A beaming Queen Elizabeth enjoyed a day at the races on Saturday, indulging a lifelong passion for horses at the launch of four days of nationwide Diamond Jubilee celebrations to mark her 60 years on the British throne. Wearing a blue coat and matching hat, the 86-year-old was greeted by tens of thousands of flag-waving well-wishers at the Epsom Derby in southern England to watch one of the racing calendar's richest events. Welsh opera singer Katherine Jenkins led the crowd in singing the national anthem as the queen and husband Prince Philip looked on, reflecting a mood of patriotism that has swept the country as the queen reaches a rare milestone. Only one monarch has celebrated a diamond jubilee before - Queen Elizabeth's great-great-grandmother Victoria in 1897. The festivities mark the start of a summer of revelry in Britain with London also hosting the Olympic Games in July. "It's a wonderful day to be British. It's not often you get a chance to show your pride," said racegoer Carole Peck from Ipswich in eastern England. "All ages, all classes are mingling together with one thing in common. I think the whole thing with the Olympics, the queen and the Jubilee, it's time to fly the flag."
