Queen Elizabeth makes history with age

Elizabeth is the oldest
monarch England has had.

LONDON (AP) — Queen Elizabeth II became Britain’s oldest-ever monarch Thursday, reaching a new milestone in a job she has held for more than a half century — one that comes with luxurious accommodation, long hours and little chance of retirement.

Elizabeth, 81, passed the mark set by her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria. Her son, Prince Charles, closed in on the title of longest-waiting heir to the throne.

Victoria was born May 24, 1819, and lived for 81 years and 243 days. Buckingham Palace, calculating longevity down to the hour, said Elizabeth moved past her predecessor about 5 p.m. (noon EST).

Palace officials said there would be no special events to mark the occasion, and the queen had no public appearances scheduled Thursday. She spent the day working quietly at home on royal paperwork.

Royal historian Robert Lacey said the milestone would likely bring the queen “some quiet satisfaction.”

“She is a modest person, never one for blowing her own trumpet, and I think that is one of the reasons for her success and longevity,” Lacey said.

Elizabeth, who took the throne in 1952, is one of only five kings or queens since the 1066 Norman Conquest to reign for more than half a century. Currently the fourth longest-reigning English monarch, she would overtake King Henry III on March 5, and King George III in 2012.

On Sept. 9, 2015 she would pass Queen Victoria, who ruled for almost 64 years, as the longest-reigning British monarch.

Elizabeth can already claim to have been active longer than Victoria, who retreated from public life for more than a decade after the death of her husband, Prince Albert, in 1861.

Lacey said the queen could take credit for steering the monarchy through choppy waters in the late 20th century, when public approval plummeted after the divorces of three of Elizabeth’s four children and the death of Charles’ ex-wife, Princess Diana.

“Ten years ago the monarchy was in a very parlous state,” Lacey said. Its survival “is down to the steadiness of the queen.”