Queen Elizabeth II Celebrates Her 94th Birthday

London, England, United Kingdom. 21st April, 2020. Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain celebrated her 94th birthday, although it will be a much quieter celebration this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. She is in good health and continues to be the longest reigning monarch in British history. She was born in London on April 21st, 1926 and named Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary. Her parents were Prince Albert, Duke of York and his wife Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, who later became King George VI and Queen Elizabeth I. At the death of her father in 1952, she became the next in line for the throne, and was crowned Queen Elizabeth II at the age of 27 at Westminister Abbey on June 2, 1953.

The Queen celebrates her birthday on two days during the year, a celebration with her family on her birthday on April 21st, with a traditional gun salute by the military in her honor, and then again with a public celebration called "Trooping the Colour" on the second Saturday in June. The "Trooping of the Colour" is a colorful parade and display of pageantry that features hundreds of military personnel dressed in formal uniforms, flags, musicians, and festivities. The parade first began as a military exercise in early British history, when the various regiments would show off their colored flags, so all the troops would know how to recognize their colored banners during battle, and then later became a part of the official birthday celebration for the British sovereigns in the 18th century.

This year the Queen's birthday will pass without the traditional gun salute and festive celebrations as she wishes that no special measures take place while the coronavirus pandemic continues throughout her country and the rest the world. The last time the parade was canceled was in 1955, when there was a national rail strike. While the "Trooping of the Colour" was set to take place this year on June 13th, it is expected that a perhaps an alternative celebration will be planned in her honor.