Her coronation was in 1953 at Westminster Abbey, in front of 8,000 guests. People all over the country held parties, decorated streets of their towns and cities in her honour. For the first time in history, people were be able to watch a monarch’s coronation in their homes as it was shown live on the television.

Royally Good Cross-Curricular Activities

1. Can you name 5 major events which have happened within the Queen’s lifetime? Why were they significant? Can you name 5 major events which have happened during your lifetime? What makes them significant to you?
2. If you had a chance to meet the Queen, what 3 questions would you ask her? How do you think these would differ from the questions she would hear from children in other countries where she is head of state? Why?
3. The Queen has a large family tree, why not create your own? Ask your parents and grandparents and create a large A2 family tree poster – you could show it to the whole class!
4. The Queen has visited many places during her reign. Find out all of the different countries she has been to, and when she visited. She may have been to some more than once. Why do you think she has done so?
5. The Queen was the first to do many things, such as being the first – and so far the only – female member of the royal family to actually serve in the armed forces. Can you find out any other things she has been the first to accomplish?
6. Use the number 90 to play a game. How many different combinations of numbers can you think of that add up to 90? How many numbers multiply to make 90? How many divide to make 90?

Try these activities based on our free downloadable Commonwealth Realms map

7. How many of the countries that the Queen is head of state are in the Northern Hemisphere? How many are in the Southern Hemisphere?
8. Can you find the Longitude and Latitude of the capital cities of all of the countries the Queen is head of state?
9. How many of these countries are landlocked? Are there any which are bordered by more than one of the world’s oceans?
10. Plot a journey that takes you through every single one of the countries the Queen is head of state. You can use any form of transport, measure how long you would estimate the journey to take. Where would you start? Where would you finish? Why? Justify your chosen methods of transport.
11. Research the weather patterns of a chosen country/countries. What is the average temperature? Average yearly rainfall? Do all countries have the same seasons? Why do you think this is?
12. There are many languages spoken in the world, can you find out all of the different languages spoken in countries that have the Queen as head of state?
13. The Queen used to be head of state of more countries than she is now – Can you make a new map with all the countries the queen used to be head of state? Can you find out how many have declared independency during her reign? Why do you think they have chosen to do this? Why do you think some countries still have the Queen as head of state?
14. Can you think of a poem which links an element from all of the countries that has Queen Elizabeth II as head of state?
15. What is the total population of all of the countries? Work out the mode, median and mean populations.

Download this Commonwealth Realms monarchy map without flags and challenge children to match the flag pieces (Download Flag Pieces here) to the correct locations.