http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=383947&in_page_id=1770
Daily Mail
17:00pm 23rd April 2006
The Queen's enduring qualities of constancy, serenity and her ability to give the nation "heart" were praised at a special service of thanksgiving to mark her 80th birthday. The Right Reverend David Connor expressed the country's "gratitude" to the Monarch as the Royal family, dignitaries and other guests gathered together in St George's Chapel in the precincts of historic Windsor Castle.
The senior cleric, also Dean of Windsor, paid tribute to the Queen's "sense of calmness, serenity and stillness" telling the congregation during his sermon: "...I have a hunch that everyone of us will be expressing gratitude, for some kind of encouragement received as we have tried, in our ordinary lives, to be decent and to care.
"Your Majesty, not so much through word as by unselfconscious good example, you encourage us; you give us heart."
The congregation listened intently to the dignified and solemn service of readings and hymns in the historic chapel which began with a birthday prayer written to mark the Queen's milestone year.
During the thanksgiving service an anthem called The Golden Rule, by Poet Laureate Andrew Motion, was featured, set to music by the Master of the Queen's Music Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, and sung by the choir.
The Monarch, wearing a pale sky-blue coat and matching hat with orange trim, sat at the head of the congregation next to the Duke of Edinburgh with the Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall and Princes William and Harry further along the pew.
Among the 700 guests were former prime ministers Baroness Thatcher and Sir John Major, Earl Spencer, the brother of Diana, Princess of Wales, and the Aga Khan.
Also present was Princess Michael of Kent, who is at the centre of reports in the News of the World today that she shared a romantic break in Venice with a Russian millionaire toy boy. Her spokesman has denied that the 61-year-old princess is having an affair with furniture tycoon Mikhail Kravchenko.
The Queen's actual birthday was celebrated on Friday with a mix of public and private events - a traditional Royal walkabout and a family dinner hosted by the Prince of Wales for his "darling Mama".