On her 90th birthday: Some trivia about Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning English monarch in history, turned ninety today, beating her own great-great grandmother, Queen Victoria's record of 63 years and 7 months.

So how does royalty celebrate their birthday? Well, like any of us, with family!

Queen Elizabeth celebrates turning 90 with her grandchildren

In the picture above, The Queen is holding the daughter of William and Catherine, Princess Charlotte, 11 months, in the tradition of royal portraiture. It also features her two youngest grandchildren, Lady Louise, 12, and James, Viscount Severn, 8, as well as great-grandchildren Mia Tindall, 2, holding the Queen's handbag, Savannah, 5, and Isla Phillips, 3 and Prince George, 2.

These other pictures also provide a taste of British royalty:

Queen Elizabeth celebrates turning 90 - with her daughter, the Princess Royal, in the White Drawing Room at the castle.

India too has had a glimpse of the royal monarch in the past, as the Queen has visited three times. The very first time was in 1961, when she became the first monarch to visit after India's independence from colonial rule.

The first visit of the Queen was very extensive, with much of the expected activities. She along with her husband Prince Phillip progressed through the ">Indian sub-continent riding howdahs on royal elephants as the guests of Indian princess residence, much to the curiosity and excitement of the crowds that came out to see.

Taking in the sights on her special ride: Queen Elizabeth II in 1961 ( Picture Credit: dailybeast.com)

The royal couple toured the country’s biggest cities like (the then called) Bombay, Madras and Calcutta. They also visited India’s most recognizable monument, the Taj Mahal, and were the guests of honor for India’s Republic Day Parade that year.

At New Delhi, the Queen was seen next to the then President Rajendra Prasad in a horse and carriage and later at a garden party hosted by Vice-President Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, with members of the first family, the Nehrus. Dancers, musicians, folk artists, philosophers and poets came forth as part of the entourage.

At Chennai they were received at the Rajaji Hall in the erstwhile Government Estate by a high power delegation of statesmen.Since it was the Queen's third child Prince Andrew's first birthday, they also cut a cake in his honour, Reported by TOI. They also toured the tea and coffee estates, and spent one evening at the Governor's dinner party.

A rather unexpected turn of events happened in the form of a small controversy when as part of a hunting expedition, her request to use a calf as a bait for hunting tigers was politely turned down by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

By the time the Queen came back in 1983 the elephant rides had been replaced by a ">stately sedan. And her 1997 visit was marked by her ">solemn visit to the Jallianwala Bagh, an acknowledgment of the massacre that took place there in 1919.

Taking a solemn moment: The Queen's Jalianwalla Bagh visit. (Picture Credit: dailymail.uk)

Now that's a lot of royal trivia for one day!