LONDON - The Queen
celebrated 60 years
on the throne on
Monday to become the second
British monarch to reach that
milestone.
During her reign, the royal family
has faced tumultuous times and
moments of plummeting
popularity, above all after the
death in 1997 of Princess Diana,
the hugely popular ex-wife of her
son and heir-to-the-throne Prince
Charles.
But the royals are enjoying fresh
support after the wedding last
year of the queen's grandson,
Prince William, second-in-line to
the throne, to Catherine
Middleton.
Elizabeth II, 85, became queen
aged 25 on February 6, 1952 on
the death of her father George VI,
while on tour in Kenya with her
husband Prince Philip.
In a documentary for BBC TV to
be shown on Monday, grandson
Prince Harry, younger son of
Charles, said how much she relied
on Prince Philip. "I don't think
that she could do it without him,
especially when they're both at
this age," he said.
Ninety-year-old Prince Philip, the
longest-serving consort and
oldest-serving spouse of any
British monarch, had surgery at
Christmas to clear a blocked heart
artery.
SCRUTINY AND CRITICISM
Accusations of excess and the
divorces of three of the queen's
children have marred the image
of the royal family, which during
her reign has come under intense
media scrutiny.
The queen was personally
criticised for appearing unmoved
and out of touch with public
feeling over the death of Diana, a
moment captured in the 2006
Oscar-winning film "The Queen."
That event left many questioning
the monarchy itself.
The queen said in a statement
that she was grateful for "the
wonderful support and
encouragement" she had
received over the years, and
promised to "dedicate myself
anew to your service."
"I hope also that this Jubilee year
will be a time to give thanks for
the great advances that have
been made since 1952 and to
look forward to the future," she
said.
The queen been on the throne for
longer than any other monarch
except Queen Victoria, who
reigned from 1837 to 1901.
During her reign there have been
12 British prime ministers, 12 U.S.
presidents and six popes. She has
visited 116 countries.
CELEBRATIONS IN JUNE
Celebrations on Monday will be
low key. The queen will spend the
day carrying out formal duties in
Norfolk, eastern England, visiting
a town hall and a junior school.
There will be gun salutes at the
Tower of London and at Hyde
Park, while two specially
commissioned photographs of
the queen and Prince Philip will
be published on a website
launched to mark the jubilee.
(www.thediamondjubilee.org)
Major celebrations take place
over four days in June, including
a concert at Buckingham Palace
and a pageant involving a flotilla
of 1,000 ships on the River
Thames.
"You sometimes hear people talk
as if the monarchy was simply a
glittering ornament, a decoration
on our national life," Prime
Minister David Cameron said in a
statement.
"That misunderstands our
constitution and it
underestimates our queen. All
my life, and for the lives of most
people in this country, she has
always been there for us."
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