Queen Elizabeth honoured with Barbie for 96th birthday celebrations

Queen Elizabeth is being honoured with a Barbie doll in her likeness to mark her Platinum Jubilee this year, reported Reuters.

Toy maker Mattel said on Thursday it was commemorating the monarch's 70 years on the throne with a Tribute Collection Barbie doll.

Dressed in an ivory gown with a blue sash adorned with miniature medallions and ribbons, the figure also has a tiara based on the one Elizabeth wore on her wedding day.

Elizabeth, who turns 96 on Thursday, ascended the throne on the death of her father King George VI on Feb. 6, 1952. She is the longest-ruling monarch in British history.

The doll will be sold in London stores Harrods, Selfridges and Hamleys ahead of official Platinum Jubilee celebrations in early June.

Queen Elizabeth is marking her birthday privately, retreating to the Sandringham estate in eastern England that has offered the monarch and her late husband, Prince Philip, a refuge from the affairs of state, reported The Associated Press.

While Thursday’s celebrations were low-key, public celebrations will take place June 2-5, when four days of jubilee festivities have been scheduled to coincide with the monarch’s official anniversary.