The amazing & long reign of Elizabeth II
During the moon landing in 1969, astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong, above, left behind a disk with messages from the Queen and others. Ingrid says she is “fascinated” by space travel.
The 2002 festivities were marked by 70 UK royal visits and 40,000 miles of foreign trips. Ingrid says the Queen finds such outings no fun today as people are too busy filming her on their smartphones.
In 1953, the Queen launched her beloved Royal Yacht in Clydebank. It made 968 voyages. “Poignant because it was to be made for her father,” says Ingrid. “It’s the only place she could be herself.”
In 2014, opening an exhibit at London’s Science Museum, the Queen, tapped out her first tweet. Ingrid says: “The Queen was slow with technology to start with... but by 2014 she was tweeting.”
Princess Anne’s son Peter was born in November, 1977. Insiders say he is still gran’s favourite. Ingrid says: “She held up an investiture for 10 minutes after being told. Very out of character.”
The Queen has doted on George since his 2013 arrival. He calls his great-grandma “Gan Gan”. Ingrid says: “She couldn’t believe how noisy he was when she first saw him – he never stopped crying.”
The 1957 Christmas Broadcast was the first to be televised. Ingrid says: “She was so nervous that it took Philip to go and stand behind the camera where he told a few daft jokes and got her to relax.”
The Queen was moved by D-Day’s 40th anniversary events – including a speech by Ronald Reagan. “They shared memorable moments and had a mutual love of horses,” says Ingrid.
The Queen presented England captain Bobby Moore with the Jules Rimet trophy. “It was good fun, she’s not the biggest football fan but knew what a shot in the arm it was for us,” says Ingrid.
This weekend marked an incredible 25,000 days since Princess Elizabeth became Queen. To celebrate Saturday’s momentous milestone, we look back at 25 highlights from her reign – and find some gems, thanks to Ingrid Seward, editor of Majesty magazine and royal biographer.
Ingrid