Queen Elizabeth celebrates 25,000 days on the throne today as world's longest reigning monarch

The Queen will be celebrating privately
Megan C. Hills18 July 2020

Queen Elizabeth has weathered storms and celebrated milestones for decades as the world’s longest reigning monarch. Today, the monarch will have officially been on the throne for a staggering 25,000 days - 68 years, 5 months and 12 days since being crowned on February 6, 1952.

It is said she will be celebrating the landmark day privately at home in Windsor Castle, where she has been self-isolating over the coronavirus pandemic with Prince Philip.

This week has been a big one for the Queen, who yesterday celebrated the wedding of her granddaughter Princess Beatrice and property developer Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and came out of lockdown to knight Captain Tom Moore in a socially distanced ceremony.

Queen Elizabeth knighting Captain Tom Moore
Getty Images

Nearly seven decades ago, then-Princess Elizabeth discovered she had become Queen while on tour in Nairobi after her father King George VI passed away. She was only 25 at the time.

A fellow guest at the lodge she was staying in, Jim Corbett, famously recalled in the hotel’s guestbook, “For the first time in the history of the world, a young girl climbed into a tree one day a Princess and after having what she described as her most thrilling experience she climbed down from the tree next day a Queen.”

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip on Coronation Day
Getty Images

When her coronation eventually took place in 1953, 20 million people tuned in to watch the ceremony broadcast live as she swore an oath to “govern the Peoples of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland” and other Commonwealth countries as head of state.

It’s said that heavy is the head that wears the crown, and the saying held especially true on her coronation day when the 5lb St Edward’s Crown was set upon her head. (She later remarked in a BBC documentary that it “weighs a tonne” and that she had rarely seen it since her coronation day.)

Since then, she has gone on to welcome a new millennium, meet 12 American presidents, celebrate numerous Jubilees, address the nation over the coronavirus pandemic and watch her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren grow up. Another milestone is soon on the horizon for the Queen, who will celebrate her Platinum Jubilee in 2022 to mark her 70-year reign.

She is not only the longest-reigning British monarch but also the longest-reigning monarch ever. Previously, the longest-reigning British monarch was her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria who reigned for more than 63 years.

Speaking in 2015 when she beat Queen Victoria's record, she said the landmark moment was “not one to which I have ever aspired.”

The Royal Family at Trooping the Colour 2018
PA

She continued, “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 of great kindness."

The sight of the Queen and her many rainbow outfits is a familiar one now, from her elegant Christmas broadcast dresses through to her neon green Trooping the Colour outfit (which swiftly became a green screen meme online).

As the head of the Royal Family, she has led with grace amidst tragedies such as the death of Princess Diana and scandals surrounding various members of the family.

For more on her numerous highlights and how far she’s come, watch the video above.

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