QUEENE has been ''ROCK OF STRENGTH FOR OUR NATION
The Queen has been "a rock of
strength for our nation" and the Commonwealth, Prime Minister David
Cameron has said in a tribute to mark her 90th birthday.
The Prince of Wales has recorded a
special radio broadcast for the day, in which he reads an edited passage from
William Shakespeare's Henry VIII.
Celebrations get under way later as the
Queen takes part in a walkabout in Windsor and lights a symbolic beacon.
A photograph of the monarch with young
Royal Family members has been released.
The image, one of three taken by
celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz, shows the Queen surrounded by her five
great-grandchildren and her two youngest grandchildren.
Gun salutes take place around the UK
starting from noon, while the prime minister is expected to lead tributes to
Britain's longest serving monarch in the Commons.
The reading by Prince Charles, to be
broadcast by the BBC later, is an extract from a speech by Archbishop Thomas
Cranmer to King Henry VIII after the birth of the future Queen Elizabeth I.
'Steadfast'
Mr Cameron is expected to say: "Her
Majesty The Queen has lived through some extraordinary times in our world.
"From the Second World War to the
rations with which she bought the material for her wedding dress.
"From presenting the World Cup to
England at Wembley in 1966 to man landing on the moon three years later.
"From the end of the Cold War to
peace in Northern Ireland.
"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, for our Commonwealth and on many occasions
for the whole world."
The other Leibovitz photographs show the
monarch walking in the grounds of Windsor Castle with four of her dogs and
sitting with her daughter, the Princess Royal.
The image of the Queen with the young
royals was taken in the Green Drawing Room, part of Windsor Castle's semi-State
apartments just after Easter.
In it, the Queen - in the tradition of
royal portraiture - holds her youngest great-grandchild Princess Charlotte, who
is 11 months old, in her arms.
Also appearing in the image is
two-year-old Prince George, Zara Phillips's two-year-old daughter Mia Tindall,
who holds the Queen's famous black handbag, and Peter Phillips's daughters
Savannah, five, and three-year-old Isla.
The Queen is also joined by the two youngest
of her eight grandchildren - the Earl and Countess of Wessex's children -
James, Viscount Severn, eight, and Lady Louise Windsor.
Queen's
90th: What's happening and when?
§ 21 April - The Queen will unveil a plaque on Windsor's Queen's Walkway,
before lighting the first of a chain of beacons. Gun salutes will also be held
across the UK
§ 12-15 May - Celebrations featuring hundreds of horses and performers in the
grounds of Windsor Castle
§ 10 June - A national service of thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral
§ 11 June - The annual Trooping the Colour at Horse Guards Parade
§ 12 June - The Queen will host a street party for 10,000 people in the Mall
The monarch's birthday celebrations get
under way later with a walkabout in Windsor.
Accompanied
by the Duke of Edinburgh, she will unveil a plaque marking The Queen's Walkway - a 6.3km trail that links
63 significant points in Windsor.
The trail
was designed to recognise the moment the
monarch broke the record on 9 September 2015 held by her
great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria by being on the
throne for 63 years and seven months.
Royal gun salutes will be fired from
each of the UK's capital cities and at other authorised stations across the UK.
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