EVERYONE from toddlers to pensioners got into the party spirit to celebrate the Queen’s 90th birthday.

Banners were unfurled, bunting was strung up and spreads of delicious food were put on to mark the momentous occasion.

Queen Elizabeth is now England’s oldest surviving monarch and the longest reigning, at 64 years.

Her birthday began with meeting crowds of people in Windsor.

She then took part in a walkabout of the town and greeted well-wishers with her husband Prince Philip, also travelling in an open-top car.

Prime Minister David Cameron led the tributes to the Queen, describing her as “a rock of strength for our nation”.

Prince Charles paid tribute to his mother in a special broadcast and later when she lit a beacon.

The Queen lit a beacon at Windsor Castle, the first in a series of more than 900 being lit across the UK and overseas to mark the day.

Beacons were lit across the country, including by Colchester Mayor Theresa Higgins in the town’s Castle Park.