REUTERS

LONDON QUEEN Elizabeth will celebrate 60 years on the throne next month along with huge crowds expected for a pop concert at Buckingham Palace, a grand procession through the streets of London and a 1,000-strong flotilla along the River Thames.

The Diamond Jubilee comes just over a year after the royal wedding of Prince William, the queen’s grandson, to Kate Middleton, a spectacular display of pomp and pageantry which has boosted the monarchy’s popularity at home and abroad.

While international media attention has focused on the young Duke and Duchess of Cambridge since their marriage, in early June it is the queen who will be in the limelight as she becomes only the second British monarch to mark the milestone.

Queen Victoria also made it to 60 years in 1897, although the vast British Empire she reigned over at that time has all but vanished and royalty has become a largely symbolic institution with few real powers.

The queen has less than four years to go to become the longest serving British monarch, but she trails Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej as the longestserving living head of state.

Despite her age, courtiers and many commentators believe that 86-year-old Elizabeth remains an important figurehead in Britain and beyond, a symbol of stability and service that has taken on added weight during straitened economic times.

A poll published in Britain’s Guardian newspaper on Friday showed public support for the queen was at a record high in spite of harsh economic times and growing cynicism towards politicians following a number of high-profile scandals.

The survey showed 69 percent of respondents thought Britain would be worse off without the monarchy, with 22 percent saying it would be better off - the largest margin between the opposing views since the poll was first commissioned in 1997.