Queen Mum Marks Her 86th to Cheers of Well-Wishers
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LONDON — A beaming Queen Mother Elizabeth appeared with several members of her family outside Clarence House to greet thousands of well-wishers on her 86th birthday today.
The newlywed Duke and Duchess of York won a huge cheer when they appeared at her side, along with her daughters Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret and the Prince and Princess of Wales.
Earlier in the day the “Queen Mum” stepped onto the sidewalk to the strains of “Happy Birthday” played by the pipe and drum band of the 2nd Battalion Scots Guards. Some of the estimated 2,500 who had gathered through the morning sang along and children ran forward to press bouquets into her hands.
The Queen Mother, widow of King George VI, is the oldest person in British history to bear the title of queen. The previous record-holder was her widowed mother-in-law, Queen Mary, who died in 1953 at age 85 and 303 days.
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