Britain
celebrates Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday on Thursday, with her eldest son
Prince Charles paying tribute in a special radio broadcast and Prime Minister
David Cameron leading a parliamentary respect.
The
autonomous, who last year overtook her great-great grandmother queen Victoria
to become Britain’s longest-ruling ruler, is to mark the day in Windsor Castle
with official engagements and a dinner with the royal family.
The
excitement was visible in the small town of Windsor, west of London, with
special decoration put up in the streets and local shops selling souvenir tea
and cakes as well-wishers gathered to celebrate a historic day.
“We
are very proud of her. Everybody in the town is very excited. They pulled out
all the stops,” Carolyn Chisnall, a local resident, told AFP.
As
military gun salutes are fired in London, Queen Elizabeth will unveil a plaque
in Windsor for a new local walking tour in her honour and set fire to the first
of hundreds of beacons being lit up around the kingdom.
“Her
Majesty the Queen has lived through some extraordinary times in our world,”
Cameron will tell parliament at the start of an hours-long debate, according to
extracts released by his Downing Street office.
“Throughout
it all, as the sands of culture shift and the tides of politics ebb and flow,
Her Majesty has been steadfast — a rock of strength for our nation.”
Buckingham
Palace released three official pictures of the monarch taken by US celebrity
photographer Annie Leibovitz.
They
were shot in Windsor Castle, where she will host US President Barack Obama and
First Lady Michelle Obama on Friday.
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