Queen Elizabeth Turns 96: See The Royals' Sweet Tributes to Her

A major milestone! Queen Elizabeth II turned 96 on Thursday, and members of the royal family wasted no time paying tribute to the family matriarch.

Prince William and Kate Middleton were two of the first to post a sweet message on social media for Her Highness.

“Wishing Her Majesty The Queen a very happy 96th birthday today!” the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge wrote alongside two photos, one which showed Queen Elizabeth surrounded by her great-grandchildren and late husband, Prince Philip.

William and Kate added, “An inspiration to so many across the UK, the Commonwealth and the world, it’s particularly special to be celebrating in this #PlatinumJubilee year.”

The Platinum Jubilee is being celebrated this year in the Commonwealth to mark the 70th anniversary of the accession of the Queen Elizabeth II on Feb. 6, 1952.

In a post on the Royal Family’s official Twitter page, a portrait of the Queen as a toddler could be seen alongside the message, “Happy Birthday Your Majesty! Today as The Queen turns 96, we’re sharing this photograph of the young Princess Elizabeth aged 2. Then, in 1928, it was never expected she would be Queen, and this year Her Majesty is celebrating her #PlatinumJubilee – a first in British history.”

Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall added a series of photos of the Queen — both past and present — on their Clarence House Instagram page, writing, “Wishing Her Majesty The Queen a particularly special 96th birthday today, as we celebrate her Platinum Jubilee year.”

“A very ‘Happy 96th Birthday’ to HM The Queen Royal,” royal photographer Chris Jackson also tweeted.

Ahead of her special day, the Royal Family released a new image of the Queen with two of her horses.

“Taken last month in the grounds of Windsor Castle, The Queen is pictured with two of her fell ponies, Bybeck Katie and Bybeck Nightingale. Happy Birthday Your Majesty!” the tweet read.

Earlier this week, a royal source told ET the Queen would be spending her birthday in Sandringham, a place she and Prince Philip, who died in April 2021, “spent many of the last years of his life.”

“Sandringham holds a very special place in her heart, as it is where Prince Philip spent many of the last years of his life,” said the source.

While not in the U.K. for her birthday celebration, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle recently visited the Queen for tea while on their way to the Invictus Games.

In an interview that aired on Wednesday, Harry shared what he loves most about his grandmother. “Her sense of humor and her ability to see the humor in so many different things,” he told Today’s Hoda Kotb. “We have a really special relationship and we talk about things she can’t talk about with anyone else. That’s a nice piece to it.”