![Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh leaving the Royal York hotel in Toronto on a tour of Canada in 2010.](https://www.royalhistorian.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Queen_Elizabeth_Toronto_2010-280x300.jpg)
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh leaving the Royal York hotel in Toronto on a tour of Canada in 2010.
On September 9, Queen Elizabeth II will exceed Queen Victoria’s record for longest reigning monarch in British (and post-Confederation Canadian) history. In my interview with the Canadian Press, I compared the approaches of Victoria and Elizabeth II to the role of constitutional monarch. While Victoria madeĀ her opinions about her Prime Ministers clear, Elizabeth II remains above party politics. Ā Since Elizabeth II has reigned for 63 years, her approach has become synonymous with the role of a constitutional monarch in the popular imagination