The 25,000th day of the Queen’s reign

IT IS a landmark that stands out even in the reign of the nation’s longest serving monarch.

Today marks the point at which the Queen has been the UK’s sovereign for 25,000 days, but it is unlikely the milestone will be officially marked.

Elizabeth II became the monarch on February 6, 1952, on the death of her father, King George VI.

She will have served for 68 years, five months and 12 days by today, and in 2015 overtook the record of 23,226 days, 16 hours and some 30 minutes set by her great-greatgrandmother, Queen Victoria.

The Queen’s approach to having been the monarch for 25,000 days will undoubtedly be a matter-of-fact one, with the landmark unlikely to be on her radar.

When she became the country’s longest-serving monarch in 2015, she thanked the nation for its kind messages, but admitted the record was “not one to which I have ever aspired”. “Inevitably a long life can pass by many milestones. My own is no exception,” she said.

The Queen will be at Windsor Castle with the Duke of Edinburgh, pictured in 1953, and staff running the couple’s reduced household. A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “The Queen is spending the day privately.”

The Queen, 94, celebrated both her actual and official birthdays in the lockdown, as well as the Duke of Edinburgh turning 99. She is less than two years away from her Platinum Jubilee – 70 years on the throne – in 2022. She reached her Silver Jubilee in 1977, the Golden Jubliee was in 2002.