As the Queen turns 90 today, citizens of the United Kingdom – as well as those who could never let go of the British rule in their country after independence – are celebrating with glee.

The Royal family have come out in full force as well: Prince Charles will be reading an extract from Shakespeare, broadcast by the BBC; the Queen herself will take a walkabout of the monarch and light a symbolic beacon; and Kensington Palace has released a series of photos of the Queen, taken by Annie Leibovitz.

The cutest one is a photograph of the Queen surrounded by her great-grandchildren:

From left: James, Viscount Severn; Lady Louise Windsor; Mia Tindall (holding the Queen’s handbag); Princess Charlotte; Isla Phillips; Prince George and Savannah Phillips

Another is one of the Queen with her dogs:

The Queen on steps at the rear of the East Terrace and East Garden with her four dogs, her corgis Willow and Holly and dorgis Vulcan and Candy

The Queen celebrates two birthdays every year – one on the 21 April and the second in June.

While we offered you some personal facts regarding the Queen, here are some more formal ones:

• The Queen has been married for 68 years, longer than any other British monarch
• Her coronation was the first to be televised and was watched by over 20 million people in the UK
• There have been 12 UK prime ministers, seven Archbishops of Canterbury and seven Popes during her reign
• She has sat for more than 130 official portrait paintings
• During her reign, she has visited 117 countries, travelling more than a million miles
• In 2012 she became the second British monarch to celebrate a diamond jubilee, and in 2015 became the UK’s longest reigning monarch

The cutest picture of the lot is her with the Charles-linage, featuring four generations:

Happy Birthday, Lizzie.

[source: bbc]