She has launched 23 ships, sat for 139 official portraits (including one hologram), given out more than 78,000 Christmas puddings and is a patron to more than 620 charities and organizations.

She is Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain ? let?s stick with the shortened version of the title ? who celebrates her 80th birthday today.

Her birthday week included a lunch Wednesday for others who celebrate their 80th birthdays the same day. Today, Prince Charles will pay a televised tribute to his mother; he will also host a birthday dinner for her and members of the royal family that evening. On Sunday, family members will attend a Service of Thanksgiving at St. George?s Chapel in Windsor Castle to celebrate the queen?s birthday.

To mark the event, Buckingham Palace has released some facts celebrating the queen?s 80 years. While some of the facts are snoozy : she has conferred more than 387,700 honors and awards, others are fascinating : for example, her Majesty learned to drive in 1945 when she joined the army...