Joy, pride as queen turns 80

Crowds gather to wish favourite royal happy birthday

CLUTCHING Union Jack flags, flowers and birthday cards, thousands of well-wishers gathered yesterday outside Windsor Castle, where Queen Elizabeth II was celebrating her 80th birthday.

Pressed against metal barriers snaking through the royal town of Windsor, west of London, the crowds waited excitedly for their monarch to appear as red-and-black uniformed royal guards marched by with bear-skin hats.

“I am going to wish her a happy birthday and I hope she has a wonderful day,” said a 10-year-old girl called Phoebe, who had a prime spot outside the castle with her mother and younger brother.

“She is always nice to people and is thoughtful to those who give her balloons and presents and things,” she said, waving a miniature Union Jack flag.

Ever immaculate in a bright outfit and matching hat, Elizabeth II is the most popular member of the House of Windsor, having escaped the marriage scandals and other personal crises that have befallen many of her relatives.

As she enters her ninth decade and after 54 years on the throne she shows no sign of slowing down, maintaining a gruelling schedule of engagements that has made her one of the world’s most famous faces.

In a sign of her enduring appeal, television crews from across the globe focused their lenses on Windsor Castle as reporters roamed the streets to capture the birthday spirit.

The royal standard, a gold and blue flag stamped with red and gold lions, flew over the Round Tower, the highest point of the castle, parts of which date back nearly 1000 years.

The queen was due to appear publicly for the first time at 80 at just after midday, emerging from the main King Henry VIII Gate of the castle, where she stayed overnight with her husband Prince Philip.

Eager to secure a prime spot, Terry Hat, dressed in a red, white and blue Union Jack T-shirt, trousers and hat, had arrived at 8.30 pm on Thursday.

“She is our queen and she is a good queen. She has never put a foot out of step,” said the 70-year-old, who was the only person to camp out overnight.

Others came from further afield, including Susan Walsh, 32, a housewife from the northern city of Leeds.

“I want to thank her for the job that she does, which is a jolly good one,” she said, holding a bunch of pink carnations, which she hoped to present to the queen.

There was a light police presence, which police said would grow as the morning progressed. — Sapa-AFP