Sunday, 6 February 2011

Queen marks 59 years on throne

The Queen will mark the 59th anniversary of her accession to the throne by attending a traditional Sunday church service

She will be among the congregation this morning at West Newton Church on the Sandringham royal estate in Norfolk.

But celebrations are unlikely as Accession Day is a royal anniversary tinged with sadness.

Although it marks the Queen’s accession, the day also commemorates the death of her father, George VI.

The Queen prefers to stay at Sandringham, where the king died peacefully in his sleep early in the morning of February 6 1952.

Royal gun salutes are usually fired around the country on Accession Day but, because this year it falls on a Sunday, the salutes are being withheld until tomorrow at noon.

Next year the Queen will celebrate her Diamond Jubilee – 60 years as Queen.

The sovereign, who is 85 in April, will return to Buckingham Palace tomorrow after being in residence at Sandringham since before Christmas.

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