A rock of calm and stability: celebrating 70 glorious years of Elizabeth II

To mark the Queen's extraordinary Platinum Jubilee, Jonathan Prynn looks back at some of the highlights of her incredible life

- Jonathan Prynn

In the words of the National Anthem Elizabeth II will have heard played and sung in her honour thousands of times: "Happy and Glorious, Long to Reign Over Us." As the Queen prepares to lead the nation in celebrating an unprecedented Platinum Jubilee, she could be forgiven for reflecting on those lines seven decades on from learning of the great responsibility placed on her 25-year-old shoulders by the death of her father George VI in February 1952.

Could she possibly have guessed at the extraordinary longevity that would make her not just the longest serving monarch in British history, but now the world's oldest head of state? Only a small and diminishing proportion of her subjects can now remember a time before she was the country's monarch.

Throughout that time, the Evening Standard's in-depth coverage has kept Londoners up to date with all of the monarch's highs and lows - from successful Royal Tours throughout the Commonwealth to family tragedy, such as the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.

GLOBALLY RESPECTED PUBLIC FIGURE

The sheer length of her reign, matching the Biblical three score and 10 years of an allotted human lifespan, has allowed her to accumulate an unmatchable store of life experience and quiet wisdom that makes her still one of the world's most respected public figures deep into her nineties.

The Queen's constitutional role, strictly non-political yet still hugely influential, is far from precisely defined, yet she has rarely put a foot wrong in all that time.

HAPPY AND GLORIOUS, LONG TO REIGN OVER ÚS

Over the four-day Jubilee weekend, the Great British people will give thanks for the fulfilled promise of a life of duty and service, "whether it be long or short", that the Queen pledged on her 21st birthday. It has proven to be long - remarkably long.