Queen Elizabeth Birthday: UNIQUE Details on the Majesty's 94th Birthday During Coronavirus Lockdown
Today is the 94th birthday of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.
In the past couple of years, during her reign, there has always been a big celebration, but now, she's forced to social distance with her husband Prince Phillip in Windsor Castle because of the coronavirus pandemic.
A source from Buckingham Palace said that the Queen Elizabeth II's birthday would not be marked in any unique way.
The traditional 21-gun salute on her birthday will not happen, as well as the 62-gun salute that usually takes place at the Tower of London.
As per the source, "Her Majesty was keen that no special measures be put in place to allow gun salutes as she did not feel it appropriate in the current circumstances."
For the first time in more than ten years, the bells of Westminster Abbey will also not ring on her birthday, according to a spokeswoman.
"We are unable to ring our bells as the church is currently closed. So it will be a virtual birthday this year via the abbey's social media channels."
How Queen Elizabeth II Will Celebrate Her Birthday This Year
Though the past few birthdays have been celebrated in style, with parades, colors, and a lot of people gather outside Buckingham Palace this year, her party will be done virtually.
The Daily Mail reports that the royal family plans to gather on the video conferencing app Zoom for a video party with Queen Elizabeth II.
Their report said that aides have been planning to set-up video calls to mark the celebration that would allow all the members of the royal family to wish the Queen a happy birthday.
However, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson didn't confirm whether a Zoom video call would push through, but the spokesperson said that any calls made by the members of the royal family would be private.
Queen Elizabeth II's Second Birthday Every Year
Queen Elizabeth II celebrates two birthdays each year. Aside from her actual birthday on April 21, she also has another official birthday that takes place every second Saturday in June.
The tradition started during King George II's reign in 1748. It was the year the annual Trooping the Color celebration was first associated with the head of the monarch's birthday.
His real birthday was in November, but with the British weather not being great during those months, it is far from ideal.
Monarchs have enjoyed a second birthday in the summer.
Trooping the Colour is a military parade in London and has previously existed as a standalone event. It was officially and was permanently repurposed as a birthday celebration after George III became king in 1760.
On the sovereign's birthday in June, streets of Buckingham Palace are filled with tourists as more than one thousand soldiers, two hundred horses, and four hundred musicians take part in the lavish celebration.
Queen Elizabeth II is greeted by a royal salute and would carry out an inspection of the troops in the bearskin hats.
Once the military band and the foot guards do their march, the Queen returns to the palace and shall be joined by the other royals on the balcony so they could watch a flypast of the Royal Air Force and the 41-gun salute in a nearby park.
However, this year, Trooping the Colour has also been canceled this year because Queen Elizabeth II didn't want to celebrate anything this year because of the COVID-19, which has taken the lives of more than 16,000 British people in the UK.
