Intro

Hello and Welcome to this episode of the podcast, "The Mnemonic Tree", where we add a single mnemonic leaf to our Tree of Knowledge.

Today's episode our 52nd is ironically the same year that Queen Elizabeth ascended to the throne thanks to her dad’s brother, the love-sick swain Edward the 8th who abdicated after ruling for less than a year.

Showing resolve and maturity beyond her years Queen Elizabeth II went about her role and duties with grace and dignity not only endearing herself to her country but in the end to the entire world.

After 70 years of loyal and dedicated service it is now time to say both, Good bye and thank you, for not only for her wisdom, poise and leadership but in my perception a genuine, down to earth, honourable and caring human being that made the world a better place.

Today’s mnemonic is on Queen Elizabeth II top 10 key dates.

With that being said, we will begin with a summary from Wikipedia.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Elizabeth_II_in_Berlin_2015_(cropped).JPG

Wikipedia Summary

Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states over the course of her lifetime and remained the monarch of 15 realms by the time of her death. Her reign of over 70 years is the longest of any British monarch and the longest verified reign of any female head of state in history.

Elizabeth was born in Mayfair, London, as the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother). Her father acceded to the throne in 1936 upon the abdication of his brother Edward VIII, making the ten-year-old Princess Elizabeth the heir presumptive. She was educated privately at home and began to undertake public duties during the Second World War, serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. In November 1947, she married Philip Mountbatten, a former prince of Greece and Denmark, and their marriage lasted 73 years until his death in 2021. They had four children: Charles, Anne, Andrew, and Edward.

When her father died in February 1952, Elizabeth—then 25 years old—became queen of seven independent Commonwealth countries: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon (known today as Sri Lanka), as well as head of the Commonwealth. Elizabeth reigned as a constitutional monarch through major political changes such as the Troubles in Northern Ireland, devolution in the United Kingdom, the decolonisation of Africa, and the United Kingdom's accession to the European Communities and withdrawal from the European Union. The number of her realms varied over time as territories gained independence and some realms became republics. As queen, Elizabeth was served by more than 170 prime ministers across her realms. Her many historic visits and meetings included state visits to China in 1986, to Russia in 1994, and to the Republic of Ireland in 2011, and meetings with five popes and fourteen US presidents.

Significant events included Elizabeth's coronation in 1953 and the celebrations of her Silver, Golden, Diamond, and Platinum jubilees in 1977, 2002, 2012, and 2022, respectively. Although she faced occasional republican sentiment and media criticism of her family—particularly after the breakdowns of her children's marriages, her annus horribilis in 1992, and the death in 1997 of her former daughter-in-law Diana—support for the monarchy in the United Kingdom remained consistently high throughout her lifetime, as did her personal popularity. In September 2022, Elizabeth died aged 96 at Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and was succeeded by her eldest son, Charles III.

Extracted from: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_II]

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Queen_Elizabeth_II_official_portrait_for_1959_tour_(retouched)_(cropped)_(3-to-4_aspect_ratio).jpg

Mnemonic

Queen Elizabeth II – Top 10 Key Dates Mnemonic – IN GODS PALM

(Picture the Queen in God’s palm as a result of all the good work she did in the world)

1. Interred in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle 2022

2. News of Prince Philip’s death in 2021

3. Golden Jubilee 2002

4. Offspring – King Charles 1948, Princess Anne 1950, Prince Andrew 1960 & Prince Edward 1964

5. Death of her father George VI in 1952

6. Silver Jubilee 1977

7. Platinum Jubilee 2022

8. Annus Horribilis in 1992 (Fire at Windsor Castle & 2 Separations)

9. Longest Reigning Monarch in 2015

10. Marriage to Prince Philip in 1947

Five Fun Facts

1. Queen Elizabeth had many interests. Some included her corgis of which she owned over 30, horse riding, pigeon racing, and football where she followed Arsenal.

2. Queen Elizabeth made her first radio broadcast during the second world war in October 1940 (when she was Princes Elizabeth). She sent her first email in 1976 and published her first Instagram post in 2019.

3. Queen Elizabeth was served by 15 UK Prime Ministers and 16 Australian Prime Ministers.

4. The Queen had two birthdays. Her actual birthday was 21st April 1926 and her official birthday is held on a Saturday in June apparently when the weather is better.

And just on the weather. I don’t know why UK people complain about the weather.

Queen Elizabeth never complained and she managed to get through 70 years and 214 days of continuous reign!

5. For fact five we go back to the Queen’s wedding to Prince Philip. Apparently, the Queen purchased the material for her wedding dress with WWII ration coupons. On top of this, she then had to return all donations from women around the UK.

6. Bonus Fact: The Queen was also very studious in studying constitutional history and law. She spoke French fluently and also studied German and music from a home education.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Queen_Elizabeth_II_and_the_Prime_Ministers_of_the_Commonwealth_Nations,_at_Windsor_Castle_(1960_Commonwealth_Prime_Minister%27s_Conference).jpg

Three Question Quiz

Q.1. The Queen was the longest-reigning monarch ever in Britain. Who is the longest-verifiable reigning sovereign monarch in the world and how many years did he or she serve?

Q.2. Queen Victoria is the second longest-serving monarch to Britain. What relationship is she to Queen Elizabeth II? Options are Grand Mother, Great-Grand Mother or Great-Great-Grand Mother

Q.3. Did Queen Elizabeth create a new breed of dog called the “Porgi”? True or False

Bonus Q. Queen Elizabeth did not require a British passport. What other document did she not require in the UK?

Mnemonic Recap

Queen Elizabeth II – Top 10 Key Dates Mnemonic – IN GODS PALM

(Picture the Queen in God’s palm as a result of all the good work she did in the world)

1. Interred in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle 2022

2. News of Prince Philip’s death in 2021

3. Golden Jubilee 2002

4. Offspring – King Charles 1948, Princess Anne 1950, Prince Andrew 1960 & Prince Edward 1964

5. Death of her father George VI in 1952

6. Silver Jubilee 1977

7. Platinum Jubilee 2022

8. Annus Horribilis in 1992 (Fire at Windsor Castle & 2 Separations)

9. Longest Reigning Monarch in 2015

10. Marriage to Prince Philip in 1947

Three Question Quiz Answers

Q.1. The Queen was the longest-reigning monarch ever in Britain. Who is the longest-verifiable reigning sovereign monarch in the world and how many years did he or she serve?

A. Louis XIV of France at 72 years and 110 days from 1643 to 1715

Q.2. Queen Victoria is the second longest-serving monarch to Britain. What relationship is she to Queen Elizabeth II? Options are Grand Mother, Great-Grand Mother or Great-Great-Grand Mother

A. Great-Great-Grand Mother to Queen Elizabeth II

Q.3. Did Queen Elizabeth create a new breed of dog called the “Porgi”? True or False

A. False. She created the “Dorgi” which is a Corgi mated with a Dachshund which was owned by her sister Princess Margaret

Bonus Q. Queen Elizabeth did not require a British passport. What other document did she not require in the UK?

A. A licence

Word of the Week

majesty

[ maj-uh-stee ]

noun

regal, lofty, or stately dignity; imposing character; grandeur.

Example

There is a majesty and history to the royal family that dates back to the 9th century covering 37 generations