Cameron hails grateful nation’s ‘source of wisdom and continuity’

Leading the tributes, David Cameron praised her experience and wisdom and noted that some people characterise the monarchy as simply “a glittering ornament, a decoration on our national life”.

“That misunderstands our constitution and it underestimates our Queen,” he added. “Always dedicated, always resolute and always respected, she is a source of wisdom and continuity.

“All my life, and for the lives of most people in this country, she has always been there for us. Today, and this year, in the 60th anniversary of her reign, we have the chance to say thank you.”

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: “A fierce defender of Britain’s values, Her Majesty is both revered and respected across the world. And yet all who meet her, no matter how intimidated or star-struck, will tell you that she put them at ease within moments with good humour and her extraordinarily approachable manner.

“So often we marvel at our Queen’s dignity and strength. Today I would also like to pay tribute to her immense kindness and warmth.”

The Queen, who yesterday attended a church service within the Sandringham estate in Norfolk alongside the Duke of Edinburgh, will celebrate her landmark today with an official engagement that will see her travel to King’s Lynn Town Hall and the nearby Dersingham Infant and Nursery School.

And Royal Mail has released a new design of the definitive first-class stamp, updated in honour of the Queen’s milestone. Its traditional gold background has been replaced with a blue colour scheme and the words “Diamond Jubilee” highlighted in iridescent ink.

The stamp will revert back to its original design next year but is likely to become a collectors’ item. It is one of six first-class definitive stamps – all featuring official portraits of the Queen – being issued today.

Her 60 years as Queen will be marked by a series of regional, national and international events this year, culminating in the four-day long Bank Holiday weekend in June.

Further details have been released about the events, a focus of which will be a spectacular River Thames pageant featuring a 1,000-strong flotilla, and a St Paul’s Cathedral service.

A thousand vessels will muster in the River Thames in June for the event on June 3, fulfilling an idea first suggested by the Prince of Wales, patron of the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant.

The £12m event will feature a seven-mile long procession that will include Dunkirk little ships, historic vessels, steam boats and tugs, rowed shallops and Dutch barges and passenger ships.

Pageant master Adrian Evans said more than a million people are expected along the route to watch, and 50 big screens will be put up to allow visitors to make the most of the spectacle.

“We hope the buildings along the pageant route will dress out in appropriate jubilee style, with bunting, Union flags and red, white and blue. The pageant is a once-in-a-lifetime event, one that will reclaim the Thames as a royal route.”

The Queen will review the flotilla before it sets off from Albert Bridge near Chelsea and when it reaches its final stop, Tower Bridge in the City of London.

Classical music, Bollywood anthems, Scottish tunes, English folk songs and military marches are some of the performances that will be staged, with the pageant taking 90 minutes to pass any given point.

The flotilla will be divided into 10 sections, with the music herald barges separating each group, led by the Royal Jubilee Bells – eight church bells that will sound a quarter peal and be answered by churches along the route – and Gloriana, a hand-built 88ft rowbarge covered in gold leaf.

The royal section features the pageant’s flagship, the royal barge, with a guard of honour behind.