Phil Mason and Jan Favager, who traveled to London from outside Liverpool, planned their trip a year ago to make sure they could get an affordable hotel room. “She’s done such a great, wonderful job,” Mr. Mason said. “I think she’s a lovely lady.”
Strictly speaking, Elizabeth has not yet set the longevity record for any monarch. Louis XIV of France, Johann II of Liechtenstein and Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand were all on the throne for more than 70 years. But she is the longest-reigning British monarch, surpassing Queen Victoria, who ruled for almost 64 years, and the longest-reigning queen of any country.
There were, inevitably, a few discordant notes. Graham Smith, who runs Republic, a group that favors abolishing the monarchy, said he planned to mark the jubilee with an anti-monarchy conference this weekend.
“I certainly don’t view her with any kind of admiration,” Mr. Smith said, drinking coffee in the town of Reading, west of London, where he now lives. “There is no achievement in what she’s done.”
That, however, seemed to be a minority opinion among the tens of thousands of spectators who lined the Mall on a sunny late-spring day in London. Most were good-natured — the government gave people two days off for jubilee — though the police said they arrested several people for trying to breach the parade route.
The Trooping the Color military pageantry has been used to mark the birthday of the British sovereign for more than 260 years, so there were no surprises on Thursday, apart from the queen’s initial, unscheduled, appearance on the balcony.
