Britain's Queen Elizabeth II marks a record 65 years on the throne

(Image credit: Screenshot/NTD.TV)

last updated 6 February 2017

When you are the queen of England and you are celebrating the sapphire anniversary of your accession to the throne, as Queen Elizabeth II is on Monday, you naturally have the right gemstones to mark the occasion.

The photo is actually from 2014, but in it Queen Elizabeth is wearing a suite of sapphire jewelry given to her by her father, King George VI, as a wedding gift in 1947. King George died of lung cancer on Feb. 6, 1952, at age 52, and Elizabeth became queen the same day. Now 90, she became the longest-serving British monarch in 2015, surpassing Queen Victoria, and now she is the first monarch to reach 65 years on the throne. The queen is celebrating her sapphire jubilee without much fuss at her Sandringham estate. You can learn more in the look back from China's NDTV below. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.