15/06/2006

Events held in honour of Queen's birthday

Thursday's birthday celebrations for the Queen began this morning with a service of thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral attended by members of the Royal family, Prime Minister Tony Blair and invited guests including pop celebrity Sir Cliff Richard.

A later luncheon at the Mansion House in honour of the occasion, saw a light hearted speech from the Queen in which she quoted Groucho Marx's line: "Anyone can get old; all you have to do is live long enough."

Referring to the World Cup and the televised competition between the country's top chefs to decide the menu for the Mansion House luncheon she said that competitive cooking was a new concept, but one in which there were "no penalty shoot-outs."

The BBC programme 'Great British Menu' followed the good natured rivalry between the top regional chefs to create the menu for the Mansion House event at which 350 guests received the finest British cuisine.

Though the Queen, who is 80 this year, was keen to point out that there were other deserving causes celebrating their birthdays: The Duke of Edinburgh Awards marking its 50th anniversary and The Prince's Trust its 30th year.

During his address the Archbishop of Canterbury said that "common loyalty" to the Queen had helped hold the country together.

(SP/GB)

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