Queen's 90th birthday: Prince of Wales leads celebrations with moving Shakespeare recital heard around the world

The Prince of Wales today led the nation in tributes to the Queen as she became the first reigning monarch to reach her 90th birthday.

Prince Charles marked his mother’s milestone personally by delivering a moving reading of William Shakespeare in her honour.

In a broadcast that went around the world on the BBC, his reading focused on the first Queen Elizabeth and ended with the Bard’s words, “She shall be, to the happiness of England, An aged princess; many days shall see her, And yet no day without a deed to crown it.”

Tonight Charles will deliver another heartfelt live testimonial to Her Majesty when the first of a chain of 1,000 beacons across Britain and the world will be lit in her honour in the shadow on Windsor Castle.

Afterwards the prince who has been the “author and architect” of the celebrations for his beloved mother will lead her back to the private party at the castle he has arranged for 28 members of the royal family, including her grandchildren.

The dinner party, arranged by Charles’s close aide Michael Fawcett, will feature entertainment including a performance by West End and Broadway star Julian Ovenden, 39.

Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday Celebrations

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The network of a thousand beacons, traditional gun salutes and the illumination of the Houses of Parliament are among the ways the nation is celebrating.

Parliament, where MPs will also pay tribute, will be lit up red, white and blue for the special royal anniversary from the evening until Friday at dawn.

Prime Minister David Cameron will pay tribute too to the monarch’s life when MPs debate a “humble address” to mark the Queen’s birthday.

He is expected to say: “Throughout it all, as the sands of culture shift and the tides of politics ebb and flow, Her Majesty has been steadfast - a rock of strength for our nation, for our Commonwealth and on many occasions for the whole world.”

The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery will ride their horses and gun carriages past Buckingham Palace to Hyde Park to stage a 41 Gun Royal Salute at midday.

The Honourable Artillery Company will also drive through the city in their liveried Pinzgauer vehicles to the Tower of London to fire a 62 gun salute across the Thames at 1pm.

Bells were being rung will at Westminster Abbey, where the Queen was married and crowned, from 1pm.

Local authorities around the UK will host lighting events throughout the country to create a network of flames in celebration.

The beacons will be specially built gas-fuelled structures, traditional bonfires or braziers on top of a tall wooden post.

Members of the Army Cadet Force will be taking beacons to the top of the four highest peaks in the United Kingdom - Ben Nevis in Scotland, Mount Snowdon in Wales, Scafell Pike in England, and Slieve Donard in Northern Ireland.

The Prime Minister offered his own message of support to the Queen 
Chris Jackson/Getty Images

There is a long and unbroken tradition of celebrating royal jubilees, weddings, coronations and birthdays in this way.

In Edinburgh, a firework display will be staged over the Royal Yacht Britannia.

Pupils from St Barnabas & St Philip's Church of England Primary School in Earls Court celebrate the day
Alex Lentati

Well-wishers are expected to sing Happy Birthday to the Queen when she goes on a walkabout close to the castle home later to acknowledge the good wishes of the public during a day of celebrations on the streets of Windsor.

The Queen accepted gifts, cards and flowers as she and Prince Philip walked around the town.

Before the walkabout, the Queen was today unveiling a plaque for the Queen’s Walkway - a four-mile walking trail connecting 63 “points of significance” in Windsor.

The walkway was designed by the Outdoor Trust in recognition of the moment ‪on 9 September last year when the Queen became Britain’s longest reigning monarch, after more than 63 years on the throne.

Family: The Queen pictured with her youngest grandchildren and five great-grandchildren (© 2016 Annie Leibovitz /PA Wire)
© 2016 Annie Leibovitz

The milestone birthday has also been marked by the release of an historic photograph of the Queen surrounded by her five great-grandchildren - including Prince George and Princess Charlotte - and her two youngest grandchildren.

The image is one of three taken by celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz who has also captured the Queen informally with her only daughter the Princess Royal, and in the final image with four of her dogs, her corgis Willow and Holly and dorgis Vulcan and Candy.

Prince Charles personally chose his Shakespeare reading - an edited passage from The Bard’s Henry VIII – in consultation with Greg Doran, Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Pets: Her Majesty stands in the ground of Windsor Castle with four of her dogs (© 2016 Annie Leibovitz /PA Wire)
© 2016 Annie Leibovitz/PA

Mary Hockaday, Controller, BBC World Service English said: “This is a very special and unusual birthday gift.

“I am delighted that we are able to broadcast The Prince of Wales’s eloquent reading to our audiences around the world on The Queen’s birthday and in the year of William Shakespeare’s anniversary.”

His reading is an extract from a speech by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer to King Henry VIII after the birth of the future Queen Elizabeth I. and it is also a tribute to William Shakespeare whose 400th anniversary is being celebrated this month.

The heir to the throne also narrates the John Bridcut documentary “Elizabeth at 90 – A Family Tribute” which airs ‪tonight at 9pm on BBC One

Proud mother: The Queen sits with her only daughter Princess Anne (© 2016 Annie Leibovitz /PA Wire)
© 2016 Annie Leibovitz

Featuring previously unseen material from the Queen’s cine film collection it follows the format suggested by the prince.

Members of the royal family watched footage and comment on it for the television special.

One senior source said, “The Prince of Wales has been the author and the architect of these celebrations for Her Majesty. He wanted everything to be perfect for his mother on this special occasion.

“She has been deeply touched by everything he has done to make the day so special and memorable for her,” the close source said.

In June the nation will mark the Queen’s birthday again. When the Queen became the nation’s longest-reigning monarch last autumn - passing Queen Victoria’s record - she remarked that living to a ripe old age can bring many anniversaries: “Inevitably a long life can pass by many milestones. My own is no exception.”

And in her Christmas broadcast the Queen made a light-hearted remark about turning 90, hinting she was aware of the significance of the milestone: “I am looking forward to a busy 2016, though I have been warned I may have Happy Birthday sung to me more than once or twice.”

During her 64-year reign the monarch has been served by 12 prime ministers from Sir Winston Churchill to David Cameron, while Barack Obama, who will drop for lunch on Friday, is the 12th US president to hold office over the same period.

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