Queen Elizabeth II voted favourite monarch of all time

Queen Elizabeth II was voted the favourite monarch of all time in an ICM survey for The Sunday Telegraph. Queen Victoria came second, Elizabeth I in third place, with Henry VIII and Henry V finishing behind all the queens.

Queen Elizabeth II was an obvious winner with 35%. Queen Victoria received 24% of the vote while Elizabeth I reached a mere 15%.

The survey revealed that 55% of voters think Britain will remain in a monarchy forever. Only 28& predict the country will one day fold and become a republic.

The Queen has already begun her four-day Diamond Jubilee celebrations across the country with festivities starting in Epsom Derby, her favourite racing grounds. She has attended the grounds every year since her coronation in 1953.

Across the country thousands of people have already started the celebrations, with street parties and festivals in hundreds of villages, towns and cities.

Supermarkets across the country have reported to have sold thousands of miles of bunting.

Tesco reported sales of 1,500 miles of bunting, 2.8 million flags, more than 75,000 Queen masks and 93,000 paper crowns over the last few days.

The Diamond Jubilee celebrations will conclude on Tuesday afternoon with the Royal Family appearing on the balcony at Buckingham Palace. The Royal Family will be watching the ‘feu de joie’ (fire of joy) rifle salute by the RAF.

London is set to celebrate the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant this afternoon.

Matthew Warcup