Queen Elizabeth hailed at 80th birthday service

WINDSOR, England, Apr 23 (Reuters) Queen Elizabeth was praised for her ''calmness, serenity and stillness'' at a special service of thanksgiving today to mark her 80th birthday.

Dean of Windsor David Conner offered the tribute in St George's Chapel, the 15th century Gothic church in Windsor Castle that is the burial place for 10 monarchs.

At the service rounding off a weekend of birthday celebrations, Conner told the monarch ''You have given us heart.'' The queen, her fortunes revived after a tumultuous decade for the monarchy, was given a rousing reception by 20,000 fans when she went on a walkabout on Friday to celebrate her octogenarian milestone.

Then her son and heir Prince Charles hosted a candlelit family dinner party for his mother at the newly refurbished royal palace in the historic Kew Botanic Gardens.

Charles hailed his mother in an emotional public broadcast as a ''figure of reassuring calm and dependability''.

REUTERS SRS PM1611