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LONDON — The Queen became Britain's oldest ever monarch yesterday, reaching another milestone in a job she has held for more than half a century, one that comes with luxurious accommodation, long hours and little chance of retirement.
The Queen, 81, passed the mark set by her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria.
Victoria was born on May 24, 1819, and lived for 81 years and 243 days. Buckingham Palace, calculating longevity down to the hour, said Elizabeth moved past her predecessor at about 5 p.m.
Palace officials said there would be no special events to mark the occasion, and the Queen had no public appearances scheduled yesterday. She spent the day working quietly at home on royal paperwork.
The Queen and Prince Philip wave to the crowds at Buckingham Palace in London on her coronation day, June 2, 1953. (AFP/Getty Images)
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Royal historian Robert Lacey said the milestone would likely bring the Queen "some quiet satisfaction."
"She is a modest person, never one for blowing her own trumpet, and I think that is one of the reasons for her success and longevity," Mr. Lacey said.
The Queen, who acceded to the throne in 1952 after the death of her father, George VI, is one of only five monarchs since the Norman Conquest in 1066 to reign for more than half a century. Currently the fourth longest-reigning British monarch, she would overtake Henry III on March 5, and George III in 2012.
But she would not supplant Victoria in that regard until Sept. 9, 2015. However, the Queen can already claim to have been active longer than Victoria, who retreated from public life for more than a decade after the death of her husband, Prince Albert, in 1861.
Victoria began her reign as a teenager on June 20, 1837, and it ended with her death on Jan. 22, 1901.„© The span of 63 years and seven months came to be known as the Victorian era, a period of great social, economic and technical progress in Britain.
Mr. Lacey said the Queen can take credit for steering the monarchy through choppy waters in the late 20th century, when public approval plummeted after the divorces of three of her four children and the death of Charles's ex-wife Diana, Princess of Wales.
"Ten years ago the monarchy was in a very parlous state," Mr. Lacey said. Its survival "is down to the steadiness of the Queen."
The Queen's landmark means her eldest son is approaching his own record: the longest wait by an heir to the throne. Victoria's son became King Edward VII in 1901, when he was 59 years and two months old. Prince Charles turned 59 five weeks ago, on Nov. 14.
Buckingham Palace has long said that the Queen has no intention of abdicating in favour of her son.
She may have many years left in the job. Her mother, Queen Elizabeth, died in 2002 at the age of 101.
