Queen celebrates 70th birthday
April 21, 1996
Web posted at: 8:00 p.m. EDT (2400 GMT)LONDON (CNN) -- When Elizabeth Alexandra Mary of Windsor entered the world 70 years ago on April 21, she wasn't even in direct line to the throne. But by the time she was 27, she would inherit the mantle of a thousand years of monarchy and go on to found her own branch of the Windsor dynasty. (1M QuickTime movie)
Biographer Ben Pimlott says she met the challenge with unshakable dignity, duty and devotion. But if Elizabeth the monarch is respected by her subjects, the same may no longer necessarily be said of the monarchy as an institution.
"History will say that she was a remarkably ordinary woman. She was a woman of intelligence but no exceptional talent, who found herself in an extraordinary, peculiar position, which she didn't choose."
-- Ben Pimlott, author of "The Queen"
By 1992 -- the 40th anniversary of Elizabeth's reign and her self-described "annus horribilus" -- the public discourse over privilege and wealth and the marital discord of the queen's children would diminish the monarchy's mystique.
A decade ago, the queen's 60th birthday was a national occasion.
Sunday's birthday was more low-keyed. About 1,000 well- wishers sang "Happy Birthday" and gave spring flowers to the queen as she left morning church services.
But the queen was forced to cancel a private 70th birthday dinner party at an exclusive restaurant because newspapers reported the plans, a Buckingham Palace spokesman said.
"It is disappointing that details were leaked to a national newspaper," the spokesman told Britain's Press Association news agency. "The queen wanted to have a private evening with her family."
Sunday's dinner was to be held at a Thames riverside restaurant, tabloid newspapers revealed. They said the queen's two daughters-in-law -- Princess Diana, who is locked in a bitter divorce battle with Prince Charles, and Sarah, Duchess of York, whose divorce from Prince Andrew began in the courts last week -- had not been invited.
The queen's own marriage to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, has lasted nearly a half century now, its secrets kept securely behind closed doors.
"She's a very private person and she doesn't wear her feelings on her sleeves like one or two other members of the royal family," Pimlott said. " This is partly from necessity, partly from training, partly from temperament."
Kings and queens once picked their prime ministers. Elizabeth chooses not to wield that power, taking a back seat, albeit a well-informed one, in affairs of state.
Still, at 70, she is a beloved sight to many in her color-coordinated attire -- from hatted head to well-shod toe. Hers is the well-worn face of an institution that has perhaps seen better, happier times, but remains a symbol of endurance.
From Correspondent Margaret Lowrie and Reuters.
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