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Queen Elizabeth II at 90: Here are 9 things you need to know

Click to play video: 'Prince George joins 4 generations of Royal Family on new stamp to celebrate Queen’s 90th birthday'
Prince George joins 4 generations of Royal Family on new stamp to celebrate Queen’s 90th birthday
WATCH ABOVE:Prince George joins 4 generations of Royal Family on new stamp to celebrate Queen's 90th birthday – Apr 20, 2016

LONDON – Queen Elizabeth II marks her 90th birthday on Thursday as Britons and many throughout the world celebrate her long and dignified reign. She will celebrate again in June with national events to mark her official birthday.

Here are answers to some questions about the queen’s extraordinary life and times:

WHY TWO BIRTHDAYS A YEAR? ISN’T ONE ENOUGH?

Click to play video: 'Queen marks 500 years of Royal Mail on eve of 90th birthday'
Queen marks 500 years of Royal Mail on eve of 90th birthday

It may seem excessive, but the British monarch celebrates his or her birthday twice a year, once on the actual day (for Elizabeth, April 21), and once in early June, when the event can be marked with the gala Trooping the Color parade in central London. The June date is chosen in part because the famously fickle British weather just might produce a few sunny hours at that time of year. And the Buckingham Gardens are gloriously in bloom.

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HOW DID ELIZABETH SPEND HER LAST DAY AS AN 89-YEAR OLD?

Click to play video: 'Prince William calls the Queen his ‘boss’ during her 90th birthday party'
Prince William calls the Queen his ‘boss’ during her 90th birthday party

The monarch on Wednesday toured her local Windsor postal depot, which was renamed in her honour. “I have it on good authority that your own postmen and women will be especially busy with tomorrow’s mailbag,” Royal Mail Group chief executive Moya Greene said as she thanked the queen for coming to mark the 500th anniversary of the Royal Mail. A crowd waved the nation’s flag in the sparkling sunshine as two Royal Mail choirs and another one from Bristol sang “Happy Birthday.”

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WHEN DID SHE BECOME QUEEN?

This is a Thursday, June 25, 2015 file photo of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip, as they wave from the balcony of the Roemer town hall in Frankfurt, Germany.
This is a Thursday, June 25, 2015 file photo of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip, as they wave from the balcony of the Roemer town hall in Frankfurt, Germany. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)

Elizabeth’s life was changed forever in 1936 when her uncle, King Edward VIII, abdicated so he could marry his divorced lover Wallis Simpson. This made her father the king and Elizabeth heir to the throne.

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READ MORE: Prince George steals spotlight in new photo with four generations of Royals

King George VI’s health failed, however, and he was too ill for a planned tour of the Commonwealth in 1952, so he sent Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip, in his place. They were staying in a remote part of Kenya on Feb. 6, 1952, when she was told that the king had died. She automatically became queen upon her father’s death, although the official coronation did not take place for more than a year.

HOW DID ELIZABETH WEATHER WORLD WAR II?

This photo made available on Tuesday Sept. 8, 2015, shows Britain\’s Queen Elizabeth II taken July 2015 and released by Buckingham Palace to mark the Queen becoming the longest reigning British monarch.
This photo made available on Tuesday Sept. 8, 2015, shows Britain\’s Queen Elizabeth II taken July 2015 and released by Buckingham Palace to mark the Queen becoming the longest reigning British monarch. Mary McCartney / Queen Elizabeth II via AP

Elizabeth was a young princess during World War II, and her father King George VI was concerned for her safety as London came under the repeated German bombing raids known as The Blitz.

READ MORE: ‘You are forever young’: Trudeau responds to Queen Elizabeth on Twitter

She and her sister Princess Margaret were moved to Windsor Castle, 25 miles (40 kilometres) west of London for security reasons. She later persuaded her parents to let her serve in the Auxiliary Transport Service, where she learned how to drive and repair ambulances and trucks as part of the war effort. She was assigned number 230873 while in the service.

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HAS THE QUEEN EVER COMPLAINED IN PUBLIC?

A May 27, 1965 file photo of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip being driven in a Mercedes 600 car as they pass the Brandenburg Gate during their first visit to Berlin.
A May 27, 1965 file photo of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip being driven in a Mercedes 600 car as they pass the Brandenburg Gate during their first visit to Berlin. (AP Photo/File)

No, that’s just not done. The closest Elizabeth has come to exhibiting human frailty to her subjects was in 1992, when she made a rare admission that her life, so picture perfect on the outside, was marred by the marital woes of three of her four children. She didn’t complain in English, however, looking to Latin to proclaim it had been something of an “annus horribilus” — a horrible year that included a disastrous fire at her beloved Windsor Castle.

WHAT WAS THE LOW POINT OF HER MONARCHY?

Prince Philip (R) accompanies Prince Charles and Princess Diana on their wedding day as they wave from the balcony Of Buckingham Palace on July 29, 1981. Getty Images

This would undoubtedly be the stormy days that followed Princess Diana’s sudden death in a car crash in August 1997. The princess was tremendously popular, and many held the royal family responsible for her unpleasant divorce from Prince Charles. The queen was castigated in the press for not returning to London immediately after Diana’s death and for not flying the royal standard atop the palace at half-staff as a sign of respect. Thousands of mourners placed flowers at the gates of Kensington Palace, Diana’s residence, and many complained the queen was insensitive and out of touch.

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WHO WAS HER FAVORITE PRIME MINISTER?

You’d have to ask her. And she won’t tell.

DOES THE QUEEN PLAN TO RETIRE?

The strong-willed and able-bodied queen has given no indication she plans to leave the throne, and has described her unique position as a “job for life.” Her own mother lived to be 101, and was generally in fine fettle in her final years. Still, it is possible Elizabeth would step down if she developed severe problems that made it impossible for her to carry out her role.

COULD THE QUEEN ARRANGE THINGS SO PRINCE WILLIAM WOULD SUCCEED HER?

No. This is a constitutional monarchy, with rules of succession.

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