It is 70 years since Accession Day when Her Majesty The Queen became monarch on the death of her beloved father King George VI. Today she will spend the day at Sandringham.
On the eve of the day when she will mark the passing of her late father with the anniversary of becoming Queen, Her Majesty announced her wish for Camilla to be known as Queen Consort when Prince Charles becomes King after her own death.
Alastair Bruce, Governor of Edinburgh Castle, tweeted some photos of Her Majesty on Saturday morning.
This year Her Majesty celebrates her long reign and Platinum Jubilee, reigning longer than any other monarch in British history. The news of King George VI’s death was conveyed to the then Princess Elizabeth while she and the Duke of Edinburgh were visiting a remote part of Kenya on a Commonwealth tour.
An Accession Council was convened at St James’s Palace on the day of the King’s death attended by members of the Privy Council , the Lord Mayor and others including civil servants when the Queen was formally proclaimed. The Lord Lyon King of Arms in Edinburgh read the public proclamation of the new sovereign.
Her Majesty flew back home from Africa and was greeted by Prime Minister, Winston Churchill.The coronation took place on 2 June 1953.
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said: “Her Majesty The Queen has given seven decades of selfless service to our nation and we owe her an enormous debt of gratitude.
“Throughout those 70 years The Queen has been a steadfast and reassuring presence for the British people in good times and bad, as well as a hugely admired and respected figurehead for the nation across the world.
“Today is a momentous day as The Queen becomes the first British monarch ever to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee. But it will also be an emotional day for Her Majesty as she recalls the death of her father and, more recently, the passing of her beloved husband, the Duke of Edinburgh.
“I wish to thank Her Majesty for her devotion to the nation. We are extremely fortunate to have her as our monarch.”
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
