Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 96th birthday

Queen Elizabeth II, the United Kingdom's longest serving monarch, celebrated her 96th birthday with a quiet celebration at Sandringham estate.

The queen is marking her 96th birthday privately on Thursday, retreating to the Sandringham estate in eastern England that has offered the monarch and her late husband, Prince Philip, a refuge from the affairs of state.

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 Philip’s death in April 2021. Philip loved the cottage, in part because it is close to the sea, she said in February when hosting a rare public event at Sandringham.