Getting your questions ready
Getting your questions ready
Beat the crowd
10 questions No timer
60 free British Royal Family trivia questions with answers — history quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
49 free British royal family trivia questions with answers. The British royal family has been renamed, rocked by an abdication, an annus horribilis and a Netflix deal, and is still the most famous family in the world. This quiz covers the House of Windsor from George V's 1917 name change to Charles III's coronation: Elizabeth II's 70-year reign, Philip's Corfu birth, the Queen Mother at 101, Edward VIII and 'the woman I love', Diana's wedding at St Paul's and death in Paris, William and Catherine at Westminster Abbey, Harry and Meghan at St George's Chapel, Anne's Olympic ride and kidnap attempt, Andrew's lost titles, plus Buckingham Palace, Balmoral, Sandringham, Trooping the Colour and 'The Firm'. Easy questions ask which palace has the balcony and who married Kate Middleton. Medium ones cover jubilees, weddings and titles. Hard ones want the man who suggested the name Windsor, the Kaiser's joke about it, where Elizabeth was when she became queen, and the number of rooms in the palace. Every answer has been checked against reference articles on the family and its members, and each question shows its citation once you have answered. Ideal for a coronation party, a jubilee quiz or a Crown-watching night.
30 of 60 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01The royal house was renamed Windsor in 1917. What was its previous, German-sounding name?
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
George V made the change amid wartime anti-German feeling, the same year Gotha bombers began raiding London.
Q 02Who suggested the name 'Windsor' for the royal house?
Lord Stamfordham
Arthur Bigge, the King's private secretary, took it from the Berkshire town and castle.
Q 03On hearing of the name change, Kaiser Wilhelm II joked he would go and see which Shakespeare play?
The Merry Wives of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
The pun was on The Merry Wives of Windsor; George V also stripped three German relatives of their British titles in 1919.
Q 04How many British monarchs have there been from the House of Windsor?
Five
George V, Edward VIII, George VI, Elizabeth II and Charles III.
Q 05What surname do Elizabeth II's male-line descendants use when one is needed?
Mountbatten-Windsor
It reflects the name Prince Philip took on naturalisation; Churchill had blocked Lord Mountbatten's claim that the House of Mountbatten now reigned.
Q 06Courtiers' nickname for the royal family, 'The Firm', is said to have originated with which king?
George VI
Members are expected to stay politically and commercially independent and are patrons of about 3,000 charities.
Q 07How long was Elizabeth II's reign, the longest of any British monarch?
70 years and 214 days
She passed her great-great-grandmother's record on 9 September 2015 and became the longest-reigning queen regnant in history.
Q 08Elizabeth II was born in 1926 not in a palace but at 17 Bruton Street, in which London district?
Mayfair
It was her maternal grandfather's townhouse; she was delivered by Caesarean section at 2:40 am.
Q 09What was Elizabeth II's childhood family nickname, later given to Prince Harry's daughter?
Lilibet
It came from how she pronounced her own name as a toddler; she called George V 'Grandpa England'.
Q 10In which wartime organisation did Princess Elizabeth train as a driver and mechanic?
The Auxiliary Territorial Service
She was appointed an honorary second subaltern in February 1945 with the service number 230873.
Q 11In which country was Elizabeth when she learned she had become queen in February 1952?
Kenya
She and Philip had just returned to Sagana Lodge after a night at the Treetops Hotel, en route to a tour of Australia and New Zealand.
Q 12What made Elizabeth II's 1953 coronation a broadcasting landmark?
TV cameras were allowed inside the abbey
The anointing and communion were kept off camera.
Q 13Which year did Elizabeth II famously call her 'annus horribilis'?
1992
Anne divorced, Andrew separated, Charles and Diana's marriage collapsed publicly and Windsor Castle caught fire, all in twelve months.
Q 21Charles and Camilla's 2005 civil wedding was moved from Windsor Castle to Windsor Guildhall. Why?
Licensing it would oblige it to marry anyone who applied
Licensing the castle for civil marriages would have obliged it to open to any couple who applied.
Q 22Charles III's coronation on 6 May 2023 was the 40th held at the abbey since which monarch's?
William the Conqueror
The date was chosen to allow enough time to mourn Elizabeth II; Charles had become king the instant she died.
Q 23Charles was crowned at his coronation with which historic headpiece?
Q 14With whom did Elizabeth II appear in the 2012 London Olympics opening film?
Daniel Craig as James Bond
She later received an honorary BAFTA and was called 'the most memorable Bond girl yet'; the Paddington sketch came at the Platinum Jubilee.
Q 15Elizabeth II died in September 2022 at which residence?
Balmoral Castle
Two days earlier she had appointed her 15th prime minister, Liz Truss, at the same Scottish estate.
Q 16Elizabeth II's lifelong love of corgis began in 1933 with a dog named what?
Dookie
Her preferred breed was the Pembroke Welsh Corgi; two royal corgis stood beside her funeral procession.
Q 17How old was Charles III when he acceded, making him the oldest person ever to take the British throne?
73
He had also been the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales in British history.
Q 18Charles's 1969 investiture as Prince of Wales was staged at which castle?
Caernarfon
He had held the title since 1958; the ceremony was televised and his mother placed the coronet on his head.
Q 19Charles was the first British heir apparent to do what?
Earn a university degree
He read archaeology and anthropology, then history, at Trinity College, Cambridge, graduating with a 2:2 in 1970.
Q 20Charles's youth charity, founded in 1976 and renamed after his accession, was originally called what?
The Prince's Trust
He went on to become patron or president of more than 800 other organisations.
St Edward's Crown
It was taken out of the Tower of London in December 2022 to be resized; Jony Ive's coronation emblem was based on its shape.
Q 24Where did Prince William meet Catherine Middleton?
The University of St Andrews
Both were students there; William took a master's in geography.
Q 25William and Catherine married on 29 April 2011 at which church?
Westminster Abbey
Harry was best man, Pippa Middleton maid of honour, and about a million people lined the route back to Buckingham Palace.
Q 26Which title was William given immediately before his wedding?
Duke of Cambridge
He became Prince of Wales in September 2022 on his father's accession.
Q 27Before becoming a full-time royal, William spent two years flying for which organisation?
The East Anglian Air Ambulance
He had earlier served with the RAF Search and Rescue Force after graduating from Cranwell in 2008.
Q 28What is the name of the environmental award William launched in 2020?
The Earthshot Prize
He is also patron of the Tusk Trust and Centrepoint, and founded The Royal Foundation with Catherine.
Q 29Charles and Diana married in July 1981 at which venue?
St Paul's Cathedral
The marriage made her Princess of Wales; the couple divorced in August 1996.
Q 30Diana was born at Park House on the royal estate in which English county?
Norfolk
Her grandmothers had both been ladies-in-waiting to the Queen Mother; her parents had hoped for a boy and took a week to name her.