Long to rain over us!
Queen to spend historic day with a picnic (unless the weather’s bad when she’ll stay at home with a jigsaw...)
IT will be one of the most significant days in our history.
But for the moment when the Queen becomes Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, she has issued a royal proclamation: there should be no fuss.
Her Majesty will be in Scotland on September 9 when she enters the record books, overtaking her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria.
Yet instead of celebrating with great fanfare, she has decided to spend a low-key day at her beloved Balmoral.
Courtiers expect the Queen to mark the historic occasion with a walk and a picnic in the estate grounds – or, if the weather is poor, by doing a jigsaw.
No official ceremonies are planned because she has made it clear ‘she does not want any fuss’.
A well-placed aide said: ‘These personal milestones matter little to Her Majesty. It will be business as usual.’
Another said: ‘It will be an exact replica of when she passed Queen Victoria as the country’s oldest monarch – nothing demonstrable. She does not see it as a competition with her ancestors.’
Crathie Kirk, where the Queen worships every Sunday when in residence at Balmoral, has no official event listed. Rev Kenneth MacKenzie said: ‘We do not have a special service planned and have not been asked to have one.’
Royal author Ingrid Seward said the Queen will probably mark the occasion with a private family dinner. The editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine added: ‘Her joy is having a bit of spare time at Balmoral. She might be coerced into something more public, and will come under increasing pressure to do so nearer the time, but she has made it clear she does not want any fuss. She feels being at Balmoral is “her” time.’
There is also a perception that the Queen does not wish to celebrate surpassing Queen Victoria’s reign out of respect for her.
On September 9, the sovereign, who will be 89 next month, will pass the record set by Queen Victoria of 63 years and 216 days.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: ‘We are conscious that this is a historic date. The Queen will be at Balmoral and nothing at this stage is planned. Her autumn programme is currently being worked on.’
The best, and possibly only, chance for the public to express their appreciation for the Queen reaching the historic milestone may be four days earlier at the Braemar Gathering, of which she is patron.
This year, the Gathering will also celebrate its own bicentennial milestone.
Secretary Willie Meston said: ‘We don’t know if we will mark the Queen’s milestone yet. It still under discussion, but it’s been made clear she does not want any fuss.
‘However, she can be sure of a spontaneous and warm appreciation from the crowd for what she has done.’
The Queen became our oldest monarch on December 20, 2007, by outliving Victoria, who was 81 years, seven months and 29 days old when she died in 1901. However, this also passed without fanfare or public pronouncement.