Queen marks 65-year reign with Sapphire Jubilee
LONDON: Queen Elizabeth, the world’s longest-reigning living monarch, celebrated her Sapphire Jubilee yesterday.
Britain commemorated 65 years since the queen ascended the British throne.
The 90-year-old monarch, who became Britain’s longest-reigning sovereign in 2015, did not publicly mark the occasion herself.
But a 41-gun royal salute was fired in a central London park to honour the landmark reached by the monarch.
“Today’s Sapphire Jubilee marks yet another remarkable milestone for our remarkable queen,” Prime Minister Theresa May said in a statement.
“It is a testament to her selfless devotion to the nation that she is not marking becoming the first monarch to reign for 65 years with any special celebration.
“Instead, she is getting on with the job to which she has dedicated her life,” the prime minister said in the statement..
Elizabeth became queen aged 25 on February 6, 1952.
This followed the death of her father George VI.
He was the 40th monarch in a royal line that traces its origin back to Norman King William the Conqueror who claimed the throne in the year 1066.
When she overtook her greatgreat-grandmother Queen Victoria’s record 63 years on the throne, she remarked it was not something to which she had ever aspired.
Buckingham Palace said she would spend yesterday at her residence in Sandringham, eastern England, as was usual.
However, the queen’s office released a 2014 portrait.
It showed the queen wearing a suite of sapphire jewellery she had received from her father as a wedding gift when she married Prince Philip in 1947.
Elizabeth has cut back on international tours.
But she still regularly performs official duties across Britain and remains hugely popular with Britons.
Her approval rating stands at about 80%.
In December she said she would reduce the number of her patronages.
She would pass on her role at dozens of charities, academic institutions and sporting groups to other members of the royal family, she announced at the time.