Nine decades is a lot of time to pack in some travel, but even so, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, who celebrates her 90th birthday on April 21, has certainly got around.
Her travel miles add up to 42 circuits of the globe, visiting nearly 120 countries and territories – and she doesn’t even own a passport.
As British travel documents are issued in her name, she technically doesn’t need them.
She’s already Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, having spent 64 years on the throne. She’s seen more of the world than her predecessors, too.
The Queen has traveled to more than 60% of the world’s 196 countries, according to royal historian Kate Williams, who carried out the research for lastminute.com.
When the Queen was born in 1926, the British “empire on which the sun never sets” was close to its territorial peak, but change was very much in the air.
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Ireland and Egypt had won independence and India’s self-rule movement was also growing.
During her first year as Queen, the young monarch traveled more than 40,000 miles and visited 12 countries between November 1953 and May 1954.
These days her trips are often diplomatic ventures, helping to bridge divides and ease geopolitical tensions. Her trips to politically sensitive spots such as post-war Germany in 1965, South Africa in 1995 and Ireland in 2011 were all considered successes.
She’s lived through the golden age of air travel and the budget carrier revolution. She’s seen the arrival of every travel fad from caravan vacations and backpacking to glamping and Airbnb. Canada and Australia have been her most visited destinations, while her favorite European neighbors to call in on are Germany and France.
Exotic travel gifts have included an elephant from Cameroon, which she donated to London Zoo.
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Royal travel doesn’t come cheap – $7.3 million was spent on globetrotting in 2014. However, she has been known to rough it. In 1981 she stayed in a bed and breakfast in Bristol, England after being caught out in a blizzard.
The Queen is traveling less these days, although in 2014 she still fitted in state visits to Germany and Malta. However the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have taken up the baton, having just returned to London after a week-long trip of India and Bhutan. After all, it’s not just William who has travel in his blood – Catherine’s mother, Carole Middleton, was a flight attendant.
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