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| Queen Victoria (L) and Queen Elizabeth II (L) |
The Press Association reports that Queen Elizabeth II will
enter the history books when she overtakes Victoria during September 9 2015.
This takes into account 63 years plus 16 leap days, additional months and days
and the timing of George VI's death.
Queen Victoria’s reign of
63 years and seven months, which is longer than that of any other British
monarch and the longest of any female monarch in history, is known as the
Victorian era.
It is likely to be
business as usual for the Queen when she reaches the landmark date at the age
of 89.
"The Queen
traditionally spends the month of September at Balmoral. Next year is unlikely
to be any different," a Buckingham Palace spokesman said.
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On
September 9 2015, the Queen will become the longest ever reigning monarch in
British history
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Historian Dr Kate
Williams described the length of the Queen's reign as a great source of
strength for the monarch.
"It's a very significant
milestone. The Queen will become the longest reigning British monarch in
history. She came to the throne when she was older than Victoria. Victoria was
only 18," Dr Williams said.
"It shows that our
female monarchs last the longest. The Queen's longevity is a great source of
her strength and popularity. She has lived through World War Two and throughout
the 20th century.
"Many people will
not have known a different monarch. We saw her huge popularity in the Golden
Jubilee and even more so in the Diamond Jubilee. We're very used to her."
Queen Victoria came to
the throne on June 20 1837. She became the figurehead of a vast empire and her
reign spanned the rest of the century amid great industrial, cultural and
scientific changes to society.
But she mourned the early
death of her consort Prince Albert in 1861 for the rest of her life. She died
on January 22 1901.
Princess Elizabeth became
Queen Elizabeth II when she was 25 on the death of her father King George VI,
who died in the early hours of February 6 1952.
Like Victoria, she has
acted as a figure of continuity as the country has modernized. She has served,
with the Duke of Edinburgh at her side, through the 20th century, the
Millennium and into the 21st century, witnessing new technological advances and
a succession of British governments of different political persuasions.
The Queen has become
accustomed to countless milestones during her decades on the throne.
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Queen
Elizabeth II is also the first British monarch to have sent an email
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In December 2007, she
became the longest living British monarch, overtaking Victoria who died when
she was 81, and in May 2011, she became the second-longest reigning monarch in
British history, when she overtook George III.
According to Guinness
World Records, the Queen also holds the world record for most currencies
featuring the same individual.
Her Diamond Jubilee river
pageant in 2012 set a new world record for the number of boats in a parade with
more than 1,000 vessels taking part and 670 making the complete trip down the
Thames to Tower Bridge.
The Queen is also the
first British monarch to have sent an email, to have a message put on the moon,
have conducted a royal 'walkabout' and to have held a public concert in her
back garden.
The record of length of
time on the throne can be calculated in different ways, but the Palace
considers the total number of days plus hours and minutes to be the most
accurate.
The Queen is also the
second longest-serving current head of state in the world after King Bhumibol
Adulyadej of Thailand, who took to the throne in 1946 but who is now rarely
seen in public.
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