THE SOUTHWORTH PLANETARIUM
70 Falmouth Street      Portland, Maine 04103
(207) 780-4249      usm.maine.edu/planet
43.6667° N    70.2667° W
Founded January 1970
2022-2023: VIII
Sunrise: 6:14 a.m.
Sunset: 7:02 p.m.
Civil twilight ends: 7:31 p.m.
Sun's host constellation: Leo the Lion
Moon phase: Waxing gibbous (99% illuminated)
Moonrise: 7:09 p.m.
Moonset: 6:10 a.m. (9/10/22)
Julian date: 2459832.16
"Beethoven had ten children. He practised on a spinster in the attic."
-from a list of statements about famous people written by children.


THE DAILY ASTRONOMER
Friday, September 9, 2022
Quiz # 2: The Queen and King

_______________________________________
Happy 24th birthday, Jacqueline!
[image: image0 (2).jpeg]
You remain obstinately deaf to the entreaties of a sentimental father who
so dearly wants to reverse your continued development and hold you fast
against the tempests. Alas, the days when the world's simpler hurts found
rapid remedy in a hug and reassuring smile have long since gone. Yet, now
that you live well outside the splintered carapace and thrive in a distant
realm have you shown us all the grade of your mettle and the incandescence
of your life spirit. All the same, I hug you every day in my thoughts,
hopeful that these embraces will traverse the Atlantic and help sustain you
against life's stronger assaults.
In other words, don't grow up, Jacqueline. For Heaven's sake I haven't and
I'm almost 40!
________________________________________

[image: 2466.webp]

Unless you've been living in a remote cloud forest in the late 18th
century, you will have heard that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has died
after having served for a bit more than 70 years as the British Monarch.
Her eldest son, Prince Charles -who might have assumed that this day would
never arrive- has become King. (Or, has he? See the quiz below.) Today's
quiz honors both royal figures: the Queen that was and the present and
future King. The first five questions pertain to Her Majesty; the second
five to His Majesty.

*1. How old was Queen Elizabeth II when she died?*
a. 93
b. 95
c. 96
d. 97

*2. In which year did the Queen become monarch? (Not the year of her
coronation.)*
a. 1951
b. 1952
c. 1953
d. 1954

*3. Who died and made her queen?*
a. George V
b. George VI
c. Richard IV
d. Edward VIII

*4. Queen Elizabeth lived through the COMPLETE tenures of how many Prime
Ministers?*
a. 12
b. 13
c. 14
d. 15

*5. How long will the official period of mourning be for Queen Elizabeth
II? *a. 70 days
b. 24 days
c. until 7 days after her funeral
d. there is no "official" period of mourning. There hasn't been such a
period since the execution of Charles I in 1649.

*6. Queen Elizabeth II has now been replaced by King Charles III. At what
moment did Prince Charles become King Charles?*
a. Immediately on the death of Queen Elizabeth
b. 12 minutes and 16 seconds after the Queen's death. Ever since the
signing of the Magna Carta in 1216, that time period has separated the
death of one monarch and the declaration of his/her successor as the new
sovereign. While this pause was supposed to give the subjects an
opportunity to lodge protests against the heir presumptive, this 12 minute,
16 second interval has only been ceremonial.
c. He isn't King, yet. He will be king when the official period of mourning
ends
d. He'll become King as soon as he fulfills the last three of those dragon
prophecies he should have taken care of in the early '70s.

*7. King Charles III, as he is/will be known, is, of course, the third
Charles to become the British monarch. What years defined the reign of
Charles II?*
a. 1345 - 1390
b. 1578-1601
c. 1660-1685
d. 1717-1783

*8. Which of the following statements pertaining to King Charles III's name
is true?*
a. Prince Charles had to become King Charles because Charles is his first
name.
b. Prince Charles was able to choose any first name he preferred when
becoming King
c. Prince Charles had to choose one of his given names to be his regnal
name on ascending to the throne
d. Actually, the Queen selected his regnal name years ago and King Charles
III was obliged to accept it.

*9. King Charles III is/will be the oldest person to ever assume the
throne. How old is he?*
a. 70 years old
b. 71 years old
c. 73 years old
d. 74 years old

*10. In order for King Charles III to serve as long as his mother, he'll
have to live to be _________ years old*
a. 135
b. 138
c. 144
d. 3,410



ANSWERS

*1. How old was Queen Elizabeth II when she died?*
c. 96
She was born on April 21, 1926

*2. In which year did the Queen become monarch? (Not the year of her
coronation.)*
c. 1953
February 6, 1952

*3. Who died and made her queen?*
b. George VI
Edward VIII was her uncle; George V was George VI's father and Richard IV,
of course, was the Black Adder's father.

*4. Queen Elizabeth lived through the COMPLETE tenures of how many Prime
Ministers?*
b. 13
Liz Truss, who became PM this week, was the 15th prime minister of the
Queen's reign. However, she only lived through the entire tenures of
thirteen prime ministers.
Elizabeth became Queen during the latter part of Winston's Churchill's
third ministry. Earlier this week, we asked Liz Truss to form a government
following the resignation of Boris Johnson.

*5. How long will the official period of mourning be for Queen Elizabeth
II?*
c. until 7 days after her funeral
The date of the funeral hasn't yet been established.

*6. Queen Elizabeth II has now been replaced by King Charles III. At what
moment did Prince Charles become King Charles?*
a. Immediately on the death of Queen Elizabeth
There will be a formal declaration tomorrow.

*7. King Charles III, as he is/will be known, is, of course, the third
Charles to become the British monarch. What years defined the reign of
Charles II?*
c. 1660-1685
He was a particularly significant monarch in that he became king only after
the interregnum, the 11-year period between the execution of his father,
Charles I, and the end of the Cromwellian Period. His return to the throne
marked the restoration of the monarchy.

*8. Which of the following statements pertaining to King Charles III's name
is true?*
c. Prince Charles had to choose one of his given names to be his regnal
name on ascending to the throne
His given names are Charles Phillip Arthur George.
Some of us are crestfallen that he didn't choose the third name! Then
again, living in a world of perpetual May sunshine would have been boring
after a while.

*9. King Charles III is/will be the oldest person to ever assume the
throne. How old is he?*
He was born on November 14, 1948
c. 73 years old

*10. In order for King Charles III to serve as long as his mother, he'll
have to live to be _________ years old*
c. 144
Queen Elizabeth II served as queen for 70 years and 214 days. As his reign
is now one day long, the length of King Charles III's reign is 0.003% as
long as that of his Mum. Keep healthy, Charles!


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