Artillery Salvo is Gun Salute For Queen Elizabeth II’s 70-Year Jubilee

LONDON (AP) – Gun salutes rang out in London and Edinburgh on Monday to mark the official start of Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee year.

Britain’s longest-serving monarch, Elizabeth became queen on the death of her father, King George VI, from lung cancer at age 56 on Feb. 6, 1952.

The monarch doesn’t celebrate the anniversary of the date she became queen, known as Ascension Day, as it is also the anniversary of her father´s death.

In a statement released Saturday, the 95-year-old queen remembered the death of her father and recalled the seven decades of “extraordinary progress” that her reign has spanned.

The queen made clear she intended to continue as head of state, renewing the pledge she made on her 21st birthday to devote her entire life to the service of the U.K. and the Commonwealth.

She also sought to shore up the future of monarchy by saying it was her “sincere wish´´ that Prince Charles´ wife, Camilla, should be known as “Queen Consort” when her son becomes king. With those words, Elizabeth sought to answer once and for all questions about the status of Camilla, who was initially shunned by fans of the late Princess Diana, Charles´ first wife.

While Sunday´s anniversary was low-key, public celebrations of the Platinum Jubilee are scheduled for June, when the weather is usually sunnier. The festivities will include a military parade, a day of horse-racing and neighborhood parties. There is also a competition to create a new dessert to be consumed over the jubilee weekend June 2-5.