Today at 17h30, Queen Elizabeth becomes the longest reigning monarch ever to sit on the British throne. Having reigned for over 63 years, the Queen overtakes the long reign of her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria, who came to the throne at the age of 18. To mark the day’s events the Queen and Prince Philip travelled from Edinburgh to Tweedbank, on the Union of South Africa locomotive, a reminder of the long history South Africa .