Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the royal family couldn’t reunite to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s official birthday with the traditional Trooping the Colour Parade. However, the 94-year-old head of the British monarchy still had a smaller ceremony to commemorate her special day.
In her first official appearance since being in quarantine, Queen Elizabeth was all smiles in a turquoise ensemble as she watched the Welsh Guards, who are currently on Guard at Windsor Castle, perform a pared back ceremony. She also enjoyed music by a Band of the Household Division.
While her actual birthday is on April 21, the royal family also celebrate the second Saturday of June with the annual parade. This year for the first time since 1955, amid the pandemic, the event didn’t take place in its traditional form.
Typically the queen, along with senior members of the royal family, 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. The annual event brings together over 1,400 parading soldiers, 200 horses and 400 musicians.
It was just last year when the entire royal family gathered at the Buckingham Palace balcony to celebrate the queen’s 93rd birthday. It was also Meghan Markle’s first royal event since giving birth to her and Prince Harry’s first child together, baby Archie, the month before. The new mom glowed, wearing a navy Clare Waight Keller for Givenchy dress and overcoat.
In April, for Her Majesty’s birthday, ET learned that for the first time in her 68-year reign there would be no gun salutes in honor of her special day.
The queen wanted to make sure that no special measures were put in place to continue the gun salute tradition as she did not feel it was appropriate in the current circumstances amid the pandemic.
The queen is currently quarantined at Windsor Castle with her 99-year-old husband, Prince Philip, while the rest of the royal family remains isolated at their various residences. For her birthday, ET learned the queen’s grandson Harry, Meghan and their 11-month-old son, Archie, video chatted the reigning British monarch to wish her a happy birthday.
