THE leaders of the main political parties will mark the day when the Queen becomes the country’s longest-reigning monarch with speeches in the Commons.
David Cameron and Harriet Harman, the acting Labour leader, will pay their tributes on September 9, the day when the Queen overtakes Victoria, her great-great-grandmother, after 63 years and 216 days.
The timing of the occasion, three days before Jeremy Corbyn hopes to be named as the new Labour leader, will avert potential embarrassment.
Corbyn is a staunch republican who reportedly once urged the then prime minister Tony Blair to remove the royal family from Buckingham Palace and place them in more modest accommodation.
It is unclear if other party leaders, including Tim Farron of the Liberal Democrats, will also speak at the Commons.
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When Victoria surpassed the reign of her grandfather, George III, on September 23, 1896, the public reacted with enthusiasm, even though she did nothing to encourage it. Her reign ended with her death on January 22, 1901.
At about 6.30pm on Wednesday next week, Queen Elizabeth II will become the longest reigning of the 41 kings and queens of England since the Norman conquest.
Although the second Elizabethan age is about to eclipse the Victorian era in duration, the Queen has similarly requested there should be no official celebrations to mark her 23,226th day on the throne.
She has, however, responded to “public clamour” to be seen in public on the day by agreeing to open the Borders Railway. She will board a steam train with Prince Philip at Waverley Station in Edinburgh and be accompanied on the journey by Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister of Scotland.
The Prince of Wales will be at Dumfries House in Ayrshire, but there are no plans for him to make a public tribute.
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By contrast, Charles gave a warm and emotional speech at the Queen’s diamond jubilee concert in 2012. He was cheered by crowds after opening his remarks by calling her “Mummy” and thanking her for “inspiring us with your selfless duty and service”.
A full national celebration of the Queen’s 90th birthday is planned for next year — with her full support.
Her actual birthday is on April 21 and public events will take place at the Royal Windsor Horse Show in May and a lunch for 10,000 people in the Mall to mark her official birthday in June.
Some small-scale events around the country next week will include barbecues, wine tastings and a sponge cake competition involving former Great British Bake Off finalists.