Queen Elizabeth II was the longest-reigning monarch in British history. She lived in the public eye for 96 years. But there are some things people may not know about the girl who was born in London.

HOME-SCHOOLING

Like many royals of her time and before, Elizabeth never went to a public school and was never exposed to other students. Instead, she was educated at home with Margaret, her younger sister.

Among those who taught her was her father, along with a senior teacher at Eton College, several French and Belgian governesses who taught her French, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, who taught her religion.

Elizabeth’s schooling also included learning to ride, swim, dance and the study of fine art and music.

“NO. 230873”

During World War II, young Princess Elizabeth briefly became known as No. 230873, Second Subaltern Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor of the Auxiliary Transport Service No. 1.

After months of campaigning for her parents’ permission to do something for the war effort, the heir to the throne learned how to drive and service ambulances and trucks. She rose to the rank of honorary Junior Commander within months.

‘GREAT MIMICKER’

Elizabeth often gave the impression of a serious demeanor, and many have noted her “poker face,” but those who knew her described her as having a mischievous sense of humor and a talent for mimicry in private company.

Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, has said the queen could be “extremely funny in private — and not everybody appreciates how funny she can be.”

Bishop Michael Mann, the monarch’s domestic chaplain, once said that “the queen imitating the Concorde landing is one of the funniest things you could see.” Ian Paisley, the Northern Irish clergyman and politician, also noted that Elizabeth was a “great mimicker” of him.

ROYAL TAXPAYER

She may have been the queen, but she paid taxes too — at least since 1992.

When Windsor Castle, the queen’s weekend residence, was ravaged by fire in 1992, the public rebelled against paying millions of pounds for repairs.

But she voluntarily agreed to pay tax on her personal income. She said she would meet 70 percent of the cost of restoration work, and she also decided to open her home at Buckingham Palace to the public for the first time to generate extra funds from admission fees.

LITTLE LILIBET

The queen was christened Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor of York, in honor of her mother, paternal grandmother and paternal great-grandmother. But as a child, she was endearingly known as young Lilibet by her family — said to be because she couldn’t pronounce “Elizabeth” properly.

In a letter to her grandmother Queen Mary, the young princess wrote: “Dear Granny. Thank you very much for the lovely little jersey. We loved staying at Sandringham with you. I lost a top front tooth yesterday morning,” before signing off, “Love from Lilibet.”

The nickname became more widely known after Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, named their daughter Lilibet Diana in 2021.

A STEADFAST ROMANCE

Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip enjoyed a stable relationship for more 70 years, a union that far outlasted the marriages of three of her four children: Charles, Anne and Andrew.

“He has been quite simply my strength and stay all these years,” the queen said of Philip on their 50th wedding anniversary.

Their story began in 1939, when Prince Philip of Greece, a handsome 18-year-old naval cadet, was detailed to entertain the 13-year-old Elizabeth for a day. Several years later, Philip was invited to join the royal family at Windsor Castle at Christmas, and he soon made discreet inquiries whether he would be considered an eligible suitor.

The couple married in Westminster Abbey in 1947. When Philip died in 2021 at age 99, Elizabeth described his passing as leaving a “huge void” in her life, according to their son, Andrew.

MULTIPLE BIRTHDAYS

Elizabeth was born on April 21, 1926, but it was sometimes confusing for the public to know when to celebrate.

There was no universally fixed day for her “official birthday” — it’s either the first, second or third Saturday in June, and was decided by the government.

In Australia, her birthday was celebrated on the second Monday of June, while in Canada, was marked on a Monday either on or before May 24, Queen Victoria’s birthday.

Only the queen and those closest to her celebrated her actual birthday in private gatherings.

HOW MANY CORGIS?

It’s widely known that Elizabeth loved corgis — Princess Diana reportedly called the dogs the queen’s “moving carpet” because they accompanied her everywhere.

She owned more than 30 corgis over the years. She also had two “dorgis” — crossbreeds of dachshund and corgi — named Candy and Vulcan.

Elizabeth was photographed hugging one of the dogs as far back as 1936 at age 10, and was given a corgi named Susan for her 18th birthday. The breed was introduced to the royal family by her father, King George VI, in 1933, when he bought a male corgi called Dookie from a local kennel.

As queen, she also technically owned the thousands of mute swans in open British waters, and had the right to claim all sturgeons, porpoises, whales and dolphins, according to a statute from 1324.

‘A PRETTY NICE GIRL’

The queen inevitably became the subject of pop songs.

The Beatles immortalized her with the tongue-in-cheek “Her Majesty,” calling her “a pretty nice girl” though “she doesn’t have a lot to say.” The brief song, sung by Paul McCartney and recorded in 1969, appeared at the end of the “Abbey Road” album.

Other musical treatments weren’t so kind. The Sex Pistols’ anti-monarchist “God Save The Queen,” released right before her Silver Jubilee in 1977, was banned on British television.

TEA AND SANDWICHES

Queen Elizabeth II reportedly loved jam sandwiches with her tea. She recorded a sketch ahead of the Platinum Jubilee celebration with Paddington Bear. She joked with the character, saying she kept her sandwich in her iconic handbag.

Dignitaries, heads of state, and others who want to pay their final respects to Queen Elizabeth II are converging on London to pay their final respects.

Each person has their own way of grieving a loss. One woman decided to bring the ashes of her grandmother, who she says "loved the Queen."

"I brought my nan with me today, her ashes. She loved the queen," she said.

The BBC spoke to many people out and about London who laid flowers and shed tears and talked about memories of Queen Elizabeth II over the years.

"So, we brought her with us, yeah she loved the Queen, absolutely loved the Queen," the woman said as she wore a somber, mostly black outfit.

She said, in age, that her grandmother and the Queen were just a year apart.

People from all walks of life and many countries spoke about how they felt the Queen was a unifying spirit and entered their lives with meaning.

Another woman said, "It's the end of an era, 70 years, it'll never happen again. She was the calm amongst the storms, but you always knew she'd be a constant presence."

The Royal Air Force flight that transported Queen Elizabeth II's coffin from Edinburgh to Greater London was the most tracked flight in history, according to the website Flightradar24.

The flight, destined for RAF Northolt was tracked within its first minute in the air, and as the BBC reported, the huge amount of web traffic to the sight during the flights caused disruptions for administrators.

The previous record for the most tracked flight was when U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's flight from the U.S. on her tour of Asia was followed as she flew to Taiwan. That flight was followed by some 2.2 million viewers of Flightradar24.

As the BBC reported, Queen Elizabeth II's coffin was transported on an RAF Globemaster C-17 after it finished lying in state at St. Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh. It then was flown to Greater London, where it was driven to Buckingham Palace in London.

Princess Anne and her husband, Sir Timothy Laurence, accompanied the coffin on the flight.

The princess said, "It has been an honor and a privilege to accompany her on her final journeys."

She said she felt fortunate to be with her "dearest mother" in her final hours of life before her death.

LONDON —

In retrospect, it seems as if she was preparing us all along.

Whether it was due to age, ill health or a sense that the end was near, Queen Elizabeth II spent much of the last two years tying up loose ends, trying to make sure the family firm would keep ticking along after her death.

The transition began slowly, with the queen turning over more public duties to her son and heir, now King Charles III, as she entered her twilight years. But it moved into overdrive in 2022 as Elizabeth celebrated 70 years on the throne. First she expressed her wish that Charles' wife, Camilla, be known as queen consort after her death, and then the future king took center stage during four days of Platinum Jubilee festivities.

"Elizabeth II was preparing the ground for the succession,'' historian Ed Owens said. "We saw a lot more of Charles in the last 10 years stepping in for his mother in a number of key situations at key public events. And that, I think, was partly intentional in that the monarch … wanted her son to sort of gravitate naturally into the limelight, to make this seem as best as possible as though it was a seamless transition.''

Charles' increased role began gradually when the queen began cutting back on long-haul flights, resulting in the then Prince of Wales taking her place at a 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Sri Lanka.

The queen became head of the Commonwealth, a grouping of 54 independent countries with links to the former British Empire, when she ascended the throne and championed its role in world affairs throughout her reign.

In 2018, Elizabeth expressed her "sincere wish" that Charles would follow her as head of the Commonwealth and its leaders agreed.

The previous year, Charles represented the queen at the annual Remembrance Day ceremony honoring the nation's war dead, laying the monarch's wreath at the foot of the Cenotaph in London. It was the first time the queen hadn't performed the solemn ritual, marked by columns of aging veterans marching past the monument, other than when she was pregnant or out of the country.

But what had been a subtle shift became more obvious after the coronavirus pandemic led Elizabeth to take refuge at Windsor Castle outside London and the death of her husband, Prince Philip, reminded the nation of the queen's mortality.

That was underscored by the image of Elizabeth, her face hidden behind a black mask, sitting alone in St. George's Chapel as she mourned the loss of the man who had been her "strength and stay" for over 73 years.

On the anniversary of her accession to the throne in February, the queen moved to end the long-running controversy over the status of Charles' wife.

Camilla has been a divisive figure in Britain because her long-term relationship with Charles was blamed for the breakdown of his first marriage to the widely beloved Princess Diana. The mother of Princes William and Harry died in a Paris car crash in 1997, five years after her messy split with Charles.

When Charles married Camilla in 2005, he made it known that he wanted his wife to become queen when he ascended the throne. Diana's fans objected, saying it would dishonor the princess.

But the public attitude toward Camilla, 75, has warmed in recent years as she took on roles at more than 100 charities, focusing on issues ranging from literacy to domestic violence. Her down-to-earth style and sense of humor have softened Charles' stuffy image and made him appear more relaxed.

When the queen weighed in on Feb. 6., she obliquely recognized that her reign would come to an end.

"When, in the fullness of time, my son Charles becomes king, I know you will give him and his wife Camilla the same support that you have given me," she said. "And it is my sincere wish that, when that time comes, Camilla will be known as queen consort as she continues her own loyal service."

Video: King Charles, Prince William greet mourners

Late last year, Elizabeth was seen using a walking stick for the first time, and in April she revealed that a bout with COVID-19 had left her feeling "very tired and exhausted."

In May, the queen delegated one of her most important public duties to Charles, asking him to preside over the state opening of Parliament and deliver the annual Queen's Speech laying out the government's legislative program.

The event is a symbol of the monarch's constitutional role as head of state and is accompanied by centuries of tradition designed to demonstrate the strength of Britain's political institutions.

When it came time for the Platinum Jubilee, the palace let it be known that the queen's ongoing "mobility issues" would limit her role.

Instead, Charles took center stage.

He donned full military uniform to review the troops during the queen's ceremonial birthday parade, sat in the position of honor at the front of St. Paul's Cathedral for a service celebrating her reign and led salutes to his mother at a gala concert, appearing with Camilla by his side.

After her death, Charles and Camilla were greeted warmly by crowds of mourners outside Buckingham Palace, with the new monarch shaking hands and chatting with well-wishers who broke into a chorus of "God Save the King."

The reaction, and Charles' first days in his new role, suggest that the public is, at least for now, on board, former BBC royal correspondent Michael Cole said this week outside the palace.

"Look at the thousands of people who have come here of their own accord,'' he said, waving a hand at the crowds. "They're not being bused in. They're not being ordered to be here. They're not being given little flags to wave. This is not North Korea. This is not a parade for Putin in Red Square. These people have come to express their respect for the dead queen and show, a very big word, affection."

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Follow AP's coverage of Queen Elizabeth II and other stories on the British monarch at https://apnews.com/hub/queen-elizabeth-ii

LONDON (AP) — Britain's press erupted in outrage Friday at Prince Harry and Meghan's documentary series, which lambasts the U.K. media over its treatment of the royal couple.

But much of Britain reacted to the Netflix show with a shrug. Buckingham Palace had no comment, and the prime minister didn't watch.

The first three hour-long episodes of "Harry and Meghan" were released Thursday, with three more due Dec. 15. So far, the series has contained few of the bombshells the palace had feared.

In the program the couple, along with friends and Meghan's family members, recount their early lives and blossoming romance, leading up to their fairy-tale wedding at Windsor Castle in 2018, and their growing discontent with what they saw as the media's racist treatment of Meghan and a lack of support from the palace.

Harry and Meghan walked away from royal duties in early 2020 and moved to California to start a new life as campaigners, charity benefactors and media personalities.

At the heart of the show is the symbiotic and sometimes toxic relationship between Britain's royal family and the media. Each side needs the other, but both are often dissatisfied with the arrangements. Prince Harry has long railed against press intrusion that he says clouded his childhood and contributed to the death of his mother, Princess Diana. She was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997 while being pursued by photographers.

Meghan claims in the documentary that the media wanted to "destroy" her, while Harry says his wife was subjected to a press "feeding frenzy."

That riled British newspapers, many of which splashed their anger across front pages and editorial columns.

Some objected to claims in the series that the Commonwealth of the U.K. and its former colonies — an organization led until her death by Queen Elizabeth II — is an extension of the British Empire and its racism. The Daily Telegraph's front page accused the show of being a "direct hit" on the queen's legacy. In an editorial, the conservative-leaning Daily Mail called the show "little more than a hatchet job from start to finish."

The tabloid Sun said the documentary was "made for an American audience — cementing their money-making potential in the US — and to hell with everything and everybody else, including the truth."

Scotland's Daily Record said the palace was stunned by the couple's allegations, running the headline: "We are not amused."

Bob Seely, a lawmaker with the governing Conservative Party, said he would try to introduce a bill in Parliament to strip the couple of their royal titles, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Seely said Prince Harry was attacking important British institutions, "as well as trashing his family and monetizing his misery for public consumption."

Employment Minister Guy Opperman branded the couple "utterly irrelevant" and urged people "to boycott Netflix and make sure that we actually focus on the things that matter."

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's office said it did not back Seely's bill, or a Netflix boycott.

"It's a matter for the public what channels they want to watch," said spokesman Jamie Davies. He said the prime minister had not watched the series, and the government "would never comment on royal matters."

The show comes at a crucial moment for the monarchy. King Charles III is trying to show that the institution still has a role to play after the death in September of the queen, whose personal popularity dampened criticism of the crown during her 70-year reign.

The king declined to comment on the Netflix series during public engagements in London on Thursday or during a visit Friday to Welsh soccer club Wrexham AFC, where he met the team's owners, Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

Both said they had not watched the series, with McElhenney joking, "I've never heard of it."

Many in Britain had mixed feelings about a show that rehashes long-running grievances between the Sussexes, the palace and the press.

In London, 59-year-old Lucy Barratt said the documentary was "too much" — but that she might watch it anyway,

"I know it's awful being a royal, but part of being a royal is not complaining," she said. "Go on, have a drink with a mate and talk about it.

"I'm torn between watching it and I slightly want to cancel Netflix. But then, as a sort of voyeur, I might watch it."

It has been almost three decades since the Queen memorably summed up 1992 by calling it her “annus horribilis.”

However, that famous phrase has enjoyed something of a revival for a full three years now as 2019, 2020 and 2021 all saw the monarch grapple with repeated setbacks, loss and controversy.

Related video above: Royal Astrologer Predicts Meghan Markle Has a Big Year Ahead

So much so that we now begin 2022 with the notion that significant, often bitter, family divisions and a disgraced Prince facing sex abuse allegations are now an established part of the British royal story.

At the same time, the 95-year-old sovereign, who has commanded so much respect for steadily steering the ship for decades, has lost her “strength and stay” and been forced to take her biggest step back so far from public life.

Yet, 2022 is gearing up to see the monarchy at the center of nationwide celebrations as Britain marks one of the most significant milestones in royal history.

The queen reaching 70 years on the throne–a landmark she will pass in the early hours of Feb. 6, 2022—makes her the first British monarch ever to have a Platinum Jubilee. The central celebrations, planned for an extended weekend in June, have been billed by organizers as a “reopening ceremony” for the U.K. following COVID-19.

However, just as the pandemic brings us repeated twists and turns that make large-scale gatherings an uncertainty, the monarchy also faces challenges that were not there when flags waved for the Diamond Jubilee a decade earlier.

Exactly how visible the queen will be during the events remains unknown after she canceled multiple appearances at the end of 2021 when doctors told her to rest. While there will undoubtedly be a huge desire from many to celebrate her regardless of how much she can be seen, if she is too unwell to take part it will mark another turning point.

But while everyone is hoping that the queen will make it onto the Buckingham Palace balcony in June, the same cannot be said for her third child, Prince Andrew. The final days of 2021 saw him make headlines once again as his friend Ghislaine Maxwell was found guilty of five out of the six charges in her sex trafficking trial.

While the Duke of York was hardly mentioned in the trial and faces no criminal charges, the result undoubtedly turns up the heat on the pending civil case against him brought by Virginia Giuffre who has accused the Prince of sexual abuse. Andrew is expected to find out this month whether the case will be thrown out (as his legal team have requested) or proceed to trial in New York.

No one is more acutely aware of the challenges facing the royal family than the two future kings, Prince Charles and Prince William. With William and Kate enjoying significant popularity with the British public and Charles and Camilla having successfully established acceptance as a couple on the world stage, the senior working royals will continue to fly the flag in 2022.

A visit across the pond could also be a possibility for Prince Harry and Meghan next year for the central jubilee celebrations, although nothing has been confirmed or announced regarding attendance in June. However, regardless of whether they are able to be there or not, there is no getting away from the fact that much of the narrative around the events will refer to the fractured family dynamics that have played out so publicly in the past few years.

After three years of challenges, 2022 has the potential to be a turning point for the royal family. But the jury is out on which direction things will take.

LONDON — Buckingham Palace says Prince Philip has had a successful heart procedure in a London hospital.

The palace says the 99-year-old Duke of Edinburgh, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, “underwent a successful procedure for a pre-existing heart condition at St Bartholomew’s Hospital.”

It said he is expected to remain in hospital for treatment, rest and recuperation for a number of days.”

Philip has been hospitalized since being admitted to King Edward VII’s Hospital in London on Feb. 16, where he was treated for an infection.

On Monday he was transferred to a specialized cardiac care hospital, St. Bartholomew’s.

Daughter-in-law Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, said Wednesday that Philip’s condition was “slightly improving.”

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — If anyone would know how to kick off the Fourth of July weekend, it’s probably Mabel Johnson.

A World War II veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard, the 106-year-old Johnson has seen her share of the nation’s birthdays.

The Olathe, Kansas, resident celebrated this year’s birthday by throwing out the first pitch at Friday night's Kansas City Royals game.

Johnson has been a Kansas resident since 1991, when she moved to the Kansas City area with her husband, who also served during WWII, and their children, according to a U.S. Coast Guard blog post.

This story was originally published by Sam Hartle at KSHB.