Queen Elizabeth II privately marks her 96th birthday

LONDON (AP) — Queen Elizabeth II is marking her 96th birthday privately on Thursday, retreating to the Sandringham estate in eastern England.

Elizabeth is expected to spend the day at the estate’s Wood Farm cottage, a personal sanctuary where she also spent her first Christmas since Prince Philip’s death in April 2021.

The Royal Family shared a picture of the queen when she was 2 years old. In a post on Instagram, the Royal Family detailed how Elizabeth became queen at a young age.

“Her life changed in 1936 when her uncle, King Edward VIII abdicated, her father became King George VI and the young Princess became the heir presumptive,” the post says. “Following the sad death of her father in 1952, Princess Elizabeth became Queen Elizabeth II aged just 25.”

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This birthday comes during the queen’s platinum jubilee year, marking her 70 years on the throne.

While Thursday will be low-key, public celebrations will take place June 2-5, when four days of jubilee festivities have been scheduled to coincide with the monarch’s official birthday.

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