Today marks 66 years since The Queen took to the throne

The Queen is privately commemorating the death of her father, King George VI, whose untimely death occurred 66-years-ago to the day.

There are no grand festivities or celebrations to mark the start of Her Majesty’s 66th year on the throne.

Neither The Queen or the Duke of Edinburgh are scheduled to undertake any public engagements today, although she is still be working indoors receiving government red boxes and ministerial correspondence.

She and the Duke of Edinburgh are currently at Sandringham. The 91-year-old Monarch will return to London in the next couple of days while retired Prince Philip will remain for some time longer in Norfolk.

The decision to quietly commemorate her father’s passing comes as no great surprise. In 2015, when she overtook Queen Victoria to be Britain’s longest reigning monarch, she did not take part in any celebrations to avoid celebrating the death of a relative.

She did, however, thank the nation for their kind messages on the occasion, commenting that the milestone was “not one to which I have ever aspired”.

She added: “Inevitably, a long life can pass by many milestones. My own is no exception.”

Similarly, there were no celebrations for The Queen’s Sapphire Jubilee last year.

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph in 2017, The Queen’s former Press Secretary, Dickie Arbiter, said: “It’s important to understand that for the Queen this marks the anniversary of the day her father died.

“She has always made it clear that her long reign is a consequence of her father’s early death, and so it is not a day for celebration.

“On the day itself, she will do her red boxes, but she won’t be going out and about anywhere.”

The next nationwide celebrations for a jubilee occasion will be in 2022 when Her Majesty celebrates 70 years on the throne.

The Platinum Jubilee will take place in the same year as The Queen turns 96-years-old, and is expected to be celebrated on an even larger scale than the Diamond Jubilee in 2012.