Discover Royalty: Top 7 Fun and Fascinating Facts About Legendary Queens

1. Cali-loving Chinese Empress

In a gem of a tale that gives "California girl" a whole new meaning: Empress Dowager Cixi of China was said to be utterly captivated by tourmaline gemstones, even insisting upon a pink tourmaline ring from a Pala, California mine accompanying her to the afterlife, though concrete evidence remains as elusive as a bejeweled needle in a haystack.
Source => latimes.com

2. Queen Victoria's Black Dress Affair

Some say love is in the air, but for Queen Victoria, it was all about that Little Black Dress: After losing her beloved Prince Albert in 1861, she brought the black mourning dress into royal fashion, donning dark attire every day, but not for exactly forty years as many assume. With her, the black veil became a staple, still emerging as a style statement at British royal funerals.
Source => wionews.com

Did you know the reigning monarch in the Commonwealth realms is the head of state for 15 countries, including Canada, Australia, and the UK? Discover the history behind this royal timeshare system and how it continues to expand.

=> Fun Facts about Monarchy

3. Queen Amina, Medieval Nigeria's Iron Lady

Who needs Iron Man when you've got Queen Amina of Zazzau armor-ing up and kicking butt? This fierce female Tony Stark rocked medieval Nigeria with some serious swag: Amina led an army of 20,000 infantrymen, invented metal armor—including iron helmets and chain mail—for her troops, built lasting fortifications around her kingdom, and massively increased Zazzau's wealth and power.
Source => samepassage.org

4. Ferdinand & Isabella's Funky Royal Badge

When royalty marches to the beat of their own drum, they may end up shooting arrows from a yoke: The Spanish monarchy, under Ferdinand II and Isabella, sported a unique Yoke and Arrows badge to symbolize their united rule – with the Y representing Ysabel (Isabella) and F in arrows for Fernando, inspired by the Gordian knot legend, and later adopted by various political parties.
Source => simple.wikipedia.org

5. Queen Hatshepsut, Beyoncé of Ancient Egypt

Long before Queen Bey had us all in formation, Queen Hatshepsut of Egypt was busy building her own empire of wonders and sending ancient society into a thousand-year-long artistic frenzy: During her reign, she orchestrated the construction of an awe-inspiring memorial temple at Deir el-Bahri, with terraced colonnades, gardens, and colossal statues of herself, proving that she was not only a queen but a true slay-shepsut.
Source => smithsonianmag.com

6. Cleopatra, Egypt's Multilingual Heartbreaker

She spoke Egyptian, Greek, and the language of love with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony: Queen Cleopatra VII was a multilingual and intellectual ruler who led an empire encompassing Egypt and parts of the Middle East, and even married her two brothers, Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV, following royal traditions of incest.
Source => grunge.com

7. Exes-turned-BFFs: Anne of Cleves & Henry VIII

You won't find this on The Crown: In an utterly unexpected real-life plot twist, Anne of Cleves and King Henry VIII went from exes to BFFs post annulment – they even had adorable brother-sister nicknames for each other and danced at festive occasions! The serious reveal: Upon their annulment, Anne was gifted a heftier allowance and property in Kent for her agreeable behavior and often attended Christmas celebrations at Hampton Court Palace where she would dance with Henry's subsequent wife, Catherine Howard.
Source => hrp.org.uk