Before her death, Queen Elizabeth II set records that perhaps no British monarch will ever surpass.

1. The longest-reigning British monarch

Reigning for 70 years and 4 months, Queen Elizabeth II is the longest-reigning British monarch. The record was previously held by her great-grandmother, Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria ruled for 63 years and 7 months before her death in 1901.

At 96 years old, Queen Elizabeth II holds the Guinness World Record as the world’s oldest monarch and head of state.

Queen Elizabeth II passed away on September 8 (photo: AP)

In history, there have been two monarchs who can compare to Queen Elizabeth II in terms of the length of their reigns.

They are King Louis XIV of France, who reigned for 72 years (from 1643 to 1715) and King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, who reigned for 70 years and 4 months before his death in October 2016.

Since ascending the throne in 1952, Queen Elizabeth II has appointed 15 British Prime Ministers, from Winston Churchill in 1952 to Liz Truss, who became Prime Minister in early September.

Queen Elizabeth II on coronation day (photo: Insider)

2. Most traveled: Equivalent to 42 times around the Earth

From her accession to the throne in 1952 until her death, Queen Elizabeth II visited more than 100 countries – a record that will never be broken by the British monarchy. Queen Elizabeth II visited Canada 22 times, more than any other country.

In Europe, France is the country Queen Elizabeth II has visited the most with 13 times. French is also a language she is fluent in.

Before curtailing her travels due to health concerns in 2015, Queen Elizabeth II had traveled the equivalent of 42 times around the world, according to the Daily Telegraph. Her longest overseas trip lasted 168 days, from November 1953 to May 1954. During that time, the Queen visited 13 countries.

3. The busiest queen

During her reign, Queen Elizabeth II has had more than 21,000 meetings, receiving officials and heads of state to Britain. She has also passed more than 4,000 laws and received 112 delegations from different countries.

Notable among these meetings were visits to Britain by Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie in 1954, by Japanese Emperor Hirohito in 1971, by Polish President Lech Walesa in 1991, by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2003 and by US President Barack Obama in 2011.

During her reign, Queen Elizabeth II also hosted 180 banquets at Buckingham Palace, attended by a total of more than 1.5 million people. Based on this number of achievements, it is no exaggeration to say that Elizabeth II is the busiest Queen in British history.

The Canadian $20 bill features an 8-year-old Queen Elizabeth II (photo: CNN)

4. Appears on the most coins

Queen Elizabeth II appears on the currency of more than 35 countries, surpassing her two predecessors, Queen Victoria (21 countries) and King George V (19 countries).

Since she was an 8-year-old girl, Queen Elizabeth II of England has appeared on the Canadian $20 bill, issued in 1935. Most countries that issue money with Queen Elizabeth II’s image on it are former British colonies.

5. Longest marriage

Queen Elizabeth II’s marriage to Prince Philip – who died in April 2021 – lasted more than 73 years, an admirable record in the history of the British monarchy.

Before her death, Queen Elizabeth II sent about 300,000 cards to celebrate her 100th birthday and more than 900,000 cards to celebrate her 60th wedding anniversary to couples in the UK.

Queen Elizabeth II in a meeting with Russian President Putin (photo: RT)

6. The richest queen in the world

On February 6, 2022, Queen Elizabeth II was confirmed as the richest queen in the world by the Guinness World Records Organization. Her total assets at that time, including fine art, jewelry and real estate in the UK, were approximately $430 million.

As a wealthy person, Queen Elizabeth II rarely makes the public complain that she has a luxurious lifestyle, according to Insider.

In 1994, Queen Elizabeth II visited Russia. The three-day visit was also the first time a British monarch had set foot on Russian soil. To welcome the Queen, then Russian President Yeltsin held a grand banquet.

Russian public opinion at that time paid close attention to the jewelry that Queen Elizabeth II would wear during her visit. According to RT, the British Queen had many pieces of jewelry purchased from Russian aristocrats who had taken refuge in England after the October Revolution (1917).

Appearing in Russia, Queen Elizabeth II chose a simple dress style and wore jewelry that was not of Russian origin. She pleased the Russian media by avoiding causing any controversy during the visit.