Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her 90th birthday on Thursday, thus becoming Great Britain’s longest serving monarch (64 years of ruling).
Thousands of people lined the streets in Windsor as the monarch took part in a walkabout.
The Queen, who was accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh during her tour in Windsor, was presented with a birthday cake at the Guildhall by the Great British Bake Off champion Nadiya Hussain, who had created an orange drizzle cake with a butter cream and marmalade filling.
The monarch unveiled a plaque marking The Queen’s Walkway, which is a 6.3km trail that links 63 significant points in Windsor. The trail was designed to recognise the moment on 9 September 2015 that the monarch broke the record held by her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria, who had ruled for 63 years and seven months.
The Prince of Wales recorded a special radio broadcast for the day, in which he read an edited passage from William Shakespeare’s Henry VIII.
In the evening, Queen Elizabeth will light the first of more than a thousand torches and bonfires that will burn across the country in her honor.
While Thursday marks her actual birthday, lavish celebrations commemorating the occasion will be held on June 10-12, when her birthday is officially celebrated.
In June, she and the members of the royal family will attend a birthday procession on Horse Guards Parade, the open square at the foot of St. James’s Park. The next day, she will attend a party on the Mall with 10,000 guests, and pubs across the country will stay open late over the weekend to celebrate the occasion.