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Queen Elizabeth II - Britain's oldest and longest-serving monarch - is celebrating her 90th birthday Thursday with a day at home and a short walk.

Britain celebrated the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday with tributes to a popular monarch who has steered it through the decline of empire and a wave of scandals to the Internet age.

Prime Minister David Cameron paid tribute to the queen as "a rock of strength for our nation"� and her son and heir Prince Charles marked the occasion by reading Shakespeare verses in a special broadcast on the BBC radio.

The sovereign, who last year overtook her great-great grandmother queen Victoria to become Britain's longest-reigning monarch, will meet well-wishers near Windsor Castle later on Thursday to mark the day.

In the evening, she will light a beacon, the first in a chain of 1,000 which will be illuminated around the country and the world, and host a family dinner.
While still an active monarch, the queen, who has reigned since 1953, has scaled back her duties in recent years as Prince Charles and grandson Prince William plus wife Kate take a more prominent role.

The royals remain popular but some analysts question what will happen when the queen � who is in good health, enjoying regular rides on her favourite pony and walking her corgis � reaches the end of her life.

The Times newspaper in an editorial praised the queen as "a symbol of continuity and the best embodiment we have of a complex national identity"�

But it warned the monarchy "will not long retain its popularity"� if Charles, an opinionated environmentalist, is seen as interfering in politics in breach of constitutional conventions.

British MPs will devote most of the day to a debate in her honour led by Cameron in the House of Commons and parliament will be lit up in red, white and blue, the colours of Britain's flag.

Two military gun salutes will take place at London's Hyde Park and the Tower of London to mark the occasion.

Buckingham Palace released three new official pictures of the queen taken by US celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz.