Queen to make history with sapphire jubilee

Monarch due to mark 65 years on throne next week, probably quietly

The Queen is to make history when she becomes the first British monarch to reach their sapphire jubilee.

Next Monday – the anniversary of the day she became Queen – Elizabeth II will have reigned for 65 years. But there are no grand festivities planned to mark the head-of-state’s new milestone.

The Queen is, at this stage, not due to be out and about on official engagements on the landmark day.

The sovereign, who missed church over Christmas due to a heavy cold, will undoubtedly be matter of fact about this historic occasion.

In 2015, when she thanked the nation for its kind messages after overtaking Queen Victoria to become the longestreigning monarch in British history, she admitted bluntly the royal record was “not one to which I have ever aspired”.

She added: “Inevitably, a long life can pass by many milestones. My own is no exception.”

The Queen celebrated her 90th birthday last year and had a busy schedule commemorating the occasion, with a walkabout, beacon lighting and a black tie dinner for family and friends in Windsor on her actual birthday.

A weekend of national celebrations, including a party on The Mall, was held for her official birthday in June.

The Duke of Cambridge is about to become a full-time royal this summer and will increase his official duties on behalf of the Queen.

Royal gun salutes will be staged in London next Monday, as is the tradition.

A 41-gun salute will be fired by the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery in Green Park at noon.

The Band of the Royal Artillery will play a selection of celebratory music close to the firing position, and 89 horses will pull six First World War-era 13-pounder field guns into position in the park.

A 62-gun salute by the Honourable Artillery Company will be fired at the Tower of London at 1pm.

The Queen is not scheduled for an official engagement next Monday.