"The Queen has sat for 129 official portraits during her reign, two of which were with the Duke of Edinburgh. The most recent portrait was by Isobel Peachey and was unveiled in September 2010. Elizabeth was just 7 years old when she sat for her first portrait in 1933, which was commissioned by her mother and painted by the Hungarian artist Philip Alexius de Laszlo."

1. Queen Elizabeth II is Britain's 40th monarch since William the Conqueror was crowned.

2. In 2002, at 76, Elizabeth became the oldest monarch to celebrate a Golden Jubilee. The youngest was James I (James VI of Scotland), at age 51.

3. There have been 12 U.S. Presidents during her reign.

4. The Queen and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, introduced small, informal luncheon parties at Buckingham Palace to meet distinguished people from all professions, trades and vocations. The first was held on May 11, 1956, and the tradition continues to this day. There are usually six to eight guests and two members of the royal household in attendance.

5. Elizabeth is patron of more than 600 charities and organizations.

6. Technically, the Queen still owns the sturgeons, whales and dolphins in the waters around the U.K. A statute from 1324, during the reign of King Edward II, states, "Also the King shall have ... whales and sturgeons taken in the sea or elsewhere within the realm." This statute is still valid today, and sturgeons, porpoises, whales and dolphins are recognized as "fishes royal": when they are captured within 3 miles (about 5 km) of U.K. shores or wash ashore, they may be claimed on behalf of the Crown. Generally, when brought into port, a sturgeon is sold in the usual way, and the purchaser, as a gesture of loyalty, requests the honor of its being accepted by Elizabeth.

7. The Queen is the only person in Britain who can drive without a license or number plate on her state car.

8. Elizabeth has visited Australia 16 times, Canada 22 times, Jamaica six times and New Zealand 10 times.

9. Elizabeth has sent more than 175,000 telegrams to centenarians in the U.K. and the Commonwealth.

10. She has sent more than 540,000 telegrams to couples in the U.K. and the Commonwealth celebrating their diamond wedding anniversary.

11. There have been six Roman Catholic Popes during the Queen's reign (Pius XII, John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul I, John Paul II and Benedict XVI).

12. The first soccer match the Queen attended was the 1953 FA Cup final.

13. The first royal walkabout took place during the Queen's visit with Prince Philip to Australia and New Zealand in 1970. The practice was introduced to allow them to meet a greater number of people, not just officials and dignitaries.

14. She sent a message of congratulations to Apollo 11 astronauts for the first moon landing on July 21, 1969. The message was microfilmed and deposited on the moon in a metal container.

15. The Queen has met at Buckingham Palace the first man in space, Russian major Yuri Gagarin; the first woman in space, Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova; and the first men on the moon, American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, as well as their Apollo 11 colleague Michael Collins.

16. Elizabeth has owned more than 30 corgis during her reign, starting with Susan, who was a present for her 18th birthday in 1944. A good proportion of these have been direct descendants from Susan. Elizabeth currently has five corgis: Emma, Linnet, Monty, Holly and Willow.

17. Elizabeth introduced a new breed of dog known as the dorgi when one of her corgis was mated with a dachshund named Pipkin that belonged to Princess Margaret. Elizabeth currently has four dorgis: Cider, Berry, Candy and Vulcan. As well as corgis and dorgis, the Queen also breeds and trains Labradors and cocker spaniels at Sandringham House. A special Sandringham strain of black Labrador was founded in 1911.