Queen marks 60 years of her reign

Jubilant crowds and trumpets heralded the 60-year-rein of Queen Elizabeth II as she joined a special service at the iconic Westminster Abbey today along with 2,000 invited guests.
The bells of the world-famous Abbey pealed as the 87-year-old monarch's Bentley drew up and she stepped out into the bright sunshine to enter the church where as a 27-year-old she became Queen of Britain and Head of the Commonwealth in June 1953.
Some of those who took part in her coronation in 1953 were also among the congregation as the Archbishop of Canterbury, Reverend Justin Welby, paid tribute to the monarch's "60 years of commitment".

The Queen was accompanied by more than 20 members of her family, including Prince William and his pregnant wife Kate Middleton.
Her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, who had pulled out of an engagement on Monday night because he was feeling unwell, was also by her side.
The Archbishop of Canterbury told those gathered in the Abbey that the coronation all those years ago had been "an ordination, a setting aside of a person for service".

"We do not know what was prayed. Her Majesty knelt at the beginning of a path of demanding devotion and utter self-sacrifice, a path she did not choose, yet to which she was called by God. Today we celebrate 60 years since that moment, 60 years of commitment," he said.

Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Kamalesh Sharma, was among those present to give a reading at the ceremony.
Other royals included Prince Harry, the Duke of York, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, and the Earl and Countess of Wessex.
The congregation sang the National Anthem before British Prime Minister David Cameron gave a reading from the 'Book of King'.
Several key items from the Coronation were placed in Westminster Abbey for the service.
The solid gold St Edward's Crown, glittering with jewels, was displayed on the high altar of the abbey - the first time it has left the Tower of London since the coronation ceremony.

Also placed on the altar was the Ampulla, the gold, eagle-shaped flask containing the holy oil with which the Queen was anointed.
The Coronation Chair, one of the oldest pieces of English furniture still in use, was also on show.
Prince Charles, the heir to the throne who was just four when his mother was crowned, sat next to his parents on the front row, alongside wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.
The four-day celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the coronation have been more low-key than the festivities held last year to mark the day the queen took the throne in 1952.