The Queen is patron of more than 620 charities and organisations.

During her reign, The Queen has undertaken over 256 official overseas visits to 129 different countries.

Many of The Queen’s official tours were undertaken on the Royal Yacht Britannia. It was launched by Her Majesty on 16 April 1953 and was commissioned for service on 7 January 1954. It was de-commissioned in December 1997. During this time, Britannia travelled more than a million miles on Royal and official duties.

The Royal Yacht Britannia was first used by The Queen when she embarked with the Duke of Edinburgh on 1 May 1954 at Tobruk for the final stage of their Commonwealth Tour returning to the Pool of London. The last time The Queen was on board Britannia for an official visit was on 9 August 1997 for a visit to Arran.

The Queen has visited Australia 15 times, Canada 23 times, Jamaica six times and New Zealand 10 times. Her Majesty most recently visited Australia in March 2006 to open the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

Since her accession to the throne in 1952, Her Majesty has visited Edinburgh nearly every year, taking up residence in the Palace of Holyroodhouse during Holyrood Week.

During her reign, The Queen has received many unusual gifts including a variety of live animals. The more unusual animals have been placed in the care of the London zoo, among them jaguars and sloths from Brazil, and two black beavers from Canada.  The Queen has also received gifts of pineapples, eggs, a box of snail shells, a grove of maple trees and 7kg of prawns.

The Queen has sent around 100,000 telegrams to centenarians in the UK and the Commonwealth.

The Queen has sent more than 280,000 telegrams to couples in the UK and the Commonwealth celebrating their diamond wedding (60 years) anniversary.

The Queen’s real birthday is on April 21, but it is celebrated officially in June.