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LONDON – It was a royal day at the races, as Queen Elizabeth II watched ahorse with the courtly name of Camelot win the Epsom Derby onSaturday — the kickoff to a four-day celebration of theBritish monarch's 60 years on the throne. Later in the weekend the queen will make a trip down the RiverThames, and then take in a concert — all accompanied by tensof thousands of her subjects, coming out to fete a monarch whoselongevity has given her the status of the nation's favoritegrandmother. An armada of vessels — from historic sailboats and barges tokayaks, lifeboats and military launches — was mustering alongthe Thames ahead of Sunday's river pageant. The queen aboard theroyal barge will lead the flotilla of 1,000 boats — describedby organizers as the biggest gathering on the river for 350 years. Diamond Jubilee festivities officially began Saturday with a 41-gunsalute fired by the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery at HorseGuards Parade in central London. The 86-year-old monarch and her husband, Prince Philip, visitedEpsom racecourse south of the capital for the Derby, one of theyear's biggest horse-racing meetings. The queen waved to the130,000-strong crowd as she was driven down the racecourse in aBentley bearing the Royal Standard — the car's sun roof keptshut under gray skies — before settling down to watch theraces from the royal box. Dressed in a royal blue coat and matching hat over a blue-and-whitefloral dress, the queen was accompanied by members of the royalfamily including her sons Prince Andrew and Prince Edward andAndrew's daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. The royals were treated to an aerial display by members of theBritish Army's Red Devils parachute team before the main event— the racing. The monarch is a racing fan and horse breeder who has attended theDerby for decades and reads the Racing Post each day overbreakfast, although unlike many of her subjects she does notgamble. The queen presented prizes to some of the race winners and spokeintently to jockeys and trainers "She's incredibly knowledgeable. Her knowledge of thoroughbreds andbreeding goes way back," said Anthony Cane, chairman of Epsom DownsRacecourse. The queen took the throne in 1952 on the death of her father, KingGeorge VI, and most Britons have known no other monarch. Despite cool, damp weather in much of the country, hundreds ofthousands of people are expected to participate in celebrations,including street parties, Sunday's flotilla and a Monday popconcert in front of Buckingham Palace featuring Elton John and PaulMcCartney. Jubilee events end Tuesday with a religious service at St. Paul'sCathedral, a carriage procession through the streets of London andthe queen's appearance with her children, grandchildren andgreat-grandchildren on the palace balcony. Prime Minister David Cameron — the 12th British leader of thequeen's reign — paid tribute to the monarch's "extraordinarylevel of physical energy, mental energy, and above all devotion toher people, to the institutions of this country, to the way ourdemocracy works." Not everyone in Britain will be celebrating. The anti-monarchistgroup Republic plans a riverbank protest as the flotilla goes by onSunday, followed by a pub night where royal refuseniks can drowntheir sorrows. With pictures of the monarch splashed across newspaper front pages,the left-leaning Guardian provided a button on its website thatremoved all jubilee stories. But many Britons embraced the jubilee spirit — a tribute to amonarch whose popularity cuts across all ages, social classes andpolitical affiliations. In a jubilee gift from Britain's politicians, lawmakers from thethree main parties have backed a motion calling for the towerhousing Big Ben — the beloved London bell that chimes thequarter hour — to be renamed in the queen's honor. More than half of legislators have signed a letter askingparliamentary authorities to consider renaming the east tower ofthe Houses of Parliament the Elizabeth Tower. It's currently calledthe Clock Tower. While many Britons used the long weekend to relax — and anestimated 2 million left the country on vacation — writersand religious leaders used the occasion to reflect on how Britainhas changed over the queen's reign, from a war-scarred imperialpower to a middle-sized power with oversized cultural clout. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, spiritual head of theAnglican Church, expressed a widely held view when he said Britainhad been lucky to have Elizabeth as monarch throughout a period ofrapid change. "It seems to me that what her importance has been for most peoplein this country has been as a sign of stability, a sign of somekind of security," Williams said in a jubilee video message. "And that wouldn't have happened had she not been so profoundlycommitted at every point, so intelligently committed tounderstanding the society she was in, working with the flow of thechanges that have taken place. To have someone who has been asymbol, a sign of stability through all that period is really arather exceptional gift." Some have speculated that as she ages the queen might abdicate infavor of her 63-year-old son, Prince Charles — or even herwildly popular grandson, Prince William. Those who know her say that is unlikely. "I think it's an absolutely absurd notion," former Prime MinisterJohn Major told Sky News. "I have not a shadow of a doubt thatgiven her health she will remain monarch for the rest of her life." ___ Online:. 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