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London. – Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her 91st birthday yesterday, with the world’s longest-reigning monarch taking a step back from royal duties to allow the younger generation to step forward. A gun salute at London’s Tower Bridge and at Hyde Park marked the Queen’s birthday, a notably more low-key affair after a year of festivities to mark her hitting 90.
A thousand beacons were lit around the country on April 21 2016 and other events last year included street parties and a pageant at her Windsor Castle home.
“I’m still alive,” the Queen joked in June during a visit to Northern Ireland, one of the numerous engagements filling the royal calendar.
But the ever-popular monarch has begun handing over duties to other royals, standing down as patron of 25 bodies at the end of last year, including the Wimbledon tennis championships.
While her eldest child Prince Charles is heir to the throne, greater attention has fallen on his two sons William and Harry, who have taken on some of the Queen’s duties.
The arrival of Prince William and his wife Kate’s two children – Prince George and Princess Charlotte – has cemented the country’s positive view of the royal family.
Prince Harry is also admired, receiving widespread acclaim this week for speaking out about seeking counselling years after his mother’s death when he was a child.
The Queen was instrumental in bringing the royals into modern times, after ascending to the throne in 1952 as Britain’s empire was in sharp decline.
She made this vow on turning 21.
One of the most testing periods for the monarch came during the 1990s.
The Queen dubbed 1992 her “annus horribilis” after the marriages of three of her four children broke down and Windsor Castle was badly damaged in a fire. – AFP.
Online Reporter