The Queen of England Her Majesty Elizabeth ER today becomes Britain’s longest reigning monarch.
The Queen will have reigned for 63 years and seven months – calculated at 23,226 days, 16 hours and approximately 30 minutes at about 17:30 BST.
She passes the record set by her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria who became queen at the age of 18 and ruled for 63 years, seven months and two days.
Queen Elizabeth 11 is one of the daughters of the previous King of England. After suffering from lung cancer for several years, King George VI, who only became King due to his brother Edward’s abdication, died in his sleep on February 6, 1952 at age 56. Upon his death, his oldest daughter, Princess Elizabeth, became queen. She was just 25 years old.
Princess Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip, were out of the country when King George died. The couple had been visiting Kenya as part of the beginning of a planned five-month tour of Australia and New Zealand when they received the news of King George’s death.
A total number of 12 Prime Ministers have served under Queen Elizabeth including Sir John Major. who today has been quoted as saying “Throughout the last 60 or so years, the Queen has been an absolute constant. Whilst prime ministers have come and gone, celebrities have come and gone, life has changed, she and the monarchy have been an absolute constant in their lives and I think that is very reassuring”
Current Prime Minister David Cameron also paid tribute to the Queen this morning “Her Majesty has been a rock of stability in a world of constant change, earning admiration for her selfless sense of service and duty. It is only right that we should celebrate her extraordinary record, as well as the grace and dignity with which she serves our country.”
But rather than put on a glossy and extravagant event to mark this milestone, the Queen is spending the day on her usual engagements. She will be travelling to Scotland this afternoon to commission the Scottish Borders Railway.
The First Minister of Scotland and SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said she was looking forward to officially opening the railway with Her Majesty on what the nationalist described as a “very special day”.
The prayer God save the Queen is really working wonders.
Copyright Jummy Ariyo
September 2015