h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: HM Queen Elizabeth II - A5110958
Author: Galaxy Babe - U128652

Here's another of my "royal" entries

*curtseys*

GB

Knew this was going to be you GB. (But I had guessed that your next Entry would be Lord Lichfield).

This Entry is beautifully written and as good as ready, in my view, to be considered for early entry to the Guide.
Just one small point: The Earl Marshal of England; Marshal has just the one 'l'.

Looks fine GB

Quick question - you say that her line can be traced back to William The Conqueror - now as he was a son of The Duke of Normandie it can be traced further - do you mean whose line as sovereigns of England can be traced back to WTC ? Overlooking a couple of bits of jiggery-pokery when nature didn't supply the right King.

Great entry! Its hard to believe that there wasn't one already.

"During World War II, Princess Elizabeth attained the rank of Junior Commander in the Auxiliary Territorial Service."

Worth mentioning that her time in the ATS is when the Queen learned to drive? Also, I like the fact that she is the only person in the UK who doesn't need a passport to travel abroad, since passports are issued in her name. Not sure if you want to include that though.

Footnote 7 doesn't seem to fit.

I would put a footnote saying that Prince Henry is commonly known as Prince Harry.

I would also make a little more of the respect in which the Queen is held by most of the nation.

Perhaps a mention of the annus horibilis?

Did you link too www.royal.gov.uk?



Hope this gets in ASAP!

You could always link to the h2g2 Entry on William the Conqueror A6563298 rather than an external site. This is a Recommended entry at the moment but will be Edited before this one, I'm sure.

Excellent entry overall - thanks.
However, I've got a couple of points to raise about it:

The English royal line traces back to William the Conqueror (or further if you want to go to the Dukes of Normandy), but the Queen can trace her family much further back than that. The royal family tree goes back not just to William the Conqueror, but through the Kings/Queens of Scots to the first King of Scots (Kenneth MacAlpin, who became King of Scots in 843AD) and even further if you trace back through the Kings of Dalriada (to King Erc in the mid 5th century, although the history's a bit dodgy before Fergus I in 501AD).

Second point is that the monarch's official birthday in the U.K. is based on Queen Victoria's accession to the throne (20th June 1837).

to be a pedant

One other suggestion:

It's up to you, but you might want to mention her full title: 'Queen Elizabeth by the Grace of God, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith' (I think I've got that right).

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Am I getting a reputation as Queen of Obits?

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Thank you Typo fixed


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Both added.
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Moved it.
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Done
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I have added a bit more to the Trooping of the Colour section - it's difficult to put more in without coming off as an unbalanced entry. "Stick to the facts" - I keep being told!
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Done
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Already there!


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Can't link to it now I've shifted the timeline back to the 7th Century.

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Wording changed.
<< to be a pedant>> Are you kidding? That's what PR is for?
<> You forgot Supreme Governor of the Church of England, but I'll forgive you

Titles added, sorry I missed them out!

<> McKay and I've already answered your other question above
Thanks everyone!

A couple more points: I'd say how old the Queen was when she and Prince Philip married (perhaps his age too?), since at the moment it jumps from meeting him at 13 to getting married.

There was something else but I've forgotten it...

Oh yes - annus horibilis - didn't Princess Anne get divorced that year too?

One more thing - is it worth a mention that she is familiarly called 'Lilibet' by her family (and perhaps close friends too, I'm not sure)?

Does the Queen *have* close friends?

<< to be a pedant>> Are you kidding? That's what PR is for? >>
Well, since you don't appear to mind, here we go again...

The Scottish Royal House in the 9th century was the House of Alpin, not the House of Stuart.

In theory, the Queen's title in Scotland is the same as in England, as there is only one kingdom now (the UK, as against the separate kingdoms of Scotland and England). However, she's normally just referred to as 'Queen Elizabeth' not 'Queen Elizabeth the Second' - we're very sensitive about these sorts of things...

Trooping the Colour. 'On this very special day THEY pay a personal tribute...' - I think you need to say who *they* are.


The quotation you've put at the start of the entry is great - it sums up her attitude to her duty perfectly.

One more thing you might want to mention: she is the head of the Armed Forces. Every member of the military swears allegiance to her and her successors when joining. (An interesting fact is that when one member of the forces salutes another, he isn't saluting that person, he's saluting the Queen, by proxy, and the person returns the salute on behalf of the Queen.)


This is shaping up to be one of the best entries I've read for a while - well done.

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I've already stated that she was 21 in 1947 - but I've added more about that period.

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I've put "her soldiers" but I'm not sure that's correct

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Added that, thanks.

*posts this quickly before there's another powercut and I lose the lot again*

Hi Galaxy Babe.

I haven't time to give a full proofread of this at the moment. But two things struck me.

" In Scotland she is known as 'Elizabeth, Queen of Scots', because there has never been a Queen Elizabeth of Scotland."

This badly phrased, because the present queen is presumably Queen Elizabeth of Scotland. What you mean is "Her Majesty is the first queen of Scotland by the name of Elizabeth."

You talk about the Queen's Birthday Concert as if it were one day only. In fact it was two days, with classical music on the first day and popular music on the second day.

Hi and Thanks Gnomon, I've altered that. (about the Scottish Queen)


I've started writing about the Queen's Jubilee celebrations and it's turning into an entry of it own

I'm gonna have to leave this and make notes - maybe just mention the Jubilee and then write a separate entry on the Jubilee. I just don't want to leave anything out and I love writing about this kind of thing.

Looking good... although you forgot to mention that she's a shape-shifting giant lizard.

You're doing a lot of work on this - have some

If you're thinking about a separate entry on the Golden Jubilee, have you considered including something about the Silver Jubilee as well?

before comes flying back...


HM The Queen is the 5th longest reigning monarch in British history. Only 5 others have reached 50 years (or more) on the throne:
Edward III of England - 50 years
Henry III of England - 56 years
James VI of Scots (then of Great Britain) - 58 years
George III - 60 years
Victoria - 64 years
The numbers are going up - anyone for a bet on 65 years?

again, not sure if there's still left to throw

Just one thing you haven't mentioned - how tall is Her Majesty? I heard somewhere that stages built for special occasions are built specifically for her height so that she can enjoy them as much as possible - is this true?

That suggests that she is an extremely unusual height.

http://www.etoile.co.uk/Rfaq.html

5 foot 4 inches apparantly - is that short for royalty?