The document provides biographical information on several famous British people from the 21st century, including Queen Elizabeth II, Prince William, Tony Blair, J.K. Rowling, Daniel Radcliffe, David Beckham, Robbie Williams, and Kate Moss. It outlines key facts about their backgrounds, careers, and accomplishments.
3. Is the constitutional monarch
Elizabeth was born in London and educated privately at home.
Her father acceded to the throne as George VI in 1936 on the
abdication of his brother Edward VIII, from which time she was
the heir presumptive
In 1947, she married Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, with whom
she has four children: Charles, Anne, Andrew, and Edward
On her accession on 6 February 1952, Queen Elizabeth became
Head of the Commonwealth and queen regnant of seven
independent Commonwealth countries
Her coronation service took place in 1953 and was the first to be
televised
Major events in the Queen's reign have included the Troubles in
Northern Ireland, the Falklands War, wars with Iraq and the War
in Afghanistan. There have been times of personal sorrow for her
which include the death of her father at 56, the assassination of
Prince Philip's uncle, Lord Mountbatten, the breakdown of her
children's marriages in 1992, the death in 1997 of her daughter-in-
law, Diana, Princess of Wales, and the deaths of her mother and
sister in 2002.
Her reign of 60 years is currently the second longest for a British
monarch; only Queen Victoria has reigned longer at 63 years.
5. Is the elder son of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Diana,
Princess of Wales, and third eldest grandchild of Queen
Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
He is second in the line of succession, behind his father, to the
thrones of sixteen independent sovereign states known as the
Commonwealth realms
Prince William was educated at four schools in the United
Kingdom and obtained a degree from the University of St
Andrews
He was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Blues and Royals
Regiment of the Household Cavalry—serving with his brother
Prince Harry—and, two years later, earned his wings by
completing pilot training at Royal Air Force College Cranwell
In 2009, he transferred to the Royal Air Force, was promoted
to Flight Lieutenant and underwent helicopter flying training
in order to become a full-time pilot with the Search and Rescue
Force
Prince William married his longtime girlfriend, Catherine
Middleton, on 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey
Hours prior to his wedding, Prince William was created Duke
of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus.
7. Is a British Labour Party politician
Blair was elected Leader of the Labour Party in the
leadership election of July 1994, following the sudden
death of his predecessor, John Smith
At 43 years old, he became the youngest Prime
Minister since Lord Liverpool in 1812
He was succeeded as Leader of the Labour Party on 24
June 2007 and as Prime Minister on 27 June 2007 by
Gordon Brown
On the day he resigned as Prime Minister, he was
appointed the official Envoy of the Quartet on the
Middle East
In May 2008, Blair launched his Tony Blair Faith
Foundation.
9. Is a British novelist, best known as the author of the Harry
Potter fantasy series. The Potter books have gained worldwide
attention, won multiple awards, and sold more than 400
million copies. They have become the best-selling book series
in history and been the basis for a popular series of films
Rowling conceived the idea for the series on a train trip from
Manchester to London in 1990
In 1995, Rowling finished her manuscript for Harry Potter and
the Philosopher's Stone on an old manual typewriter
In June 1997, Bloomsbury published Philosopher's Stone with
an initial print run of 1,000 copies, 500 of which were
distributed to libraries. Five months later, the book won its
first award, a Nestlé Smarties Book Prize. Its sequel, Harry
Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, was published in July 1998
and again Rowling won the Smarties Prize. The fourth book,
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, was released
simultaneously in the UK and the US on 8 July 2000 and
broke sales records in both countries
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released on 21 July
2007 and broke its predecessor's record as the fastest-selling
book of all time
10. The Harry Potter books have also gained
recognition for sparking an interest in reading
among the young at a time when children were
thought to be abandoning books for computers
and television
As of March 2011, when its latest world billionaires
list was published, Forbes estimated Rowling's net
worth to be US$1 billion
The 2008 Sunday Times Rich List estimated
Rowling's fortune at £560 million ($798 million),
ranking her as the twelfth richest woman in the
United Kingdom
Forbes ranked Rowling as the forty-eighth most
powerful celebrity of 2007
On 27 September 2012, Rowling published her
first adult novel The Casual Vacancy with Little,
Brown and Company.
12. Is an English actor who rose to prominence playing the title
character in the Harry Potter film series
Radcliffe made his acting debut at age ten in BBC One's 1999
television movie David Copperfield, followed by his film debut
in 2001's The Tailor of Panama
At age eleven he was cast as the title character in the first
Harry Potter film, and starred in the series for ten years until
the release of the eighth and final film in July 2011
He also began to branch out to stage acting in 2007, starring in
the London and New York productions of the play Equus and
in the 2011 Broadway revival of the musical How to Succeed in
Business Without Really Trying
He has starred in 2007's December Boys and the 2012 sleeper
hit horror film The Woman in Black
Radcliffe has contributed to many charities, including Demelza
House Children's Hospice and The Trevor Project. He has also
made public service announcements for the latter
In 2011, he was awarded the Trevor Project's "Hero Award.
14. Is an English association footballer who plays for Los Angeles Galaxy
Beckham's career began when he signed a professional contract with
Manchester United, making his first-team debut in 1992 aged 17
During his time there, United won the Premier League title six times, the
FA Cup twice, and the UEFA Champions League in 1999
He left Manchester United to sign for Real Madrid in 2003, where he
remained for four seasons, clinching the La Liga championship in his final
season with the club
On 20 November 2011, he joined an elite group of players to have won three
league titles in three different countries, when Los Angeles won their third
MLS Cup
In international football, Beckham made his England debut on 1 September
1996, at the age of 21. He was made captain from 15 November 2000 until
the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals, during which he played 58 times
He earned a much-publicised hundredth cap against France on 26 March
2008, and became the all-time outfield player appearance record holder on
28 March 2009 when he surpassed Bobby Moore's total of 108 caps
Beckham has twice been runner-up for FIFA World Player of the Year and
in 2004 was the world's highest-paid footballer when taking into account
salary and advertising deals
Beckham was the first British footballer to play 100 Champions League
matches
He is married to Victoria Beckham and they have four children—Brooklyn
Joseph, Romeo James, Cruz David, and Harper Seven.
16. Is an English singer-songwriter, and occasional actor
He is a member of the pop group Take That, but has found
greater commercial success as a solo artist
Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to
mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management
and group members, Williams left the group in 1995 to
launch his solo career
On 15 July 2010, it was announced he had rejoined Take
That and that the group intended to release a new album in
November 2010 which became the second fastest-selling
album in UK chart history and the fastest-selling record of
the century so far
In 2006 Williams entered the Guiness Book of World
Records for selling 1.6 million tickets of his Close
Encounters Tour in a single day
Williams has sold over 70 million records worldwide, which
ranks him among the best-selling music artists worldwide.
Six of his albums are among the top 100 biggest-selling
albums in the United Kingdom
He has also been honoured with seventeen BRIT Awards—
more than any other artist—and seven ECHO Awards.
18. Is an English model who is known for her waifish
figure and popularising the heroin chic look in the
1990s
Moss's career began when Corinne Day shot black-
and-white photographs of her, styled by Melanie
Ward, for British magazine The Face when she was
16, in a photo shoot titled "The 3rd Summer of Love“
Moss was voted 9th in Maxim's "50 Sexiest Women
of 1999" and 22nd in FHM's "100 Sexiest Women of
1995". Men's magazine Arena named her as their
Sexiest Woman in their 150th issue.
She ranked as the 99th richest woman in Britain
In July 2007, when she had earned an estimated
total of $9 million in the preceding 12 months,
Forbes magazine named her second on the list of
the World's 15 top-earning models list.