Gun salutes mark Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee year

LONDON (AP) — Gun salutes have rung out in London and Edinburgh to mark the official start of Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee year. Elizabeth is Britain’s longest-serving monarch. She became queen on the death of her father King George VI from lung cancer at age 56 on Feb 6, 1952. The monarch does not celebrate the anniversary of the date she became queen because it’s also the anniversary of her father’s death. Public celebrations of the Platinum Jubilee are scheduled for June. The festivities will include a military parade, a day of horse-racing and neighborhood parties. There is also a competition to create a new dessert to be consumed over the jubilee weekend June 2-5. The gun salutes happened on Monday.