Queen Elizabeth II has become the first British monarch to reach the milestone of 65 years on the throne on Monday, February 6th, 2017, following the death of her father King George VI on February 6, 1952.
The Queen, 90, will acknowledge her sapphire jubilee quietly at Buckingham Palace with her husband, the 95-year-old Prince Philip.
There will be no officially sanctioned public events, with the Queen considering it unnecessary following the major celebrations that took place to mark her 60th anniversary on the throne just five years ago.
With the death of the 88-year- old King Bhumibol of Thailand in October last year, Queen Elizabeth is now the longest-reigning monarch in the world.
The Royal Mail has issued a Sapphire Blue £5 stamp to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the Queen’s accession to the throne.
The stamp, available from Monday, marks 65 years since Princess Elizabeth became Queen following the death of her father George VI on February 6 1952.
Sapphire is the 65th anniversary gemstone and the stamp features the colour of the precious item.
Last year, the Royal Mail issued a series of 10 postage stamps to mark the monarch’s 90th birthday, with Prince George featuring on a stamp for the first time.
Elizabeth surpassed Queen Victoria as Britain’s longest-serving monarch in 2015. 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.
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This photo by English photographer David Bailey of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, taken for the GREAT campaign in 2014, and is now reissued Monday Feb. 6, 2017, by Buckingham Palace to celebrate her Sapphire Anniversary, marking the 65th anniversary of the monarch’s accession to the throne. In the photo, the Queen is wearing a suite of sapphire jewellery originally given to her by her father King George VI as a wedding gift in 1947.
Jubilee: The new £5 stamp commemorates the milestone Royal Mail/PA
