WHAT THE QUEEN OWNS

Surprising things owned by the Queen

Everyone knows the British Royal family is very wealthy. Indeed, the Queen owns palaces, castles, and jewels, but there are other peculiar things not many people know Her Majesty owns. 

Did you know that the Queen owns all the dolphins in the UK, or that she holds four Guinness World Records?  Browse through the gallery and discover the surprising things owned by the Queen.

She owns all the dolphins in the UK

The Queen owns all the dolphins, sturgeons, and whales in the UK. All thanks to a statute from 1324, which still stands today. 

She has four Guinness World Records

The Queen holds four Guinness World Records, namely: “Longest reigning queen,” “Oldest current monarch,” “Most currencies featuring the same individual,” and “Wealthiest Queen.”

The Queen has an ATM at home

The Queen has her own ATM inside Buckingham Palace.  

The Queen has a gold record

There was a big concert to celebrate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee, which was turned into the album ‘Party at the Palace.’ She was awarded a gold record for the sales!

She owns over 200 Launer handbags
Her Majesty loves her handbags from luxury London designer Launer. The company’s CEO estimates that she owns about 200 of them. 

The Queen has her own tartan

The tartan “Royal Stewart” has been used by the current Royal family line since the late 11th century. But the Queen herself has her own pattern of tartan, named “Balmoral.”

She owns every swan on the river Thames

Queen Elizabeth II co-owns all the swans on the Thames, together with the Worshipful Company of Vintners and the Worshipful Company of Dyers, a partnership that dates back to the 15th century.

She owns the continental shelf and half of the UK’s shoreline

The 1964 Continental Shelf Act states that the Crown can therefore explore all natural resources. As for the shoreline, the Queen owns just under half of the coastline around England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

The Queen owns the national collection of mulberries

The Queen has 29 different species in Buckingham Palace, which is officially the British National Collection of mulberries.

She has a massive Fabergé eggs collection

The collection was started by Queen Alexandra and Edward VII and is now estimated to include about 600 pieces.

She has a tiara with 1,333 diamonds

The Diamond Diadem was made in 1820 for King George IV.

The Queens owns over 150,000 works of art

All part of The Royal Collection, which includes artworks of famous artists, including Rembrandt, Rubens, and Raphael.

The Queen owns all of Scotland’s gold mines

Queen Elizabeth II owns the rights to all of Scotland’s gold mining activities.

Her Majesty has the best seat at Wimbledon

She attended the tennis tournament in 2010 and sat at the Royal Box—the best seat in the house.

Her majesty owns a team of race horses

According to Harper’s Bazaar, racehorses have won her £6.7 million (US$8.2 million) in prize money over the years, with a total of 451 wins.

She owns Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey is a “Royal Peculiar,” which means that the Dean and Canons report to the Queen and not to a diocese.

She owns most of London’s Regent Street

The popular street in the West End of London is part of the Crown Estate, so, technically, it’s Queen territory.

She owns about 25,000 acres of forest

The Crown Estate owns around a quarter of a million acres of rural land, and about 25,000 acres of that territory is forested. 

The Queen owns six massive estates

While she spends most of her time in Buckingham Palace, she also owns other impressive estates, including Windsor Castle, Holyrood Palace, Hillsborough Castle,  Sandringham Estate, and Balmoral Castle.

She owns a car collection worth about US$10 million

The Queen owns an impressive car collection, including three Rolls-Royces, two Bentleys, and a custom Range Rover LWB Landaulet.

She owns an offshore wind farm

The Queen owns the Thanet Offshore Wind Farm, as well as other green-energy projects, including a tidal power plant, which is currently under construction in the Pentland Firth.

She owns the world’s largest clear-cut diamond

Cullinan I, also known as the Great Star of Africa, is in the Sovereign’s Sceptre with Cross.

The Queen owns the British seabed

All of the UK’s territorial seabed belongs to the Crown Estate.

The Queen owns Trafalgar Square

In addition to Regent Street, the iconic landmark of the capital is also owned by Her Royal Highness.

She owns the Tower of London

The Queen owns Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London. This is where the Crown Jewels are kept.

The Queen owns several London parks

Queen Elizabeth II owns Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, Regent’s Park and Primrose Hill, as well as Green Park.

She owns Henry VIII’s armor

It dates back to the 1540s and it’s part of the Royal Collection.

MY NOTES:

I was most surprised by the things the Queen owns, such as THE PARKS, THE DOLPHINS, THE TOWER OF LONDON, Trafalgar Square, London’s Regent Street, and the national collection of mulberries. I would think that these were owned by the PUBLIC, citizens of the UK.

So, they were my most

shocking things to read. Do the people know this?

Did any of this surprise you?

Now, I do have my favorites from this collection:

1. The massive Fabergé eggs collection.
2. The fact the Queen has over 200 Launer handbags.
3. Her Majesty has the best seat at Wimbledon.

I’m sure you have your favorites, too.

By Barbara KisKis

August 30, 2020

Melania and her GREEN dress

First Lady Melania Trump wore a formal lime-green dress at the Republican National Convention on Thursday night 
for President Donald Trump’s acceptance speech. 
The only problem was that the dress, designed by Valentino, is also the perfect color 
to be turned into a green screen. And Twitter was quickly up to the job.

Sad, that they are attacking her and laughing how they can 

green screen her dress.

The Valentino dress retails for $2700.

However, the pleated, caped dress by Valentino is actually 

a beautiful design.

My favorite photo of the night, was this one, with Barron Trump

sitting next to his mother.

We don’t get the opportunity to see him much, so I was delighted to see him last night.

• 

By BARBARA KISKIS

August 28, 2020

Melania paid homage to suffragettes

First Lady Melania, 50, joined President Donald Trump at a signing ceremony

marking the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment

The 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote in the U.S.

Melania paid homage to suffragettes in a $2,195 white suit by Michael Kors

that features a blazer with an asymmetric hem and a classic knee-length pencil skirt

She paired the look with a black and white gingham belt and matching pumps.

The former model tends to let her outfit do the talking, and Tuesday’s event

was no exception. She had on minimal jewelry aside from a diamond band

that sparkled on her finger as she stood with her hands clasped.

The sleek suit features a modern blazer with peaked lapels

and an asymmetric hem paired with a classic knee-length pencil skirt

Melania previously wore the outfit to greet French President Emmanuel Macron

and his wife Brigitte at the White House in 2018 during their first state visit.

( Recycling her clothes, good for Melania)

She made quite the fashion statement in the suit, which she paired

with a white wide-brim hat by Hervé Pierre.

The first lady gave the suit an update when she paired

it with black and white gingham

accessories for the White House event.

She joined other guests who stood by her husband’s side and clapped

as he spoke at the centennial celebration.

President Trump, 74, announced on Tuesday that he will posthumously pardon

Susan B. Anthony, a leader in the suffrage movement

that gave women the right to vote.

The women’s rights activist was arrested for voting in 1872

at a time when only men were allowed to do so. (Thank you, Susan )

Great day for WOMEN!! Thank you, Mr. President.

A little bit about Susan B. Anthony:

In 1869, Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton founded the National Woman Suffrage

Association as part of their battle to secure a woman’s right to vote.

Anthony gave as many as 100 speeches a year and traveled to numerous states

to push for an amendment to be added to the constitution.

She died on March 13, 1906, before the 19th amendment was ratified.

The 19th Amendment states: ‘The right of citizens of the United States 

to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States 

or by any State on account of sex.’

Congress passed it in 1919, and the amendment was ratified on Aug. 18, 1920.

( 100 years ago)

In honor of her work, the U.S. Treasury Department put Anthony’s portrait

on dollar coins in 1979, making her the first woman to be so honored.

Visiting Anthony´s gravesite in Rochester on Election Day

has become a popular ritual in recent years.

Thousands turned out in 2016 for the presidential match-up between Trump and Hillary Clinton.

In 2016 and 2018, voters showed up by the dozens to put their ‘I Voted’ stickers

on her headstone.

My notes: It’s a GREAT day to be a WOMAN.

Susan B. fought a truly heroic battle for us all.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

By Barbara Kiskis

August 18, 2020

Michigan Inn and a Norwegian Flag

Michigan inn removes Norwegian flag over Confederacy confusion, 

but finds way to keep national flare.

A Michigan inn owners, Kjersten and Greg Offenecker, that flew a Norwegian flag has bagged the banner after people mistook it for the symbol of the Confederacy, but the outpost’s owners have found another way honor the Scandinavian country.

This is the flag of Norway.

The Norwegian flag is red and white, with blue lines crossing its left side like a “t.”

On a glance, it can be mistaken for the Confederate flag, which has the same colors,

and is split by blue lines that create an “X.”

The Confederate flag, a common symbol of racism in the U.S.,

also carries stars, which the Norwegian flag lacks.

After hundreds of emails and phone calls poured in to Greg and Kjersten Offenbecker

about their decision to scrap the tricolor flag at the The Nordic Pineapple in St. Johns, Mich., the innkeepers ordered a Scandinavian vimple — a triangular pennant popular in Norway — to replace the old fabric, the Lansing State Journal reported.

(This is a vimple,  a triangular pennant popular in Norway.)

“When you look at it, it has the feel of the Norwegian flag,”

said Kjersten Offenbecker, whose grandfather was born in Norway.

“I’m sure we’ll get a lot of questions about what it is,

but no one will ever make a judgment about it that’s incorrect.”

Saint Johns is nestled in the middle of Michigan

about 100 miles northwest of Detroit.

MY NOTES:

Why this story? Because my grandfather was born in Norway and he

and my grandmother, who was Swedish, lived in a small township

in Michigan, called Lawrence. They had a large property in the country

where they raised chickens, grew their own fruits and vegetables.

On one side of their house was an apple orchard, which my grandfather

took pride in maintaining. I still remember the taste of those apples.

My sisters and I spent many summers sitting under the large shade tree

and watching our grandmother tend to her rose garden.

I have many fond memories of Michigan, so reading the above story

brought back the happy times and I’m sharing them with you, my readers.

By BARBARA KISKIS

August 5, 2020

Side Note to the flag:

You can see where other countries have their flag colors.