Queen to pass milestone this weekend

By Rich Bowden, M&C Staff Writer Dec 17, 2007, 9:18 GMT

British Queen Elizabeth II makes her way to the State Opening of Parliament from Buckingham Palace in London, Britain 06 November 2007. EPA/ANDY RAIN

(M&C) - The Queen will quietly celebrate an important milestone this weekend, when she passes Queen Victoria as the nation's oldest monarch.

The present Queen's great-great-grandmother, died on Jan 22, 1901, aged 81 years, seven months, four weeks and one day.

However there will be no public announcement and the Queen will spend the day quietly with the Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor Castle.

Peter Hennessy, the Attlee Professor of contemporary British History at Queen Mary, University of London, described the achievement as "remarkable" saying to the Telegraph, "Even allowing for the improvement in medicine since Victoria it is remarkable. I cannot think of any other head of an institution who has not put a foot wrong over such a long period of time."

"In those years she has presided over the most dignified withdrawal from the superpower status, which is no bad legacy. The way she has adapted, without succumbing to faddish fashions, is a gift of genius," he said.

The Queen though ranks behind Queen Victoria in number of years reigned. Currently the fourth-longest ranking monarch, she would have to still be on the throne on Sept 9 2015 to break Victoria's record of almost 64 years.