Queen Elizabeth begins celebrations to mark 70 years on throne

Gulf Today Report

Britain's Queen Elizabeth kicked off celebrations for the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne by inviting local community groups on Saturday to her Sandringham residence in the east of England.

Sunday will mark the Queen's platinum jubilee, a first for a British monarch.

Elizabeth, 95, became the Queen of Britain and more than a dozen other realms including Canada, Australia and New Zealand on the death of her father King George VI on Feb. 6, 1952, while she was in Kenya on an international tour.

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Buckingham Palace said her guests at Sandringham included Angela Wood, who as a cookery student in 1953 helped to create Coronation Chicken, a curry and mayonnaise-based dish invented to celebrate Elizabeth's reign and that is still enjoyed today.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II gestures during a reception at the Queen's Norfolk residence on Saturday. AFP

Meanwhile, Britain's Queen Elizabeth said on Saturday that she would like Prince Charles' wife Camilla to take the title of Queen Consort when he becomes king.

In a letter written to mark the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne, Elizabeth said the occasion had given her pause to reflect upon the loyalty and affection shown to her by the British public.

"And when, in the fullness of time, my son Charles becomes king, I know you will give him and his wife Camilla the same support that you have given me; and it is my sincere wish that, when that time comes, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service," Elizabeth said.

Charles and Camilla, long-time lovers, were married in 2005 in a civil ceremony in Windsor.

Britain's Camilla gestures at the ceremonial opening of the sixth Senedd in Cardiff, Wales. AFP

Elizabeth's move reflects a wider acceptance of Camilla's status as a royal.

Tabloid newspapers no longer target her as they did in the decade following the death of Charles' first wife, Princess Diana.

Camilla — whose current title is Duchess of Cornwall — now regularly represents the royal family alongside Charles during official duties.

Throughout British history, the wife of a king typically is given the title Queen Consort, which has no constitutional powers. At the time of their marriage, it had been officially decided that Camilla would use the title Princess Consort if Charles were to become king.

The Queen also cut a celebratory cake baked by a local resident and heard a rendition of "Congratulations" played by a concert band.

Prince Charles and Camilla leave after attending the ceremonial opening of the sixth Senedd in Cardiff, Wales. AFP

Elizabeth has continued to carry out official duties well into her 90s, but has been little seen in public since she spent a night in hospital last October for an unspecified ailment and was then instructed by doctors to rest.

However, Buckingham Palace on Friday released footage ahead of Sunday's landmark, showing her viewing items from previous royal jubilees, such as a fan given to her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria to mark her 50th year on the throne in 1887, signed by family, friends and politicians.

Ironically Elizabeth was not destined to be monarch at her birth, and became Queen only because her uncle Edward VIII abdicated to be with American divorcee Wallis Simpson.

But in 2015, she overtook Victoria as Britain's longest-reigning sovereign in a line that traces its origin back to Norman King William I and his 1066 conquest of England.