(Changes dateline, adds quotes)
By Georgina Cooper
WINDSOR, England, April 21 (Reuters) - Crowds gathered from
across Britain and beyond on Thursday to celebrate the 90th
birthday of Queen Elizabeth, the world's oldest monarch who
still performs scores of annual engagements and shows no signs
of retiring.
Prime Minister David Cameron led tributes, calling her "a
rock of strength for our nation" while her eldest son and heir
Prince Charles recorded a special radio message reading out a
passage from Henry VIII by William Shakespeare, whose death 400
years ago will be marked on Saturday.
Usually the queen's birthday passes with little ceremony but
to mark Thursday's landmark Elizabeth will greet well-wishers
near her Windsor Castle home, west of London, and later light a
beacon, the first of about 1,000 to be lit across the country
and worldwide to mark the occasion.
There will also be artillery gun salutes in the British
capital at Hyde Park and the Tower of London and across the
country, while the Houses of Parliament will be illuminated red,
white and blue.
"All of us are here to respect the queen and to show her our
affection and how much we appreciate all her years of service
and to wish her a happy birthday," said Donna Werner who had
travelled to Windsor from Connecticut in the United States.
Werner, like many others in the crowd festooned with red,
white and blue, had been camped out since before dawn along with
three English friends she met during the 2011 wedding of
Elizabeth's grandson William and his wife Kate.
Close aides say Elizabeth, who has been on the throne for 64
years, was far more interested in events to mark her 90th
birthday than she had been about overtaking her
great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria last September as
Britain's longest-reigning monarch.
In May, there will be a four-day pageant at Windsor Castle,
while in June there will be further events to mark her official
birthday, including the Patron's Lunch, a street party for
10,000 guests on the Mall, the grand avenue leading to
Buckingham Palace.
Born on April 21, 1926 in Bruton Street in central London
when Calvin Coolidge was U.S. President and Joseph Stalin had
just taken control in the Soviet Union, Elizabeth shows no signs
of retiring, and two surveys last week suggested the public do
not want her to give up either.
An Ipsos MORI poll found 70 percent wanted her to stay queen
compared to 21 percent who thought she should abdicate or
retire, while a BMG survey for the London Evening Standard
newspaper showed 66 percent of Britons had a favourable view of
her compared to 10 percent with a negative opinion.
"Rarely has anyone in public life served for so long, served
so brilliantly, worked so hard, and brought so many people
together," Cameron said.
But opponents of the monarchy said not all Britons were
celebrating.
"Headline polling figures mask what's really happening: a
growing indifference to the royals, a greater sense of
citizenship and disillusionment with the political system," said
Graham Smith, chief executive of campaign group Republic.
(Reporting and writing by Michael Holden; Editing by Stephen
Addison)