Queen Elizabeth II turns 96

Queen Elizabeth II turned 96 yesterday, receiving a rousing "Happy Birthday" from a military band outside her Windsor Castle home, after a troubled year hit by health concerns.  The Band of the Coldstream Guards, in red tunics and bearskin hats, played the tribute to crowds of onlookers, before a barrage of ceremonial gun salutes across the country. But the queen -- the oldest and longest-serving head of state in the world -- marked the occasion with little fanfare, retreating to her Sandringham country estate in eastern England for a short break. No official engagements have been planned, although royal officials released a photograph of the horse-loving head of state with two of her fell ponies. Royal tradition since the 18th century has also seen the monarch have a second, official birthday, typically celebrated in warmer weather in June.