Elizabeth II held a tea party at Sandringham on the eve of the 70th anniversary of her reign

The Queen hosted a tea party in the ballroom of Sandringham House on the eve of her Platinum Jubilee. On 6 February Elizabeth II will become the first British monarch to reign for 70 years.

The Queen traditionally spends the anniversary of her accession at Sandringham, where her father King George VI died on the morning of 6 February 1952.

On this historic occasion the gathering brought together local residents, pensioners from Norfolk, members of the Sandringham Women's Institute, of which Elizabeth is President, and staff and volunteers of local charities. The Queen, in a sky-blue crepe dress, treated her guests to cake bearing the emblem of the Platinum Jubilee. They presented her with lilies of the valley, her favourite flowers, which adorned her coronation bouquet.