Queen Elizabeth ‘never aspired’ to be UK’s longest-reigning monarch

Queen Elizabeth became Britain's its longest-reigning monarch on Wednesday, but amid tributes from politicians and the public, she said the landmark was not something to which she had aspired.

Elizabeth (89) surpasses the 63 years, seven months, two days, 16 hours and 23 minutes her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria spent on the throne. The occasion was marked by cheering, flag-waving crowds on the street, bells ringing out in Westminster Abbey and solemn messages in parliament. But the Queen, who is also the nation's oldest ever monarch, wanted little fuss.

She made only a brief reference to it in a speech as she opened a railway line in Scotland. Thanking the crowd for their welcome, she said: “Many . . . have also kindly noted another significance attaching to today, although it is not one to which I have ever aspired. 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 and great kindness.”

In London, political leaders heaped praise on the head of state, who became monarch aged 25, at a time when Britain was emerging from the ravages of the second World War.

Prime minister David Cameron told parliament in London she was a “rock of stability”. “She has served this country with unfailing grace, dignity and decency, and long may she continue to do so.”

The royal barge Gloriana led a flotilla of boats down the Thames, past a four-gun salute from the HMS Belfast, permanently moored on the river.

"It's an extraordinary achievement in some respects," her second son Prince Andrew told BBC TV, "but actually it's about the consistency and the leadership that she is showing and has shown throughout her reign that I think is probably the one thing that marks her out more than anything else." – Reuters