Britain Launches Celebrations For Queen's Diamond Jubilee
Britain Launches Celebrations For Queen's Diamond Jubilee
Abseilers beside the River Thames secure a giant canvas displaying a photograph showing the Royal Family during the 1977 Queen's Silver Jubilee.
Britain has kicked off four days of festivities for Queen Elizabeth II's diamond jubilee.
Gun salutes across Britain launched celebrations at noon local time on June 2, marking the exact anniversary of the queen's coronation, while the sovereign herself was to attend the annual Epsom Derby horserace.
Tens of thousands of people were awaiting the queen at the racecourse.
A recent poll showed about 80 percent of Britons want the country to remain a monarchy.
On June 3, a pageant of about 1,000 boats will sail through London on the Thames with the 86-year-old queen in a barge bedecked with flowers.
The queen acceded to the throne on February 6, 1952, upon the death of her father, King George VI, and was crowned the following year on June 2.
Based on reporting by AFP and AP
PHOTO GALLERY: The reign of Queen Elizabeth II in pictures
60 Years On British Throne For Queen Elizabeth II
1/22Queen Elizabeth II celebrates 60 years as Britain's reigning monarch.
Eighty-six-year-old Queen Elizabeth II was marking her Diamond Jubilee on June 4. Elizabeth, who took up the throne after her father, George VI, died in February 1952, is Britain's longest-serving monarch after Queen Victoria, who reigned for more than 63 years.
2/22Queen Elizabeth II is Britain's longest-serving monarch since Queen Victoria, who reigned from 1837 to 1901. This engraving shows Victoria's wedding to Prince Albert in 1840.
Eighty-six-year-old Queen Elizabeth II was marking her Diamond Jubilee on June 4. Elizabeth, who took up the throne after her father, George VI, died in February 1952, is Britain's longest-serving monarch after Queen Victoria, who reigned for more than 63 years.
3/22Members of the British royal family pose around Princess Elizabeth and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace on their wedding day, November 20, 1947.
Eighty-six-year-old Queen Elizabeth II was marking her Diamond Jubilee on June 4. Elizabeth, who took up the throne after her father, George VI, died in February 1952, is Britain's longest-serving monarch after Queen Victoria, who reigned for more than 63 years.
4/22Elizabeth receives the Sword of State from the Archbishop of Canterbury prior to her coronation ceremony in Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953.
Eighty-six-year-old Queen Elizabeth II was marking her Diamond Jubilee on June 4. Elizabeth, who took up the throne after her father, George VI, died in February 1952, is Britain's longest-serving monarch after Queen Victoria, who reigned for more than 63 years.
5/22Queen Elizabeth II poses on her coronation day, June 2, 1953, nearly 1 1/2 years after she became queen regnant upon the death of her father, George VI, on February 6, 1952. Hers was the first coronation to be televised.
Eighty-six-year-old Queen Elizabeth II was marking her Diamond Jubilee on June 4. Elizabeth, who took up the throne after her father, George VI, died in February 1952, is Britain's longest-serving monarch after Queen Victoria, who reigned for more than 63 years.
6/22The queen, Prince Philip, and three of their children (Anne, Andrew, and Charles (left-to-right; their fourth child, Prince Edward, was born four years later) at Balmoral Castle in 1960.
Eighty-six-year-old Queen Elizabeth II was marking her Diamond Jubilee on June 4. Elizabeth, who took up the throne after her father, George VI, died in February 1952, is Britain's longest-serving monarch after Queen Victoria, who reigned for more than 63 years.
7/22The queen with two of her sons, Princes Andrew (left) and Edward, read a book at Buckingham Palace during the recording of the queen's Christmas message to the Commonwealth in 1971.
Eighty-six-year-old Queen Elizabeth II was marking her Diamond Jubilee on June 4. Elizabeth, who took up the throne after her father, George VI, died in February 1952, is Britain's longest-serving monarch after Queen Victoria, who reigned for more than 63 years.
8/22The queen poses with Prince Charles and his fiancee, Lady Diana, at Buckingham Palace in March 1981. The heir apparent's adultery scandal and divorce in 1996 sent shock waves throughout the royal establishment and British society.
Eighty-six-year-old Queen Elizabeth II was marking her Diamond Jubilee on June 4. Elizabeth, who took up the throne after her father, George VI, died in February 1952, is Britain's longest-serving monarch after Queen Victoria, who reigned for more than 63 years.
9/22The queen and Charles watch horseraces at Epsom following what she famously described as an "annus horribilis," 1992, which saw her two oldest sons separate from their wives, daughter Anne divorce, and a fire destroy part of Windsor Castle.
Eighty-six-year-old Queen Elizabeth II was marking her Diamond Jubilee on June 4. Elizabeth, who took up the throne after her father, George VI, died in February 1952, is Britain's longest-serving monarch after Queen Victoria, who reigned for more than 63 years.
10/22The queen (left) and former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher arrive for a dinner to celebrate the latter's 70th birthday in London in 1995.
Eighty-six-year-old Queen Elizabeth II was marking her Diamond Jubilee on June 4. Elizabeth, who took up the throne after her father, George VI, died in February 1952, is Britain's longest-serving monarch after Queen Victoria, who reigned for more than 63 years.
11/22Queen Elizabeth II is greeted by well-wishers on a visit to the newly reconstructed Queen Elizabeth Hospital in London in 2001.
Eighty-six-year-old Queen Elizabeth II was marking her Diamond Jubilee on June 4. Elizabeth, who took up the throne after her father, George VI, died in February 1952, is Britain's longest-serving monarch after Queen Victoria, who reigned for more than 63 years.
12/22Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip attend a service to celebrate their diamond wedding anniversary, in Westminster Abbey in London, in November 2007.
Eighty-six-year-old Queen Elizabeth II was marking her Diamond Jubilee on June 4. Elizabeth, who took up the throne after her father, George VI, died in February 1952, is Britain's longest-serving monarch after Queen Victoria, who reigned for more than 63 years.
13/22Queen Elizabeth II unveils a portrait bust by sculptor Oscar Nemon at the House of Lords in London in October 2009.
Eighty-six-year-old Queen Elizabeth II was marking her Diamond Jubilee on June 4. Elizabeth, who took up the throne after her father, George VI, died in February 1952, is Britain's longest-serving monarch after Queen Victoria, who reigned for more than 63 years.
14/22The queen's eldest son and heir apparent, Prince Charles, kisses his mother's hand at a Royal Horticultural Society event in 2009.
Eighty-six-year-old Queen Elizabeth II was marking her Diamond Jubilee on June 4. Elizabeth, who took up the throne after her father, George VI, died in February 1952, is Britain's longest-serving monarch after Queen Victoria, who reigned for more than 63 years.
15/22Queen Elizabeth II places a wreath at Ground Zero in New York, the scene of two of the Al-Qaeda attacks that killed thousands of Americans and other nationals on September 11, 2001.
Eighty-six-year-old Queen Elizabeth II was marking her Diamond Jubilee on June 4. Elizabeth, who took up the throne after her father, George VI, died in February 1952, is Britain's longest-serving monarch after Queen Victoria, who reigned for more than 63 years.
16/22Mounted police officers patrol outside Buckingham Palace in London.
Eighty-six-year-old Queen Elizabeth II was marking her Diamond Jubilee on June 4. Elizabeth, who took up the throne after her father, George VI, died in February 1952, is Britain's longest-serving monarch after Queen Victoria, who reigned for more than 63 years.
17/22The queen leaves Buckingham Palace in a horse-drawn carriage to attend the State Opening of Parliament in May 2010.
Eighty-six-year-old Queen Elizabeth II was marking her Diamond Jubilee on June 4. Elizabeth, who took up the throne after her father, George VI, died in February 1952, is Britain's longest-serving monarch after Queen Victoria, who reigned for more than 63 years.
18/22Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, walk through the Royal Gallery in the Palace of Westminster during the State Opening of Parliament in London in May 2010.
Eighty-six-year-old Queen Elizabeth II was marking her Diamond Jubilee on June 4. Elizabeth, who took up the throne after her father, George VI, died in February 1952, is Britain's longest-serving monarch after Queen Victoria, who reigned for more than 63 years.
19/22Elizabeth and Philip (front row, center) pose for an official photograph with the Grenadier Guards after presenting the regiment with their new colors in 2010.
Eighty-six-year-old Queen Elizabeth II was marking her Diamond Jubilee on June 4. Elizabeth, who took up the throne after her father, George VI, died in February 1952, is Britain's longest-serving monarch after Queen Victoria, who reigned for more than 63 years.
20/22The queen meets with the head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI, in September 2010.
Eighty-six-year-old Queen Elizabeth II was marking her Diamond Jubilee on June 4. Elizabeth, who took up the throne after her father, George VI, died in February 1952, is Britain's longest-serving monarch after Queen Victoria, who reigned for more than 63 years.
21/22The queen arrives at the Irish president's residence during her historic visit in May 2011, the first by a British head of state to the Republic of Ireland, which gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1922.
Eighty-six-year-old Queen Elizabeth II was marking her Diamond Jubilee on June 4. Elizabeth, who took up the throne after her father, George VI, died in February 1952, is Britain's longest-serving monarch after Queen Victoria, who reigned for more than 63 years.
22/22Queen Elizabeth II receives flowers after the Sunday Service at West Newton Church in West Newton on February 5, 2012, the eve of her Diamond Jubilee (60th anniversary).
Eighty-six-year-old Queen Elizabeth II was marking her Diamond Jubilee on June 4. Elizabeth, who took up the throne after her father, George VI, died in February 1952, is Britain's longest-serving monarch after Queen Victoria, who reigned for more than 63 years.
