Crowds gathered from across Britain and beyond on Thursday to celebrate the 90th birthday of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the world’s oldest monarch who still performs scores of annual engagements and shows no signs of tiring.
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Prince Charles, 67, her eldest son and heir to the throne, issued an audio message via the BBC on Thursday, quoting an edited passage from Shakespeare’s Henry VIII.
The monarch’s birthday has been marked by the release of a historic photograph of the Queen surrounded by her five great-grandchildren – including Prince George and Princess Charlotte – and her two youngest grandchildren.
ROYAL birthday celebrations continued last night as The Queen lit the first of more than 900 beacons around the country.
In an editorial, The Times newspaper praised her as “a symbol of continuity and the best embodiment we have of a complex national identity”.
Rarely has anyone in public life served for so long, served so brilliantly, worked so hard, and brought so many people together.
Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama were greeted by the queen and the Duke of Edinburgh after the presidential helicopter landed at Windsor Castle, and the four were whisked away in a black Range Rover toward a private dining room. There were also artillery gun salutes in London and other British cities.
The-then president Shimon Peres receives the honorary order of St Michael and St George from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, in Buckingham Palace, London, UK, November 20, 2008.
“On behalf of the people of Israel, I want to wish Her Majesty the Queen a very special 90th birthday”, Netanyahu tweeted.
“When she made a vow at her coronation, it was a vow to wear the crown permanently”, he said.
A choir sang “Return to Sender” as the queen began her birthday celebrations Wednesday with a visit to a post office west of London. The remaining three stamps represent her official role as monarch.
Advisors subsequently steered the royals towards a more modern image.
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Some 68 percent of Britons think the monarchy is good for Britain, according to a YouGov survey previous year. These pictures mostly featured Queen Elizabeth with her loved ones, which included her corgis and her only daughter, Anne, Princess Royal.
