Queen cuts cake at Platinum Jubilee reception

Queen - The Queen has spent the anniversary of her accession in Sandringham - PA Media via BBC News

The Queen has cut a cake to mark her Platinum Jubilee as she met members of the Sandringham community on the eve of the 70th anniversary of her reign.

Ahead of Accession Day, she hosted a reception for volunteer groups, pensioners and fellow members of the local Women's Institute group.

The accession message, issued from her Sandringham estate in Norfolk, said the Queen still kept the promise of a lifetime of public duty, originally made in 1947 when she was 21 years old, "that my life will always be devoted to your service".

She reflected on how much she had gained from support given "unselfishly" by Prince Philip and thanked the goodwill shown to her by "all nationalities, faiths and ages in this country".

The Queen has become the first monarch in British history to have reached a Platinum Jubilee.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson paid tribute, saying: "Throughout her seven-decade reign, she has shown an inspirational sense of duty and unwavering dedication to this nation."

Sunday is expected to be a private day, with no public appearances.

The Queen said it was a day that "even after 70 years, I still remember as much for the death of my father, King George VI, as for the start of my reign". – Adapted from BBC News