The Queen has reached an impressive milestone in her reign, becoming the fourth longest-reigning monarch in history. As of Wednesday, her Majesty has been the head of state for the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand for an incredible 68 years and 33 days. This temporarily puts her in joint fourth place with K'inich Janaab' Pakal, who reigned from 29 July 615 to 31 August 683 in the seventh-century Mayan city-state of Palenque, whose record she will surpass on Thursday.
WATCH: Duchess Kate curtseys to the Queen
Ahead of the Queen in the list of long-reigning monarchs are only Louis XIV of France, who reigned from 14 May 1643 to 1 September 1715, Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who acceded to the throne in 9 June 1946 and died on 13 October 2016, and Johann II of Liechtenstein, who reigned between 12 November 1858 and 11 February 1929. While the 93-year-old will need to be on the throne for another four years in order to become the longest-reigning monarch of all time, she is the longest-reigning living monarch, followed by Hassanal Bolkiah, who has reigned Brunei for 52 years and 107 days so far.
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The Queen attended the Commonwealth Day service on Monday
On Sunday, the Royal Family's Instagram account paid tribute to the Queen in honour of International Women's Day, celebrating the important role she has played in British history throughout the last 68 years. Alongside a stunning black-and-white photo of the mother-of-four on a horse in her Grenadier Guards uniform, was a caption, which read: "The Queen in her Grenadier Guards uniform during her first Trooping the Colour as Monarch in 1953. Her Majesty is Head of the Armed Forces, Head of the Commonwealth, Head of State in 16 countries and the longest reigning Sovereign in British history. On International Women's Day, find out more about Her Majesty’s life and work via our link in bio."
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