Updated at 1:06 p.m. ET: LONDON - As her jubilee celebrations drew to a close, Queen Elizabeth II said the events had been a "humbling experience," adding that she will treasure "the countless kindnesses shown to me in this country and throughout the Commonwealth."

"It has touched me deeply to see so many thousands of families, neighbors and friends celebrating together in such a happy atmosphere," she said in a message to the nation, according to the BBC.

Queen Elizabeth's message was broadcast across the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. She also thanked the organizers for their hard work.

"It has been a massive challenge, and I am sure that everyone who has enjoyed these festive occasions realizes how much work has been involved," she said. "I hope that memories of all this year's happy events will brighten our lives for many years to come."

Crowds chanting "God save the queen" and a fanfare of trumpets welcomed the British monarch earlier on Tuesday as she arrived at a church service on the fourth and last day of celebrations marking her 60 years on the throne. 

But, even though she was surrounded by family and greeted by thousands of her subjects, without her husband Prince Philip at her side Queen Elizabeth cut a lonely figure. 

Philip, who turns 91 on Sunday, was taken to hospital with a bladder infection on Monday as millions of people turned out -- despite the cold and rain -- to honor 86-year-old British monarch. Millions more attended street parties up and down the country.

The queen's husband was expected to be visited in hospital by his youngest son, Prince Edward, Tuesday. He will be kept under observation for a few days in a move the palace said was "precautionary," but his illness took some of the gloss off what is widely seen as a triumphant jubilee that has cemented the queen's popularity in Britain. 

ITV News: The queen's lunch menu in full

Tuesday's events began with the queen, who is head of state of 16 countries, attending a thanksgiving service in her honor at London's St Paul's Cathedral along with senior members of the royal family. Prayers were said for Philip at the service.

The spiritual leader of the Anglican church, the Archbishop of Canterbury, delivered a sermon while Prime Minister David Cameron gave a reading to pay tribute to the queen who came to the throne aged 25 in 1952. 

Slideshow: Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee

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Her Majesty celebrates 60 years on the throne.

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Afterwards the royals attended receptions at two of the City of London's grandest buildings, Mansion House and the Guildhall, before a diamond jubilee lunch at Westminster Hall, the oldest part of the Houses of Parliament. 

Video: Historic St. Paul’s Cathedral prepares for Jubilee

The queen then led a carriage procession back to Buckingham Palace in a 1902 State Landau as military bands played and a 60-gun salute was fired. Charles' two sons Prince Harry and Prince William with his wife Kate followed behind in royal carriages. 

The celebrations ended with the royal family making an appearance on the balcony of the palace, with a fly-past by modern and former Royal Air Force aircraft. 

A gloomy, gray - and great - day for the UK

Tuesday's pageantry followed spectacular events pitched to the queen's younger subjects, and others that evoked the queen's royal predecessors.  

On Sunday, a million people gathered for a 1,000-vessel pageant on the River Thames and hundreds of thousands more packed the wide, red road leading to Buckingham Palace on Monday for a concert. 

Diamond Jubilee: From ska to pop, stars rock Buckingham Palace

In a tribute to his mother delivered from the concert stage late on Monday, Charles sought to sum up public affection for a monarch who is a symbol of stability at a time of economic gloom and political disillusionment. 

"As a nation this is our opportunity to thank you and my father for always being there for us, for inspiring us with your selfless duty and service and for making us proud to be British, proud at a time when I know how many of our fellow countrymen are suffering such hardship and difficulties," he said.

The crowd responded with a roar and chants of "Philip." Prince Charles' speech was followed by the national anthem and a spectacular fireworks display in front of the sumptuous 775-room palace as it was illuminated with a giant Union Jack flag. 

'I'm Still Standing'
At the concert on Monday night, Elton John sang "I'm Still Standing," Stevie Wonder crooned "Isn't She Lovely," and Paul McCartney sent "All My Loving."

Photos: Britain honors Queen Elizabeth II with Diamond Jubilee

Despite Philip's illness, many members of the royal family, including Charles, Camilla, and Princes William and Harry sat in a royal box to watch the show, performed on a specially erected stage outside the palace. 

The queen was cheered as she arrived partway through the show, wearing a gold lame cocktail dress under a dark cape. It was decided before Philip's illness that she would watch only part of the concert. 

The queen is not a noted pop music fan, and appeared to be wearing yellow ear plugs as she observed the concert.

Some 12,000 contest winners watched the show from an enclosed area, while a huge crowd stretched down the Mall, the wide boulevard leading up to the palace.

Performers also included Cliff Richard, Tom Jones, Dame Shirley Bassey and younger artists including JLS and Kylie Minogue

NBC News' Michele Neubert, Msnbc.com's F. Brinley Bruton, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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National Portrait Gallery, London

'Lightness of Being' by Chris Levine, 2004.

LONDON – She is the most photographed woman in the world and no monarch has been more depicted in portraits.

Her image is everywhere – from our English bank bills and postage stamps to countless photographs in newspapers and magazines. While not a royalist, I never tire of looking at pictures of Queen Elizabeth II, but I cannot tell you why.

Until now.

National Portrait Gallery, London

Queen Elizabeth II by Hiroshi Sugimoto, 1999.

Paul Moorhouse, curator of 'The Queen: Art and Image', an exhibition that recently opened at London's National Portrait Gallery, told me my fascination was shared by many.

"What we all try to do is understand the enigma," he said. "It's a paradox. We have all these images of her, but for most of us, we actually know very little about the queen."

And it's true. By looking at a range of different images and listening to her occasional public statements, I hope to glean a little more about the woman, the great-grandmother, the human being behind the icon.

An early visitor to the exhibition, Gareth Jones, from Camden in London, agrees.

"You think you know things about her," he said. "But it's not until you see it laid-out like this that you start to appreciate the life she has led over sixty years. It's powerful."

Fit for a queen: 60 years of style

Jones, a self-described fan of the queen, found one work particularly revealing.

Looking at Chris Levine's 2004 holographic photograph 'Lightness of Being' was like "intruding on a private moment, as the queen closes her eyes, almost in meditation," he said.

National Portrait Gallery, London

Queen Elizabeth II, by Pietro Annigoni, 1969.

Yvonne Bennett, from Sevenoaks, outside of London, was captivated by the same image.

"I could stand and look at it all day," she said.

Among the dozens of varied pictures, photographs and mixed media in the exhibition, one portrait stands out.  Amid the Pop Art, punk art and high art depictions, Hiroshi Sugimoto's 1999 portrait feels wrong and out of place.

One visitor wondered why it lacked the warmth of other pictures. We then discovered that the photograph is of a waxwork, and not the monarch herself.

Queen Elizabeth II's lunch for world monarchs sparks controversy

There was a tangible difference between that portrait and, for example, a much earlier, highly formal painting by Pietro Annigoni, dating from 1954-5, the early years of her reign.

In the Annigoni, the young queen is noble and remote, like an empress, but also very human.

While the exhibit tells a story of a changing monarchy, it is also obvious that the queen has carefully controlled her image over the years.

NBC News

Kim Dong-Yoo's mosaic 'Elizabeth vs Diana', left, is made up of hundreds of tiny images of Princess Diana. A close-up view is shown at right.

"But when you compare portraits from one decade with another, you start to understand the preoccupations of the time, and then you appreciate that the queen has had to face some very dark times,” said Bridget Findlay of Portsmouth. 

Video: Queen seen as inspiration at Jubilee parade

Findlay’s favorite was a reflection of those dark times: 'Elizabeth vs Diana' is a mosaic of the queen's head created from tiny images of Princess Diana, her erstwhile daughter-in-law who died in a car crash in 1997 after an embarrassingly public split with Prince Charles.

"It's simply startling," Findlay said.  "I never expected to see that and it took me a while to work out what it was."

The Queen makes her first televised Christmas broadcast on Dec. 25,1957.

Kim Dong-Yoo's 2007 mosaic – one of several works that would be seen as irreverent if not almost disrespectful – is confirmation that this is not an official exhibition sanctioned by Buckingham Palace. Instead, curator Paul Moorhouse called it a celebration for a diamond jubilee.

If I had to choose one image that summed up the exhibit for me, it would be a small, rather insignificant newspaper photograph of a family gathered around a TV set watching the queen's first televised Christmas message broadcast in 1957.

She speaks while we, the observers, look and listen. Six decades on, are we any closer to knowing the most depicted woman in history?

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