How Elizabeth keeps herself busy - a Palace fact sheet

Apr 21, 2006, 8:09 GMT

London - If you ever wondered how Queen Elizabeth II spends her time, you might be interested to learn that she has sat for 139 official portraits, conferred 387,000 honours and handed out 78,000 Christmas puddings to her staff since 1952.

On a fact sheet marking the queen's 80th birthday, the palace also revealed that she has received more than 3 million items of correspondence and sent 37,500 Christmas cards during her 54-year-reign.

She also sent a message of congratulation to Apollo 11 astronauts for the first moon landing on July 21, 1969, and countED Marilyn Monroe and Jackie Kennedy among her guests at Buckingham Palace.

Around 1.1 million people have attended her royal garden parties.

There have been six Archbishops of Canterbury, 10 prime ministers and 10 US Presidents during her reign.

The queen has 30 godchildren.

The British monarch has undertaken 78 state visits and 256 official visits to 129 different countries.

She has launched 23 ships, opened 15 bridges and given 91 state banquets.

The queen has visited Australia 15 times, Canada 23 times, Jamaica six times and New Zealand 10 times.

Among the numerous unusual gifts she has received on her travels are live animals, among them jaguars and sloths from Brazil, two black beavers from Canada, as well as a grove of maple trees, a box of snail shells and 7 kilogrammes of prawns.