MATTEL is releasing a Queen Elizabeth II Barbie doll to celebrate both the British queen’s 96th birthday and her Platinum Jubilee, which marks 70 years on the throne. The Queen Elizabeth II doll, part of Barbie’s Tribute Collection series, debuted April 21, the queen’s birthday. It marks the first Barbie made in Queen Elizabeth’s likeness, according to Mattel. The doll is dressed in an ivory gown inspired by the “style and color of a gown that she’s favored in royal portraits of herself,” Mattel said in a statement. The doll also features regal details, such as Queen Mary’s fringe tiara, which Queen Elizabeth II wore on her wedding day, and medallions of the orders of the royal family. The doll’s packaging is inspired by Buckingham Palace, the queen’s residence in London, with red carpeting, a crest-shaped logo and a badge marking the queen’s Platinum Jubilee, according to Mattel. “In 1952, when she came to the throne, women were not encouraged to work and politicians expressed doubts about a young female monarch, but she showed them wrong, proved herself an adept leader and diplomat,” Kate Williams, author of “Our Queen Elizabeth,” a picture book on the queen, said in a statement. Queen Elizabeth II’s 70-year reign makes her the longest-ruling monarch in Britain’s history. The Barbie doll retails for US$75 and is sold at Mattel, Amazon, Target and Walmart.(SD-Agencies) | 