LONDON — Britain’s longest-serving monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, turned 93 on Sunday.

The queen, who has ruled Britain for more than 67 years, joined a church service at the royal St George’s Chapel inside Windsor Castle on her birthday, which this year coincides with Easter Sunday.

Queen Elizabeth II leaves Easter Matins Service at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle on Sunday. Associated Press/Kirsty Wigglesworth

The queen, who was wearing a mint-green coat and matching hat, was accompanied to the 14th-century Gothic chapel by Prince William and Duchess Kate.

Prince Harry was there, too, but not his wife Meghan, who is pregnant with their first child. The baby, which is due around the end of the month, will be the queen’s eighth great-grandchild.

“Happy Birthday Your Majesty, Ma’am, Granny. Wishing you the most wonderful day!” Harry and Meghan wrote on Twitter, accompanied by a black-and-white photo of the queen in her younger days.

Her birthday will also be marked by a 41-round gun salute on a military parade ground at noon on Monday in Hyde Park, close to Buckingham Palace, the queen’s main London residence.

Advertisement

Similar royal salutes are expected in Windsor Great Park and at the Tower of London.

Sunday marks the actual date of the queen’s birth, while more events are planned in June to mark her official birthday.

Born in 1926, the queen has ruled since 1952, when she was 25 years old.

In 2015, she surpassed the six-decade reign of Queen Victoria, her great-great grandmother, from 1837 to 1901.

Britain’s system of constitutional monarchy keeps the queen as a largely ceremonial head of state, allowing the government to pass legislation and run the country.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.