LONDON — Thousands of people turned out to wish Queen Elizabeth II a happy 90th birthday Thursday, as she became the first British monarch to reach that grand age.
The occasion inspired a flood of good wishes from around the world — and even from space, courtesy of British astronaut Tim Peake at the International Space Station — many of them using the hashtag #HappyBirthdayYourMajesty.
The sun broke through as Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, 94, were greeted by crowds of cheering well-wishers on a walkabout in Windsor, 25 miles west of London. They've been married for 69 years.
The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery rode past Buckingham Palace in central London, before staging a gun salute across the River Thames at noon, and the bells at Westminster Abbey rang in tribute.
Delhey Beatekrieger, 52, from Aachen, Germany, took advantage of a business trip to see Buckingham Palace for the first time.
Tourists continued to mill outside the palace Thursday afternoon, even though Britain’s longest-serving ruler wasn’t home but in Windsor, where she was to be joined by family members including Prince William and Duchess Kate for a private celebration at the castle in the evening.
“My mother told me today that it was the queen’s birthday and she asked me if I’d go to high tea,” Beatekrieger said. “I’m a fan of the queen and the whole royal family. I wish her a lot of happy years.”
The queen has two birthdays — her actual date of birth on April 21, and a birthday celebration in June to make the most of the summer weather, characterized by the Trooping the Color parade.
This year, additional celebrations will be held — a four-day music extravaganza on the grounds of Windsor Castle next month, and in June there will be party on the Mall, near Buckingham Palace, which will be attended by 10,000 guests.
Prime Minister David Cameron made a speech in the U.K's parliament — which will be lit up in the red, white and blue of the Union Jack overnight — to mark the historic day.
Britain is living, Cameron said, in the “modern Elizabethan Era.”
At age 21, the queen, who has represented her kingdom on 266 official visits to 116 countries, told her subjects, “My whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service."
“Never has such an extraordinary promise been so profoundly fulfilled,” Cameron said. “When people meet the queen they talk about it for the rest of their lives,” he added. “She understands that and she shows a genuine interest in all she meets. They can really see that she cares.”
