Queen Elizabeth II now Britain’s longest reigning monarch

EDINBURGH: Britain paid heartfelt tribute to Queen Elizabeth II yesterday with cheering, flag-waving crowds on the street and solemn messages in parliament as she sealed a special place in the country’s history by becoming its longest reigning monarch.

At about 5.30pm, Elizabeth, now aged 89 and is also the nation’s oldest monarch yet, will surpass the 63 years, seven months, two days, 16 hours and 23 minutes that her great-greatgrandmother Queen Victoria spent on the throne.

“Her majesty the queen inspires us all with her incredible service and her dignified leadership and the extraordinary grace with which she carries out her duties,” Prime Minister David Cameron told parliament in London.

In central London, the BT Tower flashed “Long may she reign” around its screens nearly 200m above the capital.

Those close to the queen say she is fairly blasé about the milestone, believing it represents little more than the fact she has lived for a long time and that her father, King George VI, died early.

Initially she did not even intend to mark the event publicly, but she bowed to public pressure and undertook an official engagement in Scotland. Crowds greeted her arrival – accompanied by husband Prince Philip, who has been at her side throughout her reign – at Edinburgh’s Waverley station, before she began a journey on a steam train to mark the opening of the longest railway to be built in Britain for more than 100 years.

“It’s brilliant,” said May Marshall, 58, wearing a jacket and hat covered in Britain’s Union Jack flags. “No one else will ever do it. It’s testimony to her stamina.”

As a young princess, Elizabeth had not expected to become monarch as George VI only took the crown when his elder brother, Edward VIII, abdicated in 1936 to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson. She was 25 when she ascended to the throne on February 6, 1952, following George’s death.

The year she became queen, the Korean War was raging, Joseph Stalin was leader of the Soviet Union and Britain announced it had the atom bomb.

“There is a motto which has been borne by many of my ancestors – a noble motto, ‘I serve’,” Elizabeth said in a televised speech to mark her 21st birthday. “I declare all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.”

Since becoming queen, she has seen 12 prime ministers and 12 US presidents.

Those close to the queen say she is fairly blasé about the milestone