The image of Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms and Head of the Commonwealth from 1952 to 2022, was generally favourable throughout her years as a reigning monarch. Conservative in dress, she was well known for her solid-colour overcoats and matching hats, which allowed her to be seen easily in a crowd. She attended many cultural events as part of her public role. Her main leisure interests included horse racing, photography, and dogs, especially her Pembroke Welsh corgis. She ate jam sandwiches every day since childhood. Some of her other favorite foods were fish and chips, chocolate perfection pie, scones with jam and clotted cream, salmon from the River Dee and Morecambe Bay potted shrimp. Her views on political issues and other matters were largely subject to conjecture. She never gave a press interview and was otherwise not known to discuss her personal opinions publicly.
Personality
Much of what is known about Elizabeth's personality and views has been compiled from impressions and descriptions by those whom had met her. Prime Minister of Canada William Lyon Mackenzie King wrote about then-Princess Elizabeth in his diary, after speaking with her at a dinner during the Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference in 1944: "She was very natural, not in the least shy."
Canadian politician Michael Ignatieff remarked in 2010, after a private audience with Elizabeth, how he was struck by her "wonderful sense of the absurd" and noted her "sense of humour [...] that sense of comedy of life has survived 60 years of gruelling public life." After a weekend at Balmoral Castle hosted by Elizabeth, Canadian Governor General Michaëlle Jean recounted witnessing a relaxed, informal home life: Elizabeth and her family preparing a meal together—including a salad dressing she had devised—and doing the washing up afterwards. Similarly, Michael Hood, aide-de-camp to Governor General Ray Hnatyshyn, remembered the Queen and her husband driving their guests to picnics on the grounds of Sandringham House and helping serve food and drink.
Lady Pamela Hicks, a cousin of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, commented on Elizabeth's personality as "individualistic". Hicks's mother remembers back to when King George VI died. Elizabeth was in Kenya with her husband when she found out; "I’m so sorry, but we are going to have to go back to England," she recalled Elizabeth saying.
Beliefs, activities, and interests
Elizabeth had a deep sense of religious and civic duty, and took her Coronation Oath seriously. Aside from her official religious role as Supreme Governor of the established Church of England, she worshipped with that church and also the national Church of Scotland. She demonstrated support for inter-faith relations and met with leaders of other churches and religions, including five popes of the Roman Catholic Church: Pius XII, John XXIII, John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis. A personal note about her faith often featured in her annual Christmas Message broadcast to the Commonwealth. In 2000, she said:
Elizabeth was patron of more than 600 organisations and charities. The Charities Aid Foundation estimated that Elizabeth helped raise over £1.4 billion for her patronages during her reign. Her main leisure interests included equestrianism and dogs, especially her Pembroke Welsh Corgis. Her lifelong love of corgis began in 1933 with Dookie, the first corgi owned by her family.
Despite not being a football fan and instead enjoying horse-racing, Elizabeth stated to the former England men's manager Sven-Göran Eriksson in the past that her favourite player was ex-Liverpool striker Michael Owen.
Political views
Elizabeth did not explicitly express her own political opinions in a public forum, and it is against convention to ask or reveal the monarch's views.
Prime Minister of Canada William Lyon Mackenzie King recorded a meeting with King George VI, on 23 October 1945, at which Princess Elizabeth was present. Mackenzie King wrote in his diary, "some mention was made of [Adolf] Hitler [...] the King said something about it being a pity that Hitler had not been shot. Princess Elizabeth said she would have been prepared to shoot him."