British Consul General New York Emma Wade-Smith was joined by British-American DJ, songwriter and producer Mark Ronson on Friday to flip the switch that illuminated a model of the tower.
“She’s a beacon, in the same way the Queen is a beacon, someone who embodies so many things that we and the whole world love in the UK,” Ronson said at the illumination ceremony.
Queen Elizabeth, 96, celebrates her 70th birthday as head of state. She has now been on the British throne longer than any of her predecessors in 1,000 years.
She became queen of the United Kingdom and more than a dozen other kingdoms, including Canada, Australia and New Zealand, on the death of her father, George VI, in February 1952.