The 23,226 days (and 16 hours) of self less dedication
MPs’ tributes to sovereign who pledged to give her whole life in service to her people will echo throughout the Commonwealth
the daughter of the former Beatle Sir Paul, was taken in the Queen’s private audience room at the Palace in July. It is where the Queen receives prime ministers for their weekly visits, as well as visiting presidents and heads of government including President Barack Obama.
Ms McCartney, who approached the Palace with the idea of taking a “longest reign” portrait, said: “Having grown up during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II it was a thrill to meet her and a very great privilege to take her photo on this historic occasion. She is an inspirational person, a trailblazer and a beacon for womankind.”
The Queen is pictured at her desk with one of the official red dispatch boxes, embossed with “The Queen”, in which she receives daily government correspondence from Britain and the Commonwealth, which she reads and, where necessary, approves and signs.
Her Majesty goes through her papers every day except Christmas Day – something she has done, then, 23,162 times over her reign. The boxes are the same ones that were made for her upon her Coronation.
By the Queen’s elbow in the photograph is a picture of her mother Queen Elizabeth as a young woman, and in the background are portraits known to include her father George VI and her grandson the Duke of Cambridge, who is staying at Balmoral with the Duchess of Cambridge, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.
The Queen is wearing a pink and white floral print day dress by Karl Ludwig, which she wore on the last day of her tour of Australia in 2011, together with a pink sapphire brooch surrounded by diamonds.
The moment when the Queen will overtake Victoria’s record is unknown, as there has never been a precise time for the death of George VI, who passed away in the early hours of the morning.
It is, however, generally accepted that he died at around 1am, meaning the record will be set at approximately 5.30pm, when the Queen will have reigned for 23,226 days, 16 hours and around 30 minutes, a few minutes longer than her ancestor.
The occasion will be celebrated by church bells ringing out across the country and a flotilla of boats processing down the Thames behind the royal rowbarge Gloriana, recalling the Diamond Jubilee River Pageant in 2012. Tower Bridge will be raised as a mark of respect and, as the procession passes HMS Belfast, a four-gun salute will sound out.
The BT Tower in London will bear the message “Long May She Reign” and the former Royal Yacht, Britannia, now a privately owned tourist attraction in Edinburgh, will be the centre of an evening fireworks display.
The Army will exercise “dignified restraint” in its own celebration of its commander-in-chief ’s achievement, with a drumhead service in Bury St Edmunds, and the Band of the Coldstream Guards playing a specially composed piece of music in London.
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will be greeted at Waverley Station in Edinburgh this morning by members of the Royal Company of Archers, the Queen’s ceremonial bodyguard in Scotland.
They are normally seen only at ceremonial occasions, such as the installation of Knights of the Thistle, and a royal aide said their presence was “in recognition that this is a slightly grander occasion than a normal royal engagement”.
Once she has boarded the steam train Union of South Africa – a nod to the steam-powered reign of Victoria, though the engine post-dates her death – the Queen will spend part of her time sitting next to Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish First Minister, as well as railway staff who can reveal the history of the new line and points of interest along the way.
By the time she arrives at Tweedbank, tributes are likely to have started arriving from all over the Commonwealth, which the Queen may choose to acknowledge in her brief speech at the station.
There will not, however, be tributes from the Church of England, of which she is head. A spokesman for the Archbishop of Canterbury said: “Buckingham Palace have been clear that they wanted the day to be low-key so there will be no statement.”
The Rt Rev Angus Morrison, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, who spent last weekend with Her Majesty at Balmoral Castle and preached in her presence at Crathie Kirk, said: “People may well wonder what it is that motivates a lady of the Queen’s years to continue day by day with the same full schedule of work and engagements that she has undertaken throughout her reign. The answer, I believe, is both simple and profound. At the time of her coronation the Queen took a solemn vow before God of service to the people of this country and of the Commonwealth. The sense of duty to fulfil her vow lies very deep, as does her commitment to the people she serves. From this course, she has never wavered though all the years.”
Mr Morrison said the Queen’s achievements had been “utterly awe- inspiring” and would earn her recognition as one of our greatest monarchs.
Mr Cameron’s tribute is expected to be echoed throughout the Commonwealth, the state of which Her Majesty regards as her proudest achievement.
When she became Queen it had eight members; today it has 53, including the 16 realms, the countries of which she is Head of State, stretching from Vanuatu in the Pacific to Canada.
And while comparisons to Queen Victoria are inevitable, the Queen has never slowed down in her work-rate, whereas Victoria largely withdrew from public life in her later years due to ill health and went into private mourning for three years following the death of Prince Albert.
As the Cabinet met in Downing Street yesterday, ministers banged on the table in honour of the Queen’s achievement. A spokesman said: “The Prime Minister opened Cabinet saying this should be an opportunity for them to congratulate Her Majesty becoming the longest-reigning monarch.
“He noted her remarkable record and that she is a symbol of Britain’s enduring spirit admired around the world.
“There was some appropriate banging on the table from colleagues to mark that moment.”
It was a moment that may never come again.
‘The sense of duty to fulfil her vows lies very deep, as does her commitment to the people she serves’