Kylie Minogue, Tom Jones, Sting and Shaggy will perform for the Queen at a special concert to mark the 92nd birthday of the world's oldest and longest-reigning monarch.
The Queen and other royals will attend the concert, known as The Queen's Birthday Party, at London's Albert Hall on Saturday.
The event is a break in tradition for the Queen who usually spends her birthday privately with little public celebration, although there were nationwide events to mark her 90th.
The concert comes at the end of a week in which leaders and dignitaries from 53 countries came to London for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and it will feature performers from the network of mostly former British colonies.
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The major beneficiary of Saturday's event, which will be televised live on BBC TV and radio, will be The Queen's Commonwealth Trust youth charity to which her grandson Prince Harry was appointed president this week.
Elizabeth was born on April 21, 1926, in Bruton Street, central London and became queen in 1952 at the age of 25, meaning she has now reigned for more than 66 years.
Despite her age, the Queen still regularly carries out official engagements although her husband Prince Philip, who spent 10 days in hospital this month for a hip replacement, retired from public life last year.
As is customary with monarch's birthdays, soldiers from the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery and the Honourable Artillery Company will fire gun salutes from London's Hyde Park and the Tower of London.
Elizabeth has an official birthday in June which is publicly marked with a large parade of soldiers through central London, known as Trooping the Colour.
Reuters
