People

By Sara C. Medina

She is as old as the century, but she keeps up with it just fine. Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, far and away Britain's favorite royal, carries out a daunting round of official duties, and just because she turned 86 last week was no reason for slowing down: two art exhibitions, a concert and a conservation group were on her birthday-week itinerary. So was an appearance on the porch of Clarence House, her London residence, with her daughters, Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret, and two of her grandsons, accompanied by their wives (Prince Charles with the Princess of Wales and the new Duke and Duchess of York). Then "the Waleses" were off to the Mediterranean island of Majorca for a private vacation visit with "the Spains," King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia. They were met at the airport by a royal entourage, including exiled King Constantine of Greece, who drove them through town in a VW bus, as tourists gawked. After a few days of warmth, the British royals are headed up to cold, soggy Scotland and several weeks with Mother at her beloved Balmoral Castle.