Queen turns 82
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II quietly celebrated her 82nd birthday Monday, amid a stirring of republican sentiment in Australia and proposals at home for reforming the monarchy.
The queen was to mark the occasion with a quiet dinner at Windsor Castle, west of London, a Buckingham Palace spokesman said.
Queen Elizabeth is head of state in 16 Commonwealth countries, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Jamaica.
Australia's Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said Sunday he thought a split from the British monarchy was "inevitable", but added that it was unlikely to happen while the queen remained on the throne because of her personal popularity.
The issue of a republic was a key item emerging from a two-day 2020 summit in Canberra -- a gathering of 1,000 of Australia's "best and brightest" called by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to generate "big ideas" after his election in November ended almost 12 years of conservative rule.
"There's... something of a view in the community that the appropriate time to move is when the current monarch moves off from her position and whenever that might be," Smith said.
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