06:31:00
The
anticipation of Prince William and
Duchess Kate’s second
baby is at a fever pitch, as the people of Great Britain and the rest of the
world wait to find out all they can about the coming bundle of joy and latest
addition to the royal family.
In
the meantime, here are some lesser-known facts about the royals while you await
Kate’s second child and future “royal spare.”
She
would pass Queen Victoria in
September as having the longest reign of any king or queen of the British
monarchy.
The
queen is also the 40th monarch since William the Conqueror wore the crown.
Her
coronation was June 2, 1953.
2 – Buckingham Palace is
the queen's official London residence, but St. James's Palace is the ceremonial
residence, according to the official site of the British monarchy. Buckingham
Palace has 775 rooms.
These
include 19 State rooms, 52 royal and guest bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92
offices and 78 bathrooms.
3 – The Duchess of
Cambridge’s parents both worked for British Airways before
founding Party Pieces, a party supply store, in 1987.
“I
came up with the idea for Party Pieces when I was looking for party
paraphernalia for my own children’s parties,” Carole Middleton wrote in a blog
for Party Pieces.
“It was impossible to find anything easily in
the shops and trying to find value for money party bag presents was a complete
nightmare!”
4 – During her reign as
queen, Elizabeth II has owned more than 30 Welsh corgis.
According
to the monarchy’s official website, “For her eighteenth birthday, The Queen was
given a Corgi named Susan from whom numerous successive dogs were bred.”
5 – The queen not only
owns Balmoral Castle, stud farms, a fruit farm, personal art and a fine
collection of jewels, but she also owns the Royal Philatelic Collection, one of
the world’s largest stamp collections started in the 1800s, according to
Forbes.
6 – Rowan Atkinson,
David and Victoria Beckham,
Sir Elton John, Guy
Richie and singer Joss Stone attended William’s 2011 wedding to Kate.
7 – The queen has a
long history with high fashion.
Over
her long, illustrious reign, Elizabeth II has had several designers, including
Norman Hartnell, Hardy Amies, Ian Thomas, Maureen Rose and Karl Ludwig.
Angela
Kelly now works as the queen’s dresser and is one of her closest confidantes.
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