Will Prince Harry and Meghan Markle make a video call? How Queen Elizabeth will celebrate her official birthday in royal lockdown
It’s tradition that kings and queens of England have two birthdays each year – while the coronavirus pandemic has curtailed official celebrations, the royal family are marking the occasion in different ways
Queen Elizabeth celebrated her 94th birthday on April 21 – and she has another one on June 13! The Queen of England has two birthdays, following an over 250-year-old tradition that was started by King George II in 1748. Born in dreary November, the king thought a public celebration was better suited for summertime, and decided to have his official birthday then along with the annual military parade.
As the queen’s actual birth date falls in April, she decided to celebrate her official birthday every second Thursday of June, following in the tradition of her father King George VI, who did the same. According to The Telegraph, in 1959, the queen changed her mind and moved her official birthday to the second Saturday of June, so that more members of the public could take part in the ceremony.
This year, however, the ongoing global battle against the coronavirus pandemic has led to the cancellation of the queen’s birthday plans on both occasions.
Queen Elizabeth spent her actual birthday in April in isolation with Prince Philip at Windsor Castle, while observing strict social distancing measures. The British media reported that the queen received greetings from her family over video calls.
Every April 21, the queen is honoured with a gun salute. This year was the first time in 68 years that she decided to forego this tradition. Likewise, the celebratory peal of bells at Westminster Abbey remained silent as the church was closed, according to Metro.
Instead, on the week of the queen’s birthday, the royal family shared on its Instagram page facts about the monarch’s childhood. The Royal Pastry Chefs, joining the rest of the world in baking while on lockdown, posted their chocolate cupcake recipe online, inviting the public to post their own creations using the #royalbakes hashtag.