The exact moment the Queen became the longest-reigning sovereign is unknown. Her father, George VI, passed away in the early hours of 6 February 1952, but his time of death is not known.
Business in the Commons was postponed for half an hour so that MPs, led by Mr Cameron, could pay tribute to the Queen.
The prime minster said she had been a "rock of stability" in an era when so much had changed, and her reign had been the "golden thread running through three post-war generations".
He said it was "typical of the Queen's selfless sense of service" that she thought today should be a normal day.
Ministers are to present Queen with a bound copy of cabinet papers from the meeting in 1952 when Sir Winston Churchill's government approved the content of her first Queen's Speech.
In the House of Lords, leader Baroness Stowell said the Queen had served the country with "unerring grace, dignity and decency", adding: "And long may she continue to do so".
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There have been glowing tributes and much talk about the significance of this moment. No such words were uttered by the subject of all the attention.
She undertook a run-of-the-mill engagement on a far from run-of-the-mill day. And in her brief remarks - her lengthy reign hasn't lessened her aversion to making speeches - she displayed some classic British understatement.
Overtaking her great-great-grandmother wasn't something she'd ever aspired to, she said. She was simply the beneficiary of a long life.
In Scotland - and indeed in other parts of the United Kingdom - that life and her reign have been celebrated very publicly.
Privately, later, the Queen will mark the moment she enters the record books. Prince Philip will be with her - her husband of 67 years has been the one constant in a reign of sometimes dizzying change.
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Buckingham Palace has released two official photographs to mark the occasion, taken by Mary McCartney in the Queen's private audience room.
This is where she holds weekly audiences with prime ministers of the day, and receives visiting heads of state and government.
The Queen is taking her traditional summer break at this time of year at her private Scottish home, Balmoral.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are in Scotland on holiday and are expected to have dinner with the Queen at Balmoral later.
Queens of the modern age
Getty Images- Victoria became queen at 18, while Elizabeth was 25
- Elizabeth II rides in the same coach as Victoria did for the annual State Opening of Parliament
- Both queens were shot at by lone gunmen while out riding near Buckingham Palace
- Elizabeth loves the private royal estate at Balmoral, which was bought by Victoria
- Victoria ruled over an empire of 400 million people. Elizabeth is head of state for 138 million people.
Queen Victoria became queen at the age of 18 and ruled for 63 years, seven months and two days.
Queen Elizabeth's reign has included 12 prime ministers, two more than served under Victoria.
'Genuinely exceptional'
The Queen is Head of the Commonwealth and sovereign of 15 Commonwealth realms in addition to the UK, and the organisation's Secretary-General, Kamalesh Sharma, sent his congratulations.
"As a symbol of continuity during decades of unprecedented change, and by drawing our people together in their rich diversity, Her Majesty has embodied all that is best in the Commonwealth," he said.
"With vision and dedication her example has encouraged successive generations of leaders and citizens to embrace the promise of the future."
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