POPE Francis has wished the UK "prosperity and peace" in his message to Queen Elizabeth to mark her Platinum Jubilee.
In a message sent yesterday, the pontiff offered prayers and good wishes as a long weekend of celebrations began to celebrate the 70 years since the coronation.
"On this joyful occasion of your Majesty’s birthday, and as you celebrate this Platinum Jubilee year, I send cordial greetings and good wishes, together with the renewed assurance of my prayers that Almighty God will bestow upon you, the members of the Royal Family and all the people of the nation blessings of unity, prosperity and peace," Pope Francis wrote. in an official Vatican telegram.
He added that he joined with those celebrating her service to the UK and "the advancement of its people, and the preservation of its illustrious spiritual, cultural and political heritage".
Pope Francis also donated a cedar tree as recognition of the 'Plant a Tree for the Jubilee' project, officially titled the Queen’s Green Canopy initiative.
The Cedar of Lebanon tree was chosen by the Pope as it "symbolises the flourishing of fortitude, justice and prosperity" and "would be a pledge of abundant divine blessings upon her realm".