NINETY-eight today, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, celebrates not just an extraordinary achievement, but is celebrated herself as a truly remarkable woman.
For despite being as old as the century itself and witness to all its turmoil and the upheavals within the monarchy itself, the Queen Mother has throughout her personal reign as a member and the doyenne of the royal family been the epitome of constancy, grace, calm, warmth and majesty.
She remains the model royal. And she is respected and loved by millions because of it.
We wish her many happy returns of the day.
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