Queen Elizabeth sits in the Regency Room at Buckingham Palace in London as she looks at some of the cards which have been sent to her for her 80th birthday in London in this April 19, 2006 picture. Queen Elizabeth II has invited 99 guests to Buckingham Palace last Wednesday, and she needn't to ask anyone's age. All share the queen's birth date - April 21, 1926. The queen has laid on a three-course meal for 70 women and 29 men. "It has always been a standing joke in the family that I've never been invited to the queen's birthday party. I never think it would actually come true," said Betty Kay of Doncaster in northern England, one of the invited guests. Prospective banquet guests were nominated by themselves or relatives, and 99 were chosen to represent all parts of the country. Edna Richards of Wolverhampton said she was a firm supporter of the monarchy, and admired the queen for maintaining a busy schedule. "I think she is a marvel. I don't know how she does it all. Being the same age I know how she must feel," Richards said. Amid the excitement surrounding the birthday celebrations, the queen's cousin, Margaret Rhodes, said that she is "perfectly sure" the monarch will never abdicate the throne. "It's not like a normal job, it's a job for life," she said. Buckingham Palace said Rhodes' remarks reflected the longtime position of the queen and there was no change in her decision to forgo retirement. "These are the questions that are asked around these big events," said a Buckingham palace spokeswoman. "There is no question of the queen abdicating. She will carry on as normal." (Agencies)

上周三，英國女王伊麗莎白二世邀請了99位客人到白金漢宮做客。她不用詢問任何一位客人的年齡，因為所有的客人和女王都是同一天生日--1926年4月21日。女王為這70位女客和29位男客精選了三道佳肴。 家住英國北部唐克斯特市的貝蒂·凱是其中一位被邀請的客人。她說：“我以前從未被邀請參加女王的生日宴會，這在我們家里已成了一個‘由來已久’的笑料。但我絕對沒有想到現在這竟然成了現實。” 想入選宴會賓客的人可以毛遂自薦，也可以由親戚們提名。被選出的99位賓客代表英國的所有地區。 伍爾弗漢普頓的埃德娜·理查德說，她是女王的堅定擁護者，女王總是把日程安排得很滿，這一點讓她十分欽佩。 理查德說：“我覺得她是個奇才，我不明白她是怎樣處理好這么多事情的。因為和她同齡，所以我了解她會有什么樣的感受。” 生日慶祝宴會的氣氛十分歡愉，女王的堂妹瑪格麗特·羅德斯說，她“非常肯定”女王不會退位。 她說：“這不是一個普通的工作，而是她一輩子的工作。” 白金漢宮的有關人士說，羅德斯的話表明了女王的在位時間之長，但女王目前沒有退位的打算。 白金漢宮一位發言人說：“在這些重大場合，此類問題經常會被提出來。毫無疑問，女王不會退位，她將一如既往地堅持下去。” (中國日報網站編譯)