Low key milestone

Marking 63 years, seven months and three days on the throne on Wednesday, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II overtakes Queen Victoria to become the country's longest reigning monarch.

Her officials said the occasion would be a low-key affair, unlike the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012, which saw more than a million people gather outside her London home, Buckingham Palace.

The 89-year-old monarch is due to interrupt her holiday at Balmoral Castle, Scotland, to open a new section of railway between the Borders region and Edinburgh, and may even give a rare public speech.

'Many years left'

Reaching the milestone 114 years after the record was last set, her supporters believe the current monarch is in good health and will live on for many years.

"She's never been in hospital for anything serious. She's fighting fit. All you have to do is see her going about her daily business and you can see that she's going to be with us for some time yet," Dickie Arbiter, the Queen's former press secretary told DW.

Arbiter added that Queen Elizabeth thinks it would be in bad taste to formally celebrate the occasion, as it marks a milestone since her ascension to the throne following the death of her father in 1952.

National treasure

Queen Elizabeth remains a popular figure among most Britons, despite a series of family scandals that saw three of her four children divorce in a blaze of publicity and amid small but muted republican campaigns.

She also quickly overcame resentment which threatened her long-term support for appearing distant and unconcerned following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997.

"If you believe opinion polls, they put the popularity of the monarchy in the 70s (percent), where it hasn't really moved over the last decade," said Arbiter, who's also the author of "On duty with the Queen".

"The Queen herself is way up into the 80s, so there is still a popular groundswell and a certain amount of affection for her," he added.

While campaigners for the abolition of the monarchy claim Wednesday's milestone is no achievement - describing the record as good timing, good luck and genetics - many royal watchers think the British monarchy is safe for now.

"She's been exemplary in terms of maintaining respect and a certain mystique about the monarchy," historian Anna Whitelock told DW, adding that when the Queen dies, it'll be "a very different story."

"In a way, the Queen's longevity has kept in check a whole series of difficult questions about who wants the monarchy and who should pay for it? Many of the questions that might have been asked earlier will certainly be asked when she finally does pass away," said Whitelock, a lecturer at Royal Holloway, University of London.

Achievements underrated

While her role as head of state precludes any personal interference in UK politics, critics are too quick to diminish the many achievements of her 63 year reign, thinks Arbiter.

"If you look deeper, I think she's been the contributing factor that has kept the Commonwealth together (the Commonwealth of nations that was formed after the British empire.) Wherever she travels to these countries, she's greeted like a long, lost friend," he said.

Most analysts acknowledge that republican movements in Australia and Canada resonate more loudly than at home, calling for elected presidents to replace the British monarch as head of state, which the Queen has worked hard to lessen.

In the days leading up to Wednesday's milestone, British media focused on comparisons between Queen Elizabeth and her great, great grandmother Queen Victoria.

While British history books still revere the sovereign who gave her name to an entire era, some experts believe Elizabeth's reign has been as favorable, given advances in technology and massive societal change over the past century.

"Victoria had an empire which she never visited. She was Empress of India, and never visited it. The Queen has visited every Commonwealth country and every realm country (where she is head of state)," said Arbiter.

Others point to Queen Elizabeth's strong sense of duty, which is all too apparent from her daily workload, despite her advanced years.

"After the death of her husband Albert, Victoria withdrew and became an invisible queen. By contrast, Elizabeth has overseen the growth of the media and the demands that have come with that; the desire of the Queen's subjects to see the Royal Family much more," said Whitelock, a royal historian and commentator.

Despite not being a very "emotional, touch-feely, self-confessional" type, Elizabeth has utilized the media to the benefit of the institution of monarchy, she added.

Waiting in the wings

Queen Elizabeth's longevity means Prince Charles, who's already in his sixties, must still wait some years before he becomes King. Prince William and Kate may well be into their 40s or 50s by the time they come to the throne, in what Whitelock described as a "backlog of royal heirs."

While Arbiter believes Elizabeth's endurance has given the British monarchy the impetus it needs to continue well into the next century, Whitelock thinks a "long-living monarch is both a blessing and a curse for the Royal Family's future."