Queen Elizabeth II has some very royal benefits, even if they are little compared to the authority of her distant relatives. She owns all whales and dolphins in England and Wales, and she has the legal authority to fire every single member of the House of Commons (via Good Housekeeping, The Independent, and Business Insider). The Queen of England can access money from her healthy $64 million annual income by using her ATM (via Fox Business).
To go abroad, Queen Elizabeth II does not require a British passport. This is one of my favorite interesting facts, and now that the Queen is set to become Britain’s longest-reigning monarch later tonight, it seemed like a good moment to share it.
The Queen does not require a British passport when travelling abroad. The Royal Arms appear on the cover of a British passport, and the first page includes another image of the Arms, along with the accompanying text:
‘In the name of Her Majesty, Her Britannic Majesty’s Secretary of State requests and compels all persons who it may concern to allow the bearer to move freely without interference and to provide the bearer with such help and protection as may be required.’
Because a British passport is granted in Her Majesty’s name, The Queen does not require one. The Duke of Edinburgh and The Prince of Wales, as well as the rest of the Royal Family, hold passports.
A similar formula is used in realms (Commonwealth countries where The Queen is Sovereign), except that the request is made in the name of the realm’s Governor-General, as The Queen’s representative in that realm. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada makes the request on behalf of Her Majesty.
Despite the fact that the Sovereign as a person is immune from civil and criminal proceedings in the United Kingdom, the Queen takes great care to ensure that all of her acts in her personal capacity are carried out in strict line with the law.
