PhotoLONDON — To celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s sapphire jubilee on Monday, marking 65 years on the British throne, there were new coins, a new stamp, gun salutes, and a reissued portrait taken by a famed photographer. Royal jubilees commemorate the life and reign of monarchs. Elizabeth, 90, the world’s longest-reigning monarch, is the first British sovereign to hold a sapphire jubilee. There was a ruby jubilee to mark Elizabeth’s 40 years as queen, but that anniversary was also low-key. The queen made her first public appearance this year on Jan. 8, after a month’s absence.

Source: New York Times February 06, 2017 15:07 UTC