Queen Elizabeth II Is Now The UK’s Longest Reigning Monarch

23,226 days and counting!
From: Pink is the New Blog

Congratulations are in order for Queen Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, II today because at 17:30 BST she became the longest reigning monarch of the United Kingdom EVER! Before today, Queen Elizabeth‘s great great grandmother Queen Victoria was the longest reigning monarch … but now, 23,226 days, 16 hours and approximately 30 minutes (and counting) later, Queen Elizabeth stands as the UK’s longest reigning monarch — showing no signs that she is stopping, let alone slowing down. In order to mark this special occasion, a new official portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, age 89, has been released which you can see below. Read on to learn more about Queen Elizabeth‘s latest achievement and see her fabulous new photo above.

The Queen has thanked well-wishers at home and overseas for their “touching messages of kindness” as she becomes Britain’s longest-reigning monarch. Speaking in the Scottish Borders, the 89-year-old monarch said the title was “not one to which I have ever aspired”. At 17:30 BST she had reigned for 23,226 days, 16 hours and approximately 30 minutes – surpassing the reign of her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria. David Cameron said the service the Queen had given was “truly humbling”. Dressed in turquoise with her trusty black handbag at her side, the Queen spoke briefly to the gathered crowds earlier. “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. The exact moment the Queen became the longest-reigning sovereign is unknown. Her father, George VI, passed away in the early hours of 6 February 1952, but his time of death is not known. Business in the Commons was postponed for half an hour so that MPs, led by Mr Cameron, could pay tribute to the Queen. The prime minster said she had been a “rock of stability” in an era when so much had changed, and her reign had been the “golden thread running through three post-war generations”. He said it was “typical of the Queen’s selfless sense of service” that she thought today should be a normal day. Acting Labour leader Harriet Harman said it was “no exaggeration” to say the Queen was “admired by billions of people all around the world”. Ministers are to present the Queen with a bound copy of cabinet papers from the meeting in 1952 when Sir Winston Churchill’s government approved the content of her first Queen’s Speech. In the House of Lords, leader Baroness Stowell said the Queen had served the country with “unerring grace, dignity and decency”, adding: “And long may she continue to do so”. There have been glowing tributes and much talk about the significance of this moment. No such words were uttered by the subject of all the attention. She undertook a run-of-the-mill engagement on a far from run-of-the-mill day. And in her brief remarks – her lengthy reign hasn’t lessened her aversion to making speeches – she displayed some classic British understatement. Overtaking her great-great-grandmother wasn’t something she’d ever aspired to, she said. She was simply the beneficiary of a long life. In Scotland – and indeed in other parts of the United Kingdom – that life and her reign have been celebrated very publicly. Privately, later, the Queen will mark the moment she enters the record books. Prince Philip will be with her – her husband of 67 years has been the one constant in a reign of sometimes dizzying change. Buckingham Palace has released two official photographs to mark the occasion, taken by Mary McCartney in the Queen’s private audience room. This is where she holds weekly audiences with prime ministers of the day, and receives visiting heads of state and government. The Queen is taking her traditional summer break at this time of year at her private Scottish home, Balmoral. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are in Scotland on holiday and are expected to have dinner with the Queen at Balmoral later. Queen Victoria became queen at the age of 18 and ruled for 63 years, seven months and two days. Queen Elizabeth’s reign has included 12 prime ministers, two more than served under Victoria.

Here is a bit of information about Queen Elizabeth‘s newest official portrait:

At 89, Queen Elizabeth is still very much a working royal – a fact that is the focus of her newest official portrait. The portrait, released on Tuesday to commemorate the Queen’s record-breaking reign, was taken by photographer Mary McCartney, 46, the daughter of Sir Paul McCartney. “Having grown up during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, it was a thrill to meet her and a very great privilege to take her photo on this historic occasion,” McCartney, who crossed royal paths with Princess Kate during a photography exhibit in 2012, said in a statement to PEOPLE. “She is a truly inspirational person, a trailblazer and a beacon for womankind” … The new portrait was taken in July at Buckingham Palace in London before the Queen left for her annual summer holiday at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.

The monarch, who is wearing a floral print dress by Karl Ludwig Rehse, MVO (she previously wore it during a 2011 tour of Australia), is shown seated at her desk with one of her famous “red boxes” – a key component of a remarkably unchanging daily routine that also includes a breakfast of cornflakes with her husband of 68 years, Prince Philip. This is the room where the queen has received British Prime Ministers for their weekly audiences and other guests such as visiting heads of state and government, including President Barack Obama. Most days, apart from Christmas and Easter, she receives the boxes, which contain important papers from government ministers in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. They are widely used across government and carry the Royal cypher. But only Elizabeth’s is embossed with the words “The Queen” – and she still uses the ones “that were made for her upon her Coronation,” Buckingham Palace says.

It is really remarkable to think about how long Queen Elizabeth has reigned. I mean, obviously, she is the only UK monarch that any of us have known and it seems quite clear that she is still going very strong. For me, the woman has only existed as an example of class and majesty and while I have no understanding of what it means to live under a monarchy, I can honestly say that Queen Elizabeth II sets the standard of what it means to be a queen. Love and congrats goes out to Queen Elizabeth and the people of the United Kingdom. May the queen reign for many, many years to come!