Queen Elizabeth II ascended the throne on Feb. 6, 1952 and today, Sept. 9, 2015, becomes the longest reigning monarch in British history.
She surpassed her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria’s record of 23,226 days on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. BST.
Prime Minister David Cameron said in a Facebook post:
It is truly humbling to comprehend the scale of service that Her Majesty has given to this country.
The reign of Queen Elizabeth II has been a golden thread running through three post-war generations. And she has presided over more than two-thirds of our history as a full democracy.
Speaking in the Scottish Borders, the Queen said the title was “not one to which I have ever aspired”.
“Inevitably a long life can pass by many milestones – my own is no exception – but I thank you all and the many others at home and overseas for your touching messages of great kindness,” she said.
Today:
The Queen, accompanied by her husband Prince Philip travelled by steam train from Edinburgh to Tweedbank, where she formally opened the new £294m Scottish Borders Railway
In London, a flotilla of historic vessels, leisure cruisers, and passenger boats took part in a procession along the Thames, the HMS Belfast sounded a four-gun salute