Queen Elizabeth held a special Trooping the Colour ceremony at Windsor Castle.
The annual event, which marks her official birthday, was celebrated on Saturday, with a military parade in the quadrangle of the castle. The 95-year-old queen, who looked lovely in a sky blue coat and matching hat, was accompanied by her cousin Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent.
The queen’s actual birthday is on April 21, but the Trooping the Colour marks the official birthday of the British Sovereign for over 260 years. It is held the second Saturday of June with the annual parade in London. However, amid the coronavirus pandemic, this is the second year that the event doesn’t take place in its traditional form.
The parade was held by the Household Division, and The Queen’s Colour of F Company Scots Guards was trooped.
The Food Guards, the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery and the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, were all part of the ceremony. Music was played by a Massed Band of the Household Division, which will include 1st Battalion Scots Guards Pipes and Drums. The parade closed with a fly-past by the Red Arrows and a 41 gun royal salute.
The Trooping of the Colour typically brings together the queen and senior members of the royal family as they are driven in a carriage from Buckingham Palace, down Horse Guard’s Parade and back. They then watch a fly-past of aircrafts by the Royal Air Force from the palace balcony.
Just the day before, the queen was with Prince Charles, Camila, Duchess of Cornwall, Prince William and Kate Middleton at the G7 Summit, where they reunited with world leaders, including President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden.
The president and first lady are also expected to visit Windsor on Sunday.
Meanwhile earlier this week, in honor of what would have been the late Prince Philip’s 100th birthday — June 10 — the Royal Horticultural Society presented the queen with a newly bred type of rose which they’ve named the Duke of Edinburgh Rose.
The special rose, which is deep pink in color, was bred from Harkness Roses, and gifted to Queen Elizabeth by Keith Weed, the president of the Royal Horticultural Society.
