3.55 PM Friday, 29 March 2024
  • City Fajr Shuruq Duhr Asr Magrib Isha
  • Dubai 04:56 06:10 12:26 15:53 18:37 19:52
29 March 2024

Life in images: Britain's Queen Elizabeth II marks 90th birthday

The queen has seen 12 prime ministers pass through Downing Street since she ascended to the throne in 1952. (Agencies)

Published
By AFP

Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 90th birthday on Thursday with a family gathering and a cake baked by a reality television star, as a new poll finds Britain's longest serving monarch is as popular as ever.

The queen has reigned for more than 63 years and shows no sign of retiring, even if she has in recent years passed on some of her duties to the younger royals.


In this 1927 file photo, Princess Elizabeth is taken for a ride in the grounds of Windsor Castle, with her cousin, the honourable Gerald Lascelles, right, son of Princess Royal. (AP)

A new poll suggests the British public want it to stay that way, with 70 percent saying she should reign for as long as possible, the highest proportion since 1981.

Support for the monarchy remains high at 76 percent, according to the Ipsos-Mori poll for King's College London.


In this June 9, 1937 file photo, then Britain's Queen Elizabeth, left, with Queen Mary, second left, and Princesses Elizabeth, nearest camera, and Princess Margaret, obscured right, driving from Buckingham Palace to the Horse Guards Parade for the Trooping of the Colour ceremony, in London. (AP)

"The queen is hugely popular, she is liked personally and is felt to have done an excellent job," Roger Mortimore, a professor at the Institute of Contemporary British History at King's College London, told AFP.

Some highlights of her family life:

By the time she was 21, she got engaged and married to Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten.

At 22, she had her first child Prince Charles and at 24, she had her only daughter Princess Anne.

She became Queen at the age of just 26 when she took the throne on February 6 1952 after her father, King George VI's death.


In this 1942 file photo, Princess Elizabeth is pictured as "Prince Florizel", left, and her sister, princess Margaret as "Cinderella", in a pantomime the royal sisters produced in aid of the Royal Household Concerts Well Fund early in London. (AP)

When she was 27, she attended her first football match and had the best seat in the house watching the 1953 FA Cup Final where Blackpool beat Bolton Wanderers 4-3.

At 34, she gave birth to Prince Andrew followed by her fourth child Prince Edward at 38.

The Celebration:

Thursday's celebrations will be low-key, with the main public events, including a military parade and lunch for 10,000 guests on The Mall outside Buckingham Palace, taking place as part of her official birthday celebrations in June.


In this Nov. 20, 1947 file photo, Britain's Princess Elizabeth leaves Westminster Abbey in London, with her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, after their wedding ceremony. (AP)

With her husband Prince Philip, she will meet members of the public near Windsor Castle, her weekend residence, before lighting the first of a chain of beacons stretching across Britain and its overseas territories.

At an event in Windsor's town hall, the queen will be presented with a cake baked by Nadiya Jamir Hussain, the winner of the "Great British Bake Off", a hugely popular television cooking competition.


In this file picture taken on June 2, 1953 Britain's Queen Elizabeth II poses on her Coronation day in London. (AFP)

The Muslim mother-of-three will present the orange drizzle cake, with orange curd and orange butter cream, to the queen personally -- a prospect she said has left her "so nervous I can't even look at the oven".

The queen will also attend a family birthday dinner organised by her heir Prince Charles, emphasising her role as the head of four generations of the House of Windsor.


In this June 5, 1961 file photo, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, center, walks with American President John F. Kennedy, right, and his wife Jacqueline Kennedy, as they enter an ante-room in Buckingham Palace, London. (AP)

Charles and his son William are increasingly taking over the queen's duties, although she still carried out 393 engagements last year, including state visits to Malta and Germany.

William, who with his wife Kate and two young children has brought fresh energy to the royals, paid tribute to the matriarch he and his brother Harry describe as "the boss".


In this Aug. 20, 1946 file photo, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, then Princess Elizabeth, right, enjoys a joke with her father King George VI, in the grounds of the Royal Lodge, Windsor, England. (AP)

"I am incredibly lucky to have my grandmother in my life. As she turns 90, she is a remarkably energetic and dedicated guiding force for her family," William said.

The queen has seen 12 prime ministers pass through Downing Street since she ascended to the throne in 1952, meeting them once a week at the palace and still receiving daily updates of the workings of parliament.


In this Nov. 24, 1954 file photo, Elizabeth II of England and Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill, wait at Waterloo station for the Queen mother on her return from a month in America. (AP)

Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron will pay tribute to the monarch in parliament on Thursday, while US President Barack Obama will also pay his respects when he joins the queen for lunch at Windsor on Friday.

The queen is widely viewed as a constant and stabilising presence in a turbulent world, a status she has cultivated by refusing to make public her personal views.


In this Tuesday, June 8, 1982 file photo, U.S. President Ronald Reagan, left, on Centennial, and Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, on Burmese, go horseback riding in the grounds of Windsor Castle, England. (AP)

Her determination to remain above politics has come under pressure ahead of Britain's EU referendum on June 23, after a newspaper reported that she favoured a vote for Britain to leave the 28-nation bloc.

The claim in The Sun, under the headline "Queen backs Brexit", prompted a rare and strongly worded denial from Buckingham Palace, emphasising that she has and will always be politically neutral.


In this Thursday, Nov. 24, 1983 file photo, the Queen and Mother Teresa look at the Insignia of the Honorary Order of Merit which Her majesty has just presented to the Lady of Calcutta, at the Rashtrapati Shavar, in New Delhi. (AP)

In September last year, the queen broke Queen Victoria's record to become Britain's longest reigning monarch, but played down the achievement, saying it was "not one to which I have ever aspired".

"Inevitably, a long life can pass by many milestones. My own is no exception," she said.


In this July 30, 1966 file photo, Queen Elizabeth II presents the World Cup, the Jules Rimet trophy, to England's team captain Bobby Moore. (AP)


In this Tuesday July 9, 1996 file photo, South African President Nelson Mandela stands with Britain Queen Elizabeth II on his arrival at Buckingham Palace, in London for a state banquet in his honour following his arrival in Britain. (AP)


This is a Dec. 21, 1984 file photo of from left to right, the Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince William, Prince Harry and the Prince and Princess of Wales after the christening ceremony of Prince Harry in London. (PA, File via AP)


In this Aug. 4, 1987 file photo, Diana, Princess of Wales, left, and Britain's Queen Elizabeth II smile to well-wishers outside Clarence House in London. (AP)


In this Saturday, June 13, 2015 file photo, Britain's Prince William holds his son Prince George, with Queen Elizabeth II, right, Kate, Duchess of Cambridge and the Prince of Wales during the Trooping The Colour parade at Buckingham Palace, in London. (AP)


In this Sunday, July 5, 2015 file photo, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II stands with Kate the Duchess of Cambridge whilst pushing Princess Charlotte in a pram as they leave after attending the Christening of Britain's Princess Charlotte at St. Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham, England. (AP)