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
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Happy 24th birthday, Jacqueline!
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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!
________________________________________
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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