Queen Elizabeth II marks record 65 years on throne
Posted February 06, 2017 6:00 am
LONDON (AP) - Queen Elizabeth II has become the first British monarch to reach the milestone of 65 years on the throne.
Monday's Sapphire Jubilee is being marked with cannon salutes in London's Green Park and at the Tower of London.
Buckingham Palace also released a photo of the queen by David Bailey to mark the occasion. In the picture, taken in 2014, the monarch wears a suite of sapphire jewelry given to her by her father as a wedding gift in 1947.
The palace says the 90-year-old queen will spend the day quietly at her Sandringham estate in eastern England.
She became monarch on the death of her father, King George VI, from lung cancer at age 56 on Feb. 6, 1952.
Elizabeth surpassed Queen Victoria as Britain's longest-serving monarch in 2015.
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II stops to receive flowers from 3-year old Jessica Atfield, after the queen and her husband Duke of Edinburgh, attended a church service at St Peter and St Paul church in West Newton, England, Sunday Feb. 5, 2017. The Queen is to make history on Monday Feb. 6, when she becomes the first British monarch to reach the Sapphire Jubilee, marking the 65th. anniversary of her accession to the throne. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)
The Associated Press
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Duke of Edinburgh, centre, arrive at St Peter and St Paul at West Newton, England, Sunday Feb. 5, 2017. The Queen is to make history on Monday Feb. 6, when she becomes the first British monarch to reach the Sapphire Jubilee, marking the 65th. anniversary of her accession to the throne. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)
The Associated Press
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