* Elizabeth passes 63-year milestone of Queen Victoria
* Makes only brief reference to the achievement
* Opens railway line in Scotland during her holiday
(Adds queen's quotes, Prince Andrew, details)
By Michael Holden
EDINBURGH, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Queen Elizabeth sealed a
special place in the Britain's history by becoming its
longest-reigning monarch on Wednesday, but amid warm tributes
from politicians and the public, she said the landmark was not
something to which she had ever aspired.
Elizabeth, 89, surpasses the 63 years, 7 months, 2 days, 16
hours and 23 minutes that her great-great-grandmother Queen
Victoria spent on the throne.
The occasion was marked by cheering, flag-waving crowds on
the street, bells ringing out in Westminster Abbey and solemn
messages in parliament but Elizabeth, who is also the nation's
oldest ever monarch, wanted little fuss.
She made only a brief reference to it in a speech as she
opened a new railway line in Scotland.
Thanking the crowd for their welcome, she said: "Many ...
have also kindly noted another significance attaching to today,
although it is not one to which I have ever aspired.
"Inevitably a long life can pass by many milestones - my own
is no exception - but I thank you all and the many others at
home and overseas for your touching messages and great
kindness."
However, in London, political leaders heaped praise on a
head of state who became monarch aged just 25 at a time when
Britain was emerging from the ravages of World War Two and has
witnessed massive political change, social upheaval and the end
of the British empire during her long reign.
"The Queen is our Queen and we could not be more proud of
her," Prime Minister David Cameron told parliament in London
calling her a "rock of stability". "She has served this country
with unfailing grace, dignity and decency and long may she
continue to do so."
In central London, the royal barge Gloriana led a flotilla
of boats down the River Thames and past a four-gun salute from
the battleship HMS Belfast, now permanently moored on the river.
NO FUSS
Initially Elizabeth did not intend to mark the event
publicly at all, believing it represented little more than the
fact that her father King George VI died early and that she
herself has lived a long time.
But she bowed to public pressure and agreed to officially
open the railway in Scotland, where she traditionally spends her
Summer holiday. Her second son Prince Andrew said that for her,
it would be business as usual.
"It's a milestone in UK terms but as far as her consistency,
leadership, it's the normal run of the mill sort of day," he
told BBC TV.
"It's an extraordinary achievement in some respects but
actually it's about the consistency and the leadership that she
is showing and has shown throughout her reign that I think is
probably the one thing that marks her out more than anything
else," he added.
The admiration was shared by many in the crowd at
Edinburgh's Waverley station where she took a journey on a steam
train before the opening ceremony, accompanied by husband Prince
Philip, who has been at her side throughout her reign.
"It's brilliant," said 58-year-old May Marshall, resplendent
in jacket and hat covered in Union Jack flags. "No one else will
ever do it. It's testimony to her stamina."
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Take a Look - Full coverage of Elizabeth II ID:nQUEEN
For a graphic on queen's reign click on http://link.reuters.com/xaw55w
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As a young princess, Elizabeth had not expected to become
monarch as George VI only took the crown when his elder brother
Edward VIII abdicated in 1936 to marry American divorcee Wallis
Simpson.
She was 25 when she ascended to the throne on Feb. 6, 1952,
following George's death.
That made her the 40th monarch in a royal line that traces
its origin back to Norman King William the Conqueror who claimed
the throne in 1066 with victory over Anglo-Saxon Harold II at
the Battle of Hastings.
The year she became queen, the Korean War was raging, Joseph
Stalin was leader of the Soviet Union and Britain announced it
had the atom bomb.
Since becoming queen, she has seen 12 prime ministers,
starting with Winston Churchill, and there have been 12 U.S.
Presidents, from Harry S. Truman to Barack Obama.
Not only has Elizabeth reigned the longest but according to
a poll in the Sunday Times this week, Britons also think she is
the country's greatest monarch, ahead of her Tudor namesake
Elizabeth I and Victoria, who was queen for much of the 19th
century when Britain built up its empire.
Now, Elizabeth is queen of just 16 realms, including
Australia and Canada.
However, despite the torrent of tributes, not everyone was
impressed.
Republicans said her silence on political matters was her
finest achievement, and well-known British historian David
Starkey remarked that she had never said or done anything
memorable in all her years on the throne.
"She will not give her name to her age. Or, I suspect, to
anything else," Starkey wrote in the Radio Times magazine.
(Editing by Stephen Addison)