Queen Elizabeth II Marks Her 65th Year As Britain’s Longest Reigning Monarch

Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain recently marked her 65th year as the longest reigning queen ever to have served in the history of the English monarchy.The queen plans to celebrate in private while commemoration across London will be marked by gun salutes. Here are some facts and numbers in history during the queen's colorful reign. 

Queen Elizabeth II has become the first British monarch to reach their Sapphire Jubilee. The Queen serves as the Head of State of 16 of the Commonwealth nations, a group of 52 nations spread across 6 continents, reports Time.

The Royal Family's Official Twitter account has 2.75 million followers. The Queen has a parody Twitter account with 1.38 million followers. The Queen has four children: Charles, Anne, Edward and Andrew. Her grandchildren are Peter, Zara, William, Harry, Beatrice, Eugenie, Louise and James. She has 2 Corgis and 2 Dorgis for pets.

Over the years, 13 UK Prime Ministers have held office since the start of the Queen's reign. The first was Winston Churchill (1951-55), the latest is Theresa May. The Queen has met with over 12 U.S. presidents. In 1981, a teenager was arrested for firing blank bullets at the Queen as she was on horseback before the Trooping the Colour ceremony.

The Queen was 21 when she married Prince Philip on Nov. 20, 1947. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip have been married for 70 years. She was 25 when she acceded to the throne in 1952. The Queen is the 40th monarch since William the Conqueror gained the crown of England, according to Travel + Leisure

The Queen has toured a total of 117 countries on official tours - despite allegedly not owning a passport. The Buckingham Palace, the Queen's official London residence was built in the 17th century. It was originally designed to be the country home of the Conservative Party politician and poet John Sheffield.