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Queen makes history with Sapphire Jubilee: Royal gun salutes mark 65-year reign

The Queen has become the first British monarch to reach their Sapphire Jubilee, with royal gun salutes to mark the historic day.

On February 6, the anniversary of the day she became Queen, Elizabeth II has reigned for 65 years.

She is expected to commemorate the landmark date privately at her Sandringham Estate, Norfolk, with no official engagements planned.

Royal gun salutes were staged in London on Accession Day, as is the tradition, with a 41-gun salute by the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery in Green Park at noon.

The Band of the Royal Artillery played a selection of celebratory music close to the firing position as 89 horses pulled six First World War-era 13-pounder field guns into position in the park.

A 62-gun salute by the Honourable Artillery Company was fired at the Tower of London at 1pm.

The Queen was in good spirits on Sunday as she greeted well-wishers after attending a church service at St Peter and St Paul in West Newton, Norfolk.

Three-year-old Jessica Atfield, who dressed for the occasion in a union flag skirt, was delighted when she handed a bunch of flowers to the Queen.

The Royal Mint is marking the 65th anniversary with a range of specially designed Sapphire Jubilee commemorative coins, as the Royal Mail issues a Sapphire Blue £5 stamp.

A portrait by David Bailey, taken in 2014 and showing the Queen wearing a suite of sapphire jewellery given to her by King George VI as a wedding gift, has also been reissued.

The Queen, who missed church over Christmas due to a heavy cold, may well be matter-of-fact about the historic occasion.

In 2015, when she thanked the nation for its kind messages after overtaking Queen Victoria to become the longest-reigning monarch in British history, she admitted the royal record was "not one to which I have ever aspired".

She added: "Inevitably, a long life can pass by many milestones. My own is no exception."

The Queen celebrated her 90th birthday last year, with activities including a walkabout, beacon lighting and a black tie dinner for family and friends in Windsor on her actual birthday.

A weekend of national celebrations, including a party on The Mall, was held for her official birthday in June.

It is likely that any large-scale jubilee celebrations will be reserved for the Platinum Jubilee in 2022 - although any events will take into account the fact that Queen is due to turn 96 that year.

The Duke of Cambridge will this summer become a full-time royal, increasing his official duties on behalf of the Queen.

William and the Duchess of Cambridge carried out an engagement on Monday, but not to do with the Queen's record-breaking reign.

They attended Place2Be's Big Assembly at a primary school in north London to mark Children's Mental Health Week.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Theresa May has offered her congratulations to the Queen, hailing her as "truly an inspiration to all of us".

Mrs May said it was "a testament to her selfless devotion to the nation" that the Queen had made clear she did not want official celebrations to mark the historic milestone.

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She added: "Today's Sapphire Jubilee marks yet another remarkable milestone for our remarkable Queen.

"I know the nation will join with me today in celebrating and giving thanks for the lifetime of service Her Majesty the Queen has given to our country and to the Commonwealth.

"It is a testament to her selfless devotion to the nation that she is not marking becoming the first monarch to reign for 65 years with any special celebration but instead getting on with the job to which she has dedicated her life.

"She has truly been an inspiration to all of us and I am proud, on behalf of the nation, to offer our humble thanks and congratulations on celebrating this Sapphire Jubilee."

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