. • In 1982, an intruder scaled Buckingham Palace and entered her bedroom. They had a 10-minute conversation before she called up security. Initially charged with burglary for drinking a bottle of Prince Charles’s wine, he was [acquitted](http://www.nytimes.com/1982/09/24/world/palace-intruder-is-acquitted-by-london-jury.html) by a London jury. • A “gin and Dubonnet” has been her cocktail of choice, former personal chefs to the Queen told [_The Telegraph_](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/11845020/Food-fit-for-royalty-what-does-the-Queen-really-like-to-eat.html)_._ • There is a practical reason for her monochromatic outfits. “You have to be able to see that figure in a lemon coat and hat from far away,” Hugo Vickers, author of _Elizabeth, The Queen Mother_, told the [New York](http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/03/fashion/queen-elizabeth-ii-sets-a-style-standard.html)[ _Times_](http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/03/fashion/queen-elizabeth-ii-sets-a-style-standard.html)_._ • She loves watching _Downton Abbey_ and revels in spotting historical errors on the show on occasion, biographer Brian Hoey, who wrote _At Home With The Queen_, [told ](http://www.people.com/people/package/article/0,,20395222%5F20950045,00.html)_People._ • And the Queen’s favorite Broadway show tune is “People Will Say We’re in Love” from _Oklahoma!,_ Hoey says in the [_LIFE_ ](https://books.google.com/books?id=Q4zQCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT93&lpg=PT93&dq=%22queen+elizabeth%22+and+%22show+tunes%22&source=bl&ots=Mnb%5FlKwXWb&sig=WtYXGwRUxTkAvnF3yYQDJAke0TU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj-2NbL2pvMAhUIXD4KHUR8CBsQ6AEIQjAJ#v=onepage&q=%22queen%20elizabeth%22%20and%20%22show%20tunes%22&f=false)magazine book commemorating her 90th birthday. • She had a way of imitating the sound of the Concorde, the now-defunct supersonic jet, royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith [told _People._](http://www.people.com/people/package/article/0,,20395222%5F20950045,00.html) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4297754/queen-elizabeth-ii-surprising-facts/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4297754/queen-elizabeth-ii-surprising-facts/"},"headline":"12 Surprising Facts About Queen Elizabeth II","datePublished":"2016-04-20T21:36:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-06-24T06:57:07.665Z","description":"For her 90th birthday","url":"https://time.com/4297754/queen-elizabeth-ii-surprising-facts/","keywords":["Newsfeed","World"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5ee2a708f77176da/698862b4f887dc4026e9240f/queen-elizabeth1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. Waxman","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5ee2a708f77176da/698862b4f887dc4026e9240f/queen-elizabeth1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"<> on September 9, 2015 in Tweedbank, Scotland.","caption":"<> on September 9, 2015 in Tweedbank, Scotland.","creditText":"Chris Jackson—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4297754/queen-elizabeth-ii-surprising-facts/","name":"12 Surprising Facts About Queen Elizabeth II"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"This Video Is No Longer Available","description":"For her 90th birthday","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/fKodeUO6/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2026-06-23T15:00:44.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/fKodeUO6.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4297754/queen-elizabeth-ii-surprising-facts/","duration":"PT10S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4297754/queen-elizabeth-ii-surprising-facts/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```