Queen Elizabeth reaches Sapphire Jubilee

Queen Elizabeth became Britain's monarch on February 6, 1952, the day her father, King George VI, died. Since then she has ruled over the United Kingdom, and has been head of the Commonwealth and the Church of England. Sixty-five years later, the 90-year-old queen makes history by becoming the first British monarch to celebrate a Sapphire Jubilee.

Queen Victoria (1819-1901) had previously held the record for the longest time on the throne. She became Queen in 1837 and held the office until her death: 63 years and seven months. Spanning several generations, her reign impacted an entire epoch, which was named after her. During the Victorian Era, Britain experienced economic growth and its empire reached the climax of its power.

Queen Elizabeth has already been the oldest monarch in British history since December 20, 2007. This was the first of Victoria's records broken by Elizabeth. Victoria was 81 years, seven months and 29 days old when she died. Queen Elizabeth turned 90 on April 21, 2016. She also became the oldest monarch in the world when Abdullah of Saudi Arabia passed away on January 23, 2015.

Queen Victoria still has one up on Elizabeth, however. On January 1, 1877, she became the first British monarch to hold the title Empress of India, which incorporated India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar at the time. In 1947, India and Pakistan gained their independence from Britain.

Queen Victoria married her cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in 1840. They had nine children together. When Albert died in December 1861 at the young age of 42, Victoria fell into depression and largely withdrew from public life.

Queen Elizabeth has visited Germany seven times during her reign. She came for the first time in May 1965. She is pictured here in Bonn with Heinrich Lübke, who was Germany's 70-year-old president at the time. During that first visit, the Queen spent 11 days touring Germany, including stops in the capital, Bonn, divided Berlin, and 16 additional cities.

In June 2015, the Queen visited Germany once again. She's pictured here with her husband, Prince Philip, German President Joachim Gauck and his wife, Daniela Schadt, in front of the presidential residence in Berlin. Queen Elizabeth also went to Frankfurt and paid a visit to the site of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, which was liberated by British soldiers at the end of World War II.

Queen Elizabeth is currently the oldest monarch in the world and now the longest reigning in Britain. But she's not the longest reigning royal in recorded history. That title is held by former King of Swaziland Sobhuza II, who spent 82 years on the throne, from December 10, 1899 to August 21, 1982.