Queen's Jubilee Celebrations Begin

EPSOM (Reuters) - A beaming Queen Elizabeth arrived at the races on Saturday to indulge a lifelong passion for horses and launch four days of nationwide Diamond Jubilee celebrations marking her 60 years on the British throne.

Wearing a blue coat and matching hat on a chilly summer's day, the 86-year-old was greeted by tens of thousands of flag-waving well-wishers at the Epsom Derby in southern England to watch one of the racing calendar's richest events.

Welsh opera singer Katherine Jenkins led the crowd in singing the national anthem as the queen and husband Prince Philip looked on, reflecting a mood of patriotism that has swept the country as the queen reaches a rare milestone.

Only one monarch has celebrated a diamond jubilee before - Queen Elizabeth's great-great-grandmother Victoria in 1897.

"I would have stood there in the pouring rain to have sung that, it was such an honor," said Jenkins.
"This is definitely a day I will never forget. There's such a sense of celebration in the air, everybody's really proud and happy and, I think, inspired by this."

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Her Majesty arriving at Epson race course.

Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice of York and Princess Michael of Kent.

(©AFP)