Queen Elizabeth turns 90

A big milestone yesterday for the Royal Family as Queen Elizabeth becomes the first British monarch to reach the venerable age of 90. The queen was born Princess Elizabeth on April 21, 1926 and became queen on the death of her father, King George VI, in 1952. As a young teenager and newly-married couple, she lived with her husband Prince Philip in Malta for a few years, as he was stationed on the HMS Magpie in Malta. The barber that cut his hair was also my barber for many years. A majority of Britons have lived under no other monarch. Everywhere, the day yesterday was marked with an eruption of pomp. Artillery companies fired gun salutes from Hyde Park and the Tower of London, while the bells of Westminster Abbey rang out in celebration. The Queen's birthday will again be celebrated on June 11 with more pageantry and parades all over England.

Buckingham Palace issued three portraits by photographer Annie Leibovitz to mark the day. One shows the queen surrounded by seven young grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The queen cradles 11-month-old Princess Charlotte in her lap, while Mia Tindall — 2-year-old daughter of the queen's granddaughter Zara Phillips and her husband Mike Tindall,— stands clutching the monarch's black handbag. Another photo shows the Queen with the three heirs to the throne, Prince Charles, Prince William and his son Prince George.