Monarch celebrates 70 years on throne

Queen will mark Accession Day in Windsor

It is a bittersweet milestone that the Queen would have traditionally marked in quiet reflection at Sandringham.

But as she heralds the start of her 70th year of reign Saturday, she will mark the anniversary of her accession at Windsor for the first time in more than 30 years.

Here, she will conduct private prayers, and will have the option of visiting her parents' tomb in the King George VI Memorial Chapel, within St. George's Chapel in the castle grounds.

The last time the Queen spent the day away from Sandringham, her Norfolk home, was in 1990, when on an official visit to New Zealand. She has otherwise chosen to remain there after Christmas.

It was here that King George VI died peacefully in his sleep on Feb. 6, 1952, after suffering from lung cancer.

Princess Elizabeth, then just 25, was away in Kenya on a Commonwealth tour, and returned home as monarch. While it has long been claimed that the Queen insists on keeping her Christmas

IT IS A VERY IMPORTANT DAY FOR HER AND IT ALWAYS WILL BE.

decorations up until the anniversary, a palace source confirmed that this year, at least, they have been taken down.

Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty magazine, said: “It would seem to be 31 years since the Queen wasn't at Sandringham on Accession Day.

“She likes to spend the day quietly in reflection on the passing of her father so it's certainly not a day to celebrate, which is why the big jubilee milestones take place in the summer.”

He added: “It's less of a tug on the heartstrings than it would have been in the early years of her reign. But clearly, it is a very important day for her and it always will be.”

Little said the Queen would usually be visited by a vicar at Sandringham for private prayers in memory of her father, and suggested the tradition might be followed at Windsor this year.

It comes as the Queen is mourning former Master of the Horse Lord Vestey, part of her inner circle of friends, whose death at 79 was announced on Thursday, just two months after the death of his wife. He had been master of the horse for the royal household for almost 20 years.

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh have been living in relative isolation at Windsor for several months due to the coronavirus pandemic.